Deep Thoughts

Driving peeves

2007-03-22T19:25:00.000-04:00

What is it with these Boston drivers? Why this extreme resistance to the use of turn signals? How much effort does that take?

Sorry for the rant, but yesterday I saw the most bizarre thing on the road and I just have to share this. I was at a stop light and I see the car ahead of me in the right lane is standing at an angle. Now they are using their car's body language to say they want to get into the left lane, but not using the turn signal. Annoying that it is, it is not so uncommon, particularly here in Boston. This lady goes one step further and rolls down her window and shouts to the car next to her that she wants to get into the left lane ??? What's up with that? I saw that and was simply amazed.

Please please please - use turn signals when you want to change lanes. It's not that hard and it's safer.

Laila 101

2007-03-18T11:27:00.000-04:00

You guys know how Laila entered our home last August and completely became the center of our lives. But what I've never shared with you is the way she has taught us so many lessons and probably made us better people. In honor of her upcoming birthday (March 24th), this post will be all about her!

First of all, she has helped me overcome my fear of dogs. Yes, I was afraid of dogs until we got Laila. My husband had always wanted a dog and as a birthday gift to him, I decided to work on that fear and we got Laila. The day we got her, my husband had to leave for school for something important and I was so scared of being all alone at home with her. I kept wondering "What if she attacks and bites me?". Now when I look back, I find the thought so absurd! Soon I got convinced that she loves me and will not hurt me. It was still a bit of a challenge not getting scared of the dogs we met on the road and in the park. Not anymore and I am so thankful to my husband and to Laila for helping me through this process. I was missing out on this beautiful aspect of life.

Another thing Laila has taught me is to love the rain (once again). When I was younger, I used to absolutely love the rain. I would love getting wet in the first rain of the monsoon. I used to love looking out the window when it used to rain. Somewhere along the process of growing up, I lost this love. Now like all grown ups, I would hear about the rain forecast, and cringe and crib that it would be so messy. So, the first time, I took Laila for a walk while it was raining, I was not looking forward to the walk. However, as soon as we got out, and the first few drops of rain fell on her face, her eyes just lit up. For a few seconds she was confused as to what was going on but soon she decided that whatever it was, it was a lot of fun. She was walking with her face constantly towards the sky and just having a great time. It was while walking with her and seeing her enjoy the rain so much that I rediscovered my own love for the rain.

Same goes for snow...well, I never really minded snow much and actually love to see snow falling. But seeing Laila go completely crazy playing in the snow, I think I love snow much more now :)

Overall, I feel she has taught me to appreciate nature so much more. When we go for our first walk in the morning, it is usually very quiet. During the walk, sometimes she would stop if she hears birds chirping and I stop and enjoy those sounds too. Of course, she gets delighted if a squirrel goes by and I enjoy seeing her delighted.

Of course, the parenting lessons that she has taught us are another story altogether...maybe that will be another post :)

Finally, I want to end this post with some fun pictures of our little girl:

Laila goes hiking

Laila ready for work

Laila playing Holi!

I'm alive!

2007-03-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to say that I'm alive and kicking. I know that I've been a slacker for way too long...well not entirely a slacker ( I was traveling and then recovering from a broken arm etc. and then simply having trouble getting back to blogging) . So, today I decided that this is it. I miss blogging way too much and I'm gonna get back to writing here at least once a week (maybe more!). Look forward to some posts over the weekend.

9 years coming

2006-11-17T07:03:00.000-05:00

For those of you who know me closely, you know how I love to sing. You can find me humming around the house all the time. I sing when I'm cooking, I sing when I'm cleaning, and of course I sing in the shower. I also sing when I am feeling low, just to cheer myself up!

Now I am not saying that I have best voice under the sun and when I sing, time stops! But I was in the school choir and I can say that I have a decent/bearable voice.

So, now come to the question that what does my hubby think of my singing. Well, simply put, I don't think he thinks about it at all. He smiles when he sees me smiling and singing just to see me so happy, but he has never commented on my singing abilities.

Now two days ago, Laila was lying outside the kitchen while I was cooking and in the middle of my cooking I was just overcome by my desire to tell her how much she meant to me ;) SO I went and sat beside her and started singing to her. I sang this hindi song which says something like "You have touched my heart and now everything looks so lovely". It's a beautiful song with great lyrics. I sang this from start to finish -all verses and Laila sat there smiling at me. Hubby was busy doing something not too far away from us. Imagine my surprise when I stopped singing and he said "Wow, you sing nicely. You should sing more often"

I can't tell you how big of a deal this is. This is something that has never happened in the 9 years or so that I've known my husband, but I'm so glad that it finally did. What I'm even more glad about was that it was no comment made out of politeness or kindness - it was so genuine. I loved it. Thanks sweetheart!!

It's 10PM - Do you know where your dog is?

2006-10-24T18:38:00.000-04:00

If someone had asked me that question yesterday, I would have given them a look saying "Are you out of your mind?". After all, you only have to worry about these things for your kids, dogs are much too well behaved for that - Right?

Well, today I don't think I'm so sure. Especially after hearing this story about a dog and her family's struggle with her addiction (yeah, that's right - addiction)

On days like this, I don't miss not having a back yard at all.

Going Pink!

2006-10-01T17:01:00.000-04:00

In support of the National Breast Cancer Awareness month, I'm going Pink for October!

Are you up for it?

Good tests => Good Teeth

2006-09-29T10:21:00.000-04:00

A bunch of us at work are reading Kent Beck's Test-Driven Development. From today's reading, my biggest takeaway was "To keep your teeth healthy, retroactively test before refactoring"!

Confused? Here's his explanation: "Write the tests you wish you had. If you don't, you will eventually break something while refactoring. Then you'll get bad feelings about refactoring and stop doing it so much. Then your design will deteriorate. You'll be fired. Your dog will leave you (Huh?). You will stop paying attention to your nutrition. Your teeth will go bad. So, to keep your teeth healthy, retroactively test before refactoring."

Hope this will motivate all you software developers to write more tests ;)

Bundle of filth

2006-09-18T23:06:00.000-04:00

In my last post, I introduced you all to our little bundle of joy. Needless to say, she has been keeping us both busy!

Last weekend, we took her to the dog park and she had an absolute blast there. Here are the pictures to prove.

Soon after, she came out of the pond above, she decided to do some extensive digging. This was the result:

By the end of the evening, we took home a filthy, tired and very happy puppy :)

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Our bundle of joy

2006-08-19T16:27:00.000-04:00

Please join in me in welcoming our little bundle of joy - Laila (pronounced Lye-lah)!

We adopted her from a shelter and she traveled all the way from Tennessee to be with us. She has been with us a week now and is absolutely adorable. This little girl is about 4.5 months old and is already 35 lbs. - Yup, she will be a big dog! She is a Golden Retriever/Great Pyrenees mix.

She is the first pet that my husband and I have ever had (translation - any advice regarding bringing up puppies is very welcome) and we are both nervous, excited and overjoyed at the same time :). She loves people and is a complete charmer in the neighborhood. It is so amazing - we have talked to more people in our neighborhood in the last week than we have in the previous 11 months!

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Flight One Zero Two Alpha Charlie

2006-08-05T23:24:00.000-04:00

Last evening I was aboard the above-mentioned flight One Zero Two Alpha Charlie. The best part - the pilot was my hubby! Honestly, a day like this was beyond my wildest imaginations! I was speechless for most of the flight, just too awestruck to say anything :)

It all started last year when hubby started taking lessons towards a private pilot course. He is now a little more than half way done through the requirements. So yesterday, when the weather seemed calm and clear, he invited me to come along with no promises of what to expect. His instructor was kind enough to let me tag along for the flight. And boy, was it fun!!

Here are some pictures:

Pre Flight

Soon after take-off

The setting sun

We finished the evening with some excellent middle-eastern food at El-Basha and followed it up with some coconut cake!

Thanks sweetheart for this special evening!!

So, what next?
I can't wait until hubby completes his flying requirements and takes all exams to get his private pilot license. Then, we can fly (by ourselves) to some place fun like Cape Cod or Martha's Vineyard or who knows where!

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Dead Man's Tale

2006-07-22T17:11:00.000-04:00

Last night, we went to see Pirates of the Carribean - Part 2 and really enjoyed it!

I admit that it was absurd in some places and gross in some others, but if all this absurdity and grossness is accompanied by generous doses of Johnny Depp, I say bring it on :)

I can't wait for the sequel!!

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Johnny
Depp

From Concrete jungle to Timber jungle

2006-07-17T20:47:00.000-04:00

This weekend we were transported from the humdrum of this concrete jungle named Boston to a different kind of jungle...the real kind :)

Yes...it was the annual summer outing time at my company. So Friday evening (or more like Friday afternoon), the office started getting emptier by the minute, with everyone (along with their families!) heading in the general direction of fun (aka Mt. Washington). If I start writing about all we did this weekend, I would be writing all night. Instead, I will stick to some highlights and pictures:

Grand parties which included fabulous food, drinks, great views from our dinner table and the excellent company. On the topic of great food, I have to mention the fabulous chocolate fountains (both white and milk chocolate!) on Friday and an entire room full of delectable desserts on Saturday.
Some strenuous but fun hiking (I am surprised at myself that despite being horrible sore today, I am still calling it a fun hike - it really was very fun). We climbed up to about half way to the top of Mt. Washington, saw some fantastic views, had lunch and started climbing down. Some pictures from along the way and the top:
Did horse riding on Sunday afternoon on a trail in the woods passing by some waterfalls. The icing on the cake was the bear sighting...it was a baby bear wandering on the road and the momma was nowhere to be seen. We were all nervous and excited at the same time and to our relief, he went back pretty soon into the woods and we carried on further.

All in all...a superb weekend and I can't wait till next year :)

P.S. Thanks to hubby for the title of the post...he said something about getting back to the concrete jungle from the timber jungle and I knew this was going to go on my blog ;)

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What a gruesome day

2006-07-12T07:09:00.000-04:00

As I got in my car yesterday morning, the radio warned me to not take the Masspike citing this terribly tragic accident. How awful and sad? My heart goes out to this family.

As I sat down for lunch, I was asked "Did you see the news?" When I replied in the negative, I was informed about the train bombings in Bombay. Now, Bombay is a place very close to my heart...it the place where I went to college , it is the place where I met my husband, it is the place where we have countless friends and family. So far, we have heard from most of them and to our relief (Thank God) they are all doing fine. There are others whom we haven't yet been able to contact and I really hope they are doing well too.

Here's sending lots of good thoughts and prayers to all people who have been struck by these two horrible tragedies.

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News
Tragedy

Joy of words

2006-07-07T07:21:00.000-04:00

I read this on a train ride back home on Wednesday and wanted to share these beautiful words with you all.

It's an excerpt from the story "Il Colore Ritrovato" in the book "The Pacific".

“I now was in love with her in the way that old men can briefly be in love with youth, which is like standing on the platform as an express train that doesn’t stop at your station goes by at full speed. It’s exciting, the wind comes up, your clothes whistle in the air, you awaken, and then it’s gone, without even having seen you.”

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MemorableReads

A perfect long weekend

2006-07-04T10:46:00.000-04:00

I loooove long weekends...Especially super long weekends...Especially when they are not rushed and packed with places to visit. This was one such weekend and the best part...It is not over yet :)

I did so many things this weekend that I'd been wanting to, or meaning to, or simply needed to, but was never getting a chance. Here's a random list of things I did this weekend which I'm glad about:

Went on a nice long walk with hubby
Saw some good movies
Did 14 loads of laundry...Yup 14! - Probably my all time high
Packed up my winter wardrobe (freshly laundered ;)) and got the remaining of my summer clothes out - Yipee! (I don't want to think about the fact that there are only so many summer months before I do the whole process again!)
Cleaned up and reorganized my kitchen cabinets - Put my new labelmaker to good use! It's incredible how organized everything looks when there are labels involved)
I'm finally catching up on blog reading and writing...the entire last month went in a whirlwind with all the traveling and my swimming lessons (they were great!).
Met a good friend after more than a year; Met his wife (they got married in February) for the first time.
Will be having some friends over tonight for a farewell dinner of sorts
Played card games with hubby....I'm currently losing...more games to continue today :)
Read a great book that I had first heard about on NPR - Letters to Sam. I'm more than half way through the book and have been touched by what I read so far.

P.S. Mom left last weekend. She had a wonderful time and so did we. The house felt so terribly empty after she left. Hopefully not for long though...we have talked my in-laws into coming over and they will probably be here before the end of the month!! We're very excited :)

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A glass ... or two... or more?

2006-06-05T23:33:00.000-04:00

Heard this great story about an unusual wine problem on NPR on my way back home.

What amused me the most was the fact that even though the French can and ought to be selling the wine for much cheaper to clear out the surplus, they aren't ready to do that. The sole reason being that most consumers associate the price of wine to be in direct proportion to its quality. They are scared that if they do sell the wine at 2 bucks a piece, no one will buy it next year for 10 bucks. In fact, they are actually selling the wine to the government to be used as cheap fuel. What a shame!

In case anyone is listening, I'll be most happy to take some off your hands and I'm sure so would a lot of my readers :)

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MadeMeSmile

Friday Tidbits

2006-05-26T14:54:00.000-04:00

Bits and pieces of what is going on:

- I am officially a graduate. The commencement walk was a lot of fun. I celebrated the entire weekend with family and friends. At work, I got a surprise card and ice cream treat at Ben and Jerry's courtesy of my sweet co-workers.

- I am taking beginner swimming lessons. Yes, it is true; at 26 years of age, I don't know how to swim and I decided that I want to change that. I've had two classes so far and it is turning out to be a lot of fun. Hubby is being a real sweetheart and taking these classes with me (even though he is not really a beginner). So, I don't even feel like I am missing out on quality time with him :)

- Mom is here and having a wonderful time. We are taking her to New York City this weekend (joining the thousands of people travelling this long weekend). In fact, I was just checking the traffic report for MassPike. Supposedly there has been a minor accident on MassPike eastbound and the traffic report for Masspike Westbound read:
"Slow traffic approaching Exit 10. Curiosity delay. Allow extra time."
Curiosity delay? That's probably the first time I have heard that term, but it sure does fit well.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Mommy time

2006-05-17T10:35:00.000-04:00

Mom is coming!!

She will be here this Friday and will stay until late June. I can't wait until she gets here :). I know some of you might be wondering - "Why is she SO thrilled? It may be nice to see Mom, but have her stay for over a month - Oh My!"

Well, you see it's different. Firstly because she stays over 7000 miles away (basically in a different country, different continent) and it's not everyday that you go on such a long journey. Secondly because I haven't seen her for about 1.5 years; I saw her last when I went back home in December 2004. Thirdly because she will be visiting United States and our home here for the very first time and I am excited to see her reaction :). Fourthly because she hasn't really been out much since my Dad passed away over 1.5 years ago and she really needs this change. And lastly because she is an excellent cook (aren't all Moms!) and I know she is going to totally pamper me with all her delectable cooking.

Oh, and I forgot to add that she gets to see my commencement ceremony this Saturday!!!

Once in a while

2006-05-11T18:11:00.000-04:00

A interesting incident from a couple of days ago:

I was standing outside my building waiting for my carpool friend to pick me up. I glanced around me and there was the usual group of people going about their usual tasks like dropping off kids etc., and then there was this lady, probably in her fifties, slowly ambling in my direction. I glanced at her and then wandered off in my own thoughts. About a minute later, I find her standing behind me and saying something. I was startled and it took me about a minute to understand what she was saying. She pointed at her face and asked me if there was any chocolate visible on it. At first, I replied without thinking and just said "No". Then I looked closely and corrected myself and told her that there was actually some in the corner of her lips. She took her index finger, wet it a little in her mouth (which both disgusted and amused me) and started rubbing where I pointed. She then asked if it was gone and I told her sheepishly that there still was some bit left. She repeated the same exercise. Finally when she confirmed after her second attempt that it was all clean, she left off saying: "I don't care that people say - you've got to treat yourself once in a while"

I'm planning to keep that in mind more often :)

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DailyLife

Quotable Quotes at work

2006-05-09T07:12:00.000-04:00

As I've mentioned before, the place I work is a real fun place to work. Here is a slice of some of our usual conversations:

"Oh X, grow up"

"It's not the mouth that it comes out of, it's the mind that it goes in" (I'm not going to try explaining the context here :))

"You're the man of the group" (Flattery at work...)

"Oh X, you're so stupid" (...or not)

"You're being obnoxious"

"It actually works!!!" (Yeah right- like most other time we write broken code!)

Back

2006-05-08T06:58:00.000-04:00

I know I've been away for far too long without a word, but I just wasn't getting a chance to write (and yeah, a couple times when I did sat down to write, my muse abondoned me and I just stared at the blank screen, not sure what to write). My apologies. Hopefully, with this apology, I'll be able to get all the awkardness of not having written for so long out of the way and I'll be back in full swing.

P.S. I hate colds - Hubby suffered all last week and just as he is begining to feel just a teeny-tiny bit better, looks like now I am the chosen one.

Retireval

2006-04-27T15:52:00.000-04:00

Why can't I type retrieval today?

Each time I try, I end up typing retireval. (Sigh)

Code Freeze

2006-04-24T22:10:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day and true to my word of letting you all know, here's your free reminder service :)

At work, a plan is in place for us to stop working at a designated hour and have a "Code Freeze" courtesy of Ben & Jerry's!!

This is such a nice continuation of a last few days which have been so fun-filled. Last Monday, as part of an ongoing Patriot's day tradition, we were treated by our lovely company to boxed lunches to carry to the nearest place where the Boston Marathon crosses. On our return back to work, we were treated to ice cream on the sunny patios. Tuesday was a friend's birthday and we dragged her to Ben & Jerry's for another ice cream. Creme de la creme was Friday when we threw a surprise wedding shower for two colleagues at work who are both getting married this May.

I actually said it out loud the other day "Is it legal to be having so much fun at work?"

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Courage - my friend of 9 years

2006-04-20T06:45:00.000-04:00

Today I will tell you the story of Courage, who has been my friend for the last 9 years. Wait, don't get me wrong, I am not talking about the attribute of courage in me (which is hardly anything worth talking about!). Actually, I am talking about courage personified, in the form of a friend whom I have known for about 9 years now.

Back when I met him, R was a friend of my then boyfriend, now husband, and I got to know him more and more as I started hanging out with their group. He is a complete fun loving guy, never takes life seriously and spreads his joie de vivre to all around him. He was the guy who probably danced the most at our wedding (we were so happy that he could make it despite being thousands of miles away).

It is hard to express what we felt, when six months after our wedding, we got a call from a mutual friend telling us that R had an accident. He fell while boarding a train and the train moved forward crushing his leg. I still remember the exact spot where my husband and I were standing when we got the call. We were in the middle of our street, walking towards our car and we just kept standing there. All I could picture was R dancing at our wedding. It was completely unbelievable. It was the kind of thing that one would hear about in the papers about people you don't know, but hearing it about a friend was too much to accept.

His leg was amputated soon after the accident. A part of us was restless to talk to him and find out how he was doing, but as I recall, we could only gather the courage to talk to him after about two weeks or so. And when we did talk to him, he was laughing as usual. He assured us he was fine, which was comforting but still very hard to believe - how could someone be fine and still smiling after such an incident?

It was two weeks ago when we finally met him (1.5 years after the accident) and what a meeting that was. It was characteristically R style! Hubby and I were visiting a friend from our undergrad school and in the middle of our lunch, the door opens and in walks R :) The surprise of seeing him, the relief at seeing him walk (with his artificial limb), and the sound of his laugh was nothing short of exhilarating. There he was, smiling as ever, cracking jokes, teasing us, and simply living an exemplary life, a life of faith and courage.

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InspiringPeople

Yipee!!!

2006-04-14T15:58:00.000-04:00

Quick post to share that Hubby just received his Ph.D. qualifier results and he has passed with flying colors! First Ph.D. milestone achieved :). I am so proud of him for taking on this endeavor and getting here.

Tonight we shall party :) (albeit after a visit to the tax consultant - wonder how much fun will that be!)

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Another meme - 40 questions

2006-04-08T09:49:00.000-04:00

Inspired by Jeff

1) Who is the last person you high-fived? Hubby, just two days ago.
2) If you were drafted into a war, would you survive? I doubt it.
3) Do you sleep with the TV on? Not anymore, but used to when I lived alone few years ago.
4) Have you ever drunk milk straight out of the carton? Eeeks, No Way.
5) Have you ever won a spelling bee? No.
6) Have you ever been stung by a bee? Yes.
7) How fast can you type? Fairly fast.
8) Are you afraid of the dark? On some days.
9) What color are your eyes? Brownish black.
10) Have you ever made out at a drive-in? Not really, but worth considering :)
11) When is the last time you chose a bath over a shower? Two weeks ago, when I broke my ankle. That was out of necessity, but I do chose it every now and then (say once a month) just for relaxing.
12) Do you knock on wood? Yes.
13) Do you floss daily? Do I have to answer this? Not enough.
14) What happened to question #14? I wonder.
15) Can you hula hoop? Barely.
16) Are you good at keeping secrets? Absolutely.
17) What do you want for Christmas? A fun time with family.
18) Do you know the Muffin Man? No, but I do know the Cookie Lady - does that count?
19) Do you talk in your sleep? Very often and always wonder what all did I say!
20) Who wrote the book of love? Tell me if you find out.
21) Have you ever flown a kite? Yes, and I did a terrible job of it.
22) Do you wish on your fallen lashes? Fairly often. I stopped for about a year or so after my Dad passed away. But now I am starting again slowly :).
23) Do you consider yourself successful? Not really - I know that's a bad answer, but it is an honest one.
24) How many people are on your contact list of your cell? Over 80 or so. I tried counting, and stopped when I found 19 starting with A.
25) Have you ever asked for a pony? No.
26) Plans for tomorrow? Not sure yet.
27) Can you juggle? No.
28) Missing someone now? Very many people.
29) When was the last time you told someone I Love You? 15 minutes ago.
30) And truly meant it? Totally.
31) How often do you drink? Only as often as I can stand it - usually about once a week/two weeks.
32) How are you feeling today? Better than yesterday - still have a scratchy throat.
33) What do you say too much? "I know".
34) Have you ever been suspended or expelled from school? Nopes, I was such a good girl (Of course, my brother hated it - he was always told by relatives to be more like me - You can imagine what that did).
35) What are you looking forward to? Summer!
36) Have you ever crawled through a window? No.
37) Have you ever eaten dog food? No.
38) Can you handle the truth? Yes.
39) Do you like green eggs and ham? I haven't tried and don't even plan to.
40) Any cool scars? No.

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Meme

Spring Photo Blogging

2006-04-04T22:47:00.000-04:00

Flowers outside my window:

It's amazing what a few warm days can do! I spent the weekend at home with windows open while the warm spring breeze brought in the fragrance from the flowers. Perfect!

P.S. This post is partially an attempt to relive the weekend and deny the fact it is going to snow tomorrow :(

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spring

Divine Conversations

2006-03-30T22:11:00.000-05:00

Dear God,

Here is a big thank you from me, my hubby, and all of my friends for the lovely 70 degree weather that you are bestowing on us New Englanders in March. We may be acting a bit foolish by taking this as a blessing and not really a warning about Global Warming, but it is so hard not to (especially after the lunch today on the picnic tables outside our cafetaria). We promise to be good to the earth and in return if you could just keep sending a few of these nice days every now and then, that would be lovely :)

Long day

2006-03-29T17:51:00.000-05:00

I had one of the longest meetings ever today. It wasn't really long in time. It was long & heavy in content. Of course what made it longer was the fact that 5 minutes into the meeting, I dropped my Diet Coke on the floor, making a great mess. It didn't help that the room was packed with over 100 people and we had an external presenter talking 5 feet away from me. There was no way for me to run out and get paper towels. People sitting around me were kind enough to offer their napkins (in the middle of the pizza they were having) and I survived with that.

Rest 55 minutes of the meeting, I just sat through telling myself how clumsy I was. The irony of it was when I was dispensing the coke from the soda machine, I was tempted to not put the lid on the plastic glass (just to save a little plastic from corrupting the environment). Then I reconsidered and decided that knowing how clumsy I was, the lid might be good to have. Alas, it wasn't enough

Have you had days like these?

Blame it on the stars

2006-03-26T23:03:00.000-05:00

I just found out that the entire period of introspection I recently came out of, was not my fault and was in fact beyond my control!
Supposedly Mercury was in retrograde for Pisces due to which "the mind turns naturally inwards and people tend to analyze more their own thoughts." I don't really believe in Astrology, but now I may have to think again :)

P.S. Observation from last two postings: Spellcheck on Blogger.com does not recognize the words blog or blogger as valid English words.

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MadeMeSmile

Thank you for the music...

2006-03-26T10:42:00.000-05:00

What better way to ward off melancholy than to count your blessings and give thanks for all the good things in your life. I was inspired by J (I can't for the life of me remember how I got to her blog, but I'm glad I did). I really enjoyed her blog and would encourage you to look at it sometime. Like her, I am going to list down the big things which matter the most in my life and will attempt to continue this, with the smaller things that I am grateful for, on a weekly basis (which will hopefully be a good way to keep life in perspective and keep me from taking this wonderful life for granted).

1. I'm very thankful for my husband. He is a sensible, thoughtful, loving and handsome man. He loves me like crazy and makes me feel great about myself. He is so much more than I deserve! He loves and respects his parents like I have never seen any person do and has made them really proud. He is the youngest sibling with two elder sisters who absolutely dote on him and he loves them back many times more. We are yet to have kids, but every time I see him with his niece and nephews, I smile and just know that he will be a wonderful father too :)

2. I am thankful for my in-laws who are very kind and loving people. My father and mother-in-law absolutely adore me. From the very day they met me, they accepted me wholeheartedly in their hearts and lives. When I was having trouble finishing my thesis, they came over to help me get away from the nitty-gritty everyday chores (MIL took over cooking and FIL took care of laundry) and concentrate on writing. Does it get any better than this? My sisters-in-law and their families are also wonderful people that I am very grateful for. They are not the usual nosy and interfering sorts, but very caring and understanding. For them, the fact that my husband loves me is reason enough for them to love me and hold me in the highest regard! I love my husband's niece and nephews who bring tons of joy in our lives.

3. I am thankful for my Mom and Dad and my brother. My parents gave me a wonderful childhood, great set of values and a good education. I read this somewhere a long time ago "The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." I am lucky to have parents who loved each other and their kids very much. I am also very thankful that I got married before my dad fell ill and passed away. It would have been a heartache for life if it wouldn't have been my dad who gave me away.

4. I am thankful for my friends. I have been blessed with good friends all my life. I am the kind of person who just needs friends to survive, and by God's grace, I have never found myself without a friend whenever I have needed one.

5. I am thankful for my job and the intellectual challenges and the financial stability it brings. I am constantly aware of how lucky I am to work in the place that I do. Getting this job was a dream come true and I am very grateful for that.

And lastly, thanks to all of you for listening!!!

Filed in:

Blessings

Introspection

2006-03-24T12:47:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to say that I am going through a period of confused feelings, doing a lot of introspection and in general, I am too emotionally exhausted to write anything. Even writing this took more courage than I thought!

But my dear readers and fellow bloggers, I am very much here and have been still reading your blogs. I would like to say that your posts are among the few things keeping me in good spirits. Thanks!

Finally!!

2006-03-20T19:45:00.000-05:00

Two days after my Reasons to celebrate post, I got another great reason to celebrate, one that I just have to share with you. I graduated!!!! (after a long long thesis writing period). Now, this was no Ph.D. thesis (I'll leave that to hubby - Good luck honey! ), I was only trying to complete my Master's thesis. But boy, was it hard!

This was how it went:
Nearly two years ago, when I was almost (or so I thought!) done with my thesis, I got this job offer which I just couldn't refuse. It was my dream company and I was so close to graduation that I couldn't think of not taking up the job and regret afterwards. And so I accepted the offer after convincing my advisor that I will work very very hard - evenings and weekends - and make sure I finish in a couple of months. He warned me that it will be hard and it is very easy to lose motivation when you start working. Over the next few months, I saw his words coming true. After spending most weekends and some evenings at school, and still seeing no end to the research work (let alone thesis writing), my visits to school became less and less frequent. At work, few people discouraged me by saying - it's not going to happen, we have seen this so many times.

Well, to cut a long story short...I proved them all wrong and did it :). I defended my thesis in November last year and got my degree this Friday. The commencement ceremony will be in May. I am happy :)

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All about me

2006-03-16T13:13:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged - by the lovely Yankee girl Bre:). Well, to be honest, I was tagged quite some time ago. Sorry Bre...I had no clue these things were so hard. Here's my best shot:

Seven Things To Do Before I Die:
1. Roadtrip/Eurorail trip in Europe,
2. Learn to play the piano
3. Own a house (preferably with a water view!!) and decorate it to my heart's content
4. Have a baby
5. Take up painting
6. Get an MBA
7. Learn to ski

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Untangle tangled wires (Ughh)
2. Watch a movie without popcorn
3. Drive behind really slow cars
4. Listen to even barely shrieking noises (e.g. a fork moved on an empty plate)
5. Watch scary movies (actually, this one I am slowly working on...saw "The Ring" a couple of weeks ago)
6. See parents hit their kids
7. See someone kill an insect

Seven Things That Attract Me to Blogging:
1. A place to store my thoughts
2. Meet interesting people
3. Share my dreams
4. Learn different perspectives
5. A place to vent!
6. Read funny stories
7. Being constantly reassured that there are plenty of crazy people like me out there :)

Seven Things I Say Most Often:
1. Smart
2. I know
3. Awe-some
4. That's interesting
5. Really!
6. Maybe
7. Exactly

Seven Books I Love:
1. The Little Prince
2. The Notebook
3. Kane and Abel
4. All the Harry Potter books
5. The Prophet
6. Pride and Prejudice
7. Heidi (As a kid, I must have read this book a million times)

Seven Movies/DVDs That I Watch Over and Over Again:
1. Forrest Gump - "Life is a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." & "Stupid is as stupid does."
2. Life is beautiful - The most touching movie ever
3. Scent of a woman - Al Pacino is brilliant
4. Pretty Woman - My all time favorite Julia Roberts movie
5. The Sound of Music - I remember the summer when I was 14 or 15, I watched this movie atleast a dozen times. It's been long since I saw it, but I can watch it again anytime :)
6. Bicentennial Man - One of the first few movies Hubby and I saw together - when we had just started dating
7. Stepmom - Some scenes in this movie bring me to tears every time I see it ("Never say never")

Seven People I Want To Join In
I think this meme has been going on for a while now; I'll let it rest now!

Reasons to celebrate

2006-03-14T13:01:00.000-05:00

March 14: Pi Day
March 15: Holi (Festival of colours celebrated in India) - See this slideshow if you are curious
March 16: :)
March 17: St Patrick's Day

Filed in:

DailyLife

ER

2006-03-12T19:14:00.000-05:00

ER was one of the shows I liked when I used to watch TV ( I barely do now), perhaps that has a correlation with how many times I end up in the ER. But it's not really any fun when you are there.

Yesterday morning, after I blogged, I gave a good look on my ankle and concluded that the swelling had surely reduced from last night (I couldn't bear to look at it last night). Thus, I thought, I must try to walk.... Oh, not really... the minute I put the slightest weight on my foot, it hurt real bad. Since hubby and I were out of ideas, we called the blue cross nurse hotline and she highly recommended going to the ER...and so we did.

So, the good news is - no broken bones, which was clear since the pain wasn't horrible, unless I tried to walk. The bad news - second degree sprain in ankle (ok, I had no clue there were degrees of sprained ankles). What that means is there has been some tearing of ligament, which has caused some internal bleeding (that explains the blueness of my foot) and further that means I have to give it complete rest for 3-4 days, wear an air cast for about 3 weeks, use crutches to walk and gradually start putting weight on my foot after a couple of days.

Although I am really thankful that it's nothing major, I can't help but whine that the timing of this thing absolutely sucks. Hubby dear has his Ph.D. qualifier in less than 3 weeks and the last thing I'd like for him to worry about is a sick wife, food, dirty dishes, and eventually laundary. He is being an absolute sweetheart and is not letting me worry about anything. I really really hope my foot heals soon. Sitting on the bed/couch for extended periods of time is not as much fun as it might sound, even though I am getting to read to my heart's content (I'm almost 40% through "The Time Traveler's wife" which I essentially started yesterday).

I am hoping to work from home the next couple of days, so that should take my mind off my foot and give it time to heal as well (bless my company where it is not such a big deal to do that if the circumstances require so)

That's it for now...Will keep you guys posted.

Filed in:

DailyLife

Highlights

2006-03-11T09:04:00.000-05:00

First of all, I owe all you readers an apology for vanishing out of sight and not writing anything at all...except maybe a few comments on your blogs.

Well, I have been around for the most part, but just have been a little busy. But I really missed blogging and now I'm back and hopefully I will be able to stick to writing atleast a couple times a week.

Here's what I have been upto while I wasn't blogging:
- Started going to the gym fairly regularly (3-5 times a week)
- Had some fun with cooking Saag paneer and some other new dishes I haven't cooked before
- Moved offices at work
- Spent the last weekend in NYC having a blast with 6 other girls. It was sort of a bachelorette weekend for two of my friends who are getting married (not with each other) in May, or as one of my Irish friends would put it - it was a "hen party". We had an absolutely fantastic time there - ate great food (ranging from gujarati indian food, spanish food to good ole american food at a NY diner), went shopping on saturday moring, went dancing on saturday night, saw "Mamma Mia" on Sunday afternoon. I know this trip deserved an entire entry of it own, but since I didn't get to blog about it right after, this will have to do for now. This trip had quite a few firsts for me - first time I had Sangria (ooh- amazing!), first time I had Champagne (not bad), first time dancing in club (super fun), and first broadway show (excellent).
Thanks girls for this memorable weekend!!!
- Last and not the least, tripped on the stairs outside my building last night and sprained my ankle (I am guessing it is just a sprain since the pain is not unbearable). Getting princess treatment by dear hubby and getting food, water, everything I need, in my hands :). Right now, I am sitting on the bed with a swollen ankle, and writing this entry! I guess I needed to slow down a little to return to blogging. :)

Filed in:

DailyLife

Daddy's girl

2006-02-24T17:00:00.000-05:00

Who knows
when or
where
it will strike.
I am afraid
of Life.
Death is okay;
it will strike
only once.
- Gulzar "Death"

February 24, 2006
Today would have been Mom and Dad's 28th wedding anniversary.

Called Mom this morning and this was how it went:
Mom: I was thinking you'd call.
Me: Yeah, I thought you might be expecting my call.

That's all she or I could say. It's been 15 months since he passed away, but it doesn't seem to hurt any less. I miss you Papa.

This morning I remembered this incident from when I was about 10 or so. It was around the time my grandfather passed away and we had lots of relatives at our house, many of whom I had never met before. One of grandpa's cousins came to me and asked me "Whose daughter are you?" (My dad was one of 7 siblings and he meant to ask whose child was I). Instinctively, I said "Daddy's!!" (assuming he was asking me if I was Daddy's girl or Mommy's girl)

Daddy, I will always be your little girl.

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Enlightening!

2006-02-22T20:51:00.000-05:00

At work during lunchtime, I was part of this enlightening conversation:

Friend1 (to Friend2): So, was your Dad a Chicksexer?

Thoughts racing through my mind (probably also through the minds of few others on the table): Did I just hear what I think I heard??? What on earth does that mean? (I really hope not what it seems to mean)

Apparently Friend2 was among the few on the table who knew what it meant and thus did not take offense.

Dictionary.com does not seem to know what it means; Wikipedia has a slightly better term for it.

Now, this is one word I know I will never forget all my life!!

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Southwestern food that makes me smile

2006-02-21T20:41:00.000-05:00

Read this the other day when I dragged hubby dear for dinner at one of my favorite mexican places (Moe's):

"A burrito is like life, a well-hidden mess"

While I was searching for a link to Moe's to put on this post, I discovered that they are a pretty sizeable chain with locations all over the country. So, I am curious if any of you have been to Moe's (other than the one in Shrewsbury, MA). Do they greet you in other locations as well with that loud and cheerful "WELCOME TO MOE's" when you enter?
Follow up question - Does that make you all excited and happy to be there...well, OK ...I guess it's probably just me :)

Filed in:

MadeMeSmile

A different kind of a lounge

2006-02-17T18:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday on NPR, I caught this story regarding the opening of a smokers' lounge in Chicago. Here are two (1, 2) advertisements promoting this "tobacco lounge". The whole concept of creating a place to promote a vice (IMO) like smoking makes me very uneasy.

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What do you think?

2006-02-15T22:44:00.000-05:00

I know some of you have probably known me for less than a month, but I am curious what do you think about me? What words would you choose to describe me? Pick a few on my Johari Window (first seen on The Clutter Museum)

My reading list

2006-02-11T10:50:00.000-05:00

Taking inspiration from Jeff's Dispatches and Trillwing over at The Clutter Museum, here is my own reading list:

Books I'm reading:
Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich - This one I am listing first because I am almost on the verge of finishing this (less than 40 pages to go) - It's been fairly interesting, gave a pretty good view of how hard it is to get by on minimal wage jobs.

The year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion - This is a memoir by Joan Didion talking about how she dealt with grief when her husband passed away. It's a lovely but sad book and tends to make me depressed every time I read it (also makes me miss my Dad, who passed away in the November of 2004 - I'll talk about him another time). I am about two-thirds of the way through the book; don't know when the next one-third is going to happen.

The Essential Rumi, Translations by Coleman Barks - This a book of beautiful poetry by Jelaluddin Rumi, translated from Urdu by Coleman Barks. The poems are deep and intense and very beautifully written. I pick up this book every now and then, read a few random poems, and feel nice - I don't anticipate myself reading the book from front to end, as I am sure I will not appreciate the poetry much that way. I have a long way to go with this one :)

The Design of Everyday Things, Donald A. Norman - I bought this book a few weeks after I took a 3-day training course on User-Centered Design. When they mentioned the book in class, it sounded interesting. I got started with the book more than 6 months ago, it was really interesting, funny and I was enjoying it and then somewhere I lost interest. But I know for sure that I am going back to this book sometime, it was really fun reading about the psychology of everyday things.

I will not even begin to list the books that I want to read, there are far too many and I know that by the end of the list, I will start wondering when am I ever going to find the time to read all of these books! So, I guess I will take up each book as its time comes :)

Engrish

2006-02-02T17:37:00.000-05:00

Just came across this funny site: Engrish.com which they describe as: "Engrish can be simply defined as the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design."

Here are some of my favorites:
Men
IloveNY
Pan
Milk!
Signs

Relativity

2006-01-31T18:46:00.000-05:00

On my way back from work, I just saw an old lady with only one leg trying to climb uphill with the help of her crutches. And did I mention it was snowing?

The first thought I had was "Girl, you thought your life was a struggle" Some of my recent medical troubles (much less in magnitude for sure), have been making each day quite a bit of challenge...but this really helped put things in perspective.

No time to stand and stare

2006-01-30T22:39:00.000-05:00

This post by Anil reminded me that indeed our lives have become so busy that we rarley stop and admire all the beautiful things around our life. And equally rarely we express our gratitude for the presence of people who care for us.

This post also reminded me of another beautiful poem I was very fond of as a teenager:Daffodils. This is really a brilliant and extremely vivid poem. I simply love it!!

Lazy sunday afternoon

2006-01-29T16:20:00.000-05:00

I have been feeling pretty lazy today and have been trying to accomplish tidbits of stuff around the house before the week starts and I will have no energy to deal with these things. List of accomplishments so far:

Cleaned our dining table which was buried under a pile of mail (with barely enough room for me and hubby to eat)
Sorted the pile of mail into "Recycle", "To shred", "To file" and "To attend to ASAP" piles :)
Shredded the "To shred" pile
Spoke to my mom and few friends that I had been meaning to for a few weeks

Still to do:

Drop off the recycle mail pile into the recycle container behind the building
Make dinner
Go to the gym (I have a feeling this is going to be carried over to tomorrow, but I will do my best not to - Writing it down here is a part of the strategy to make sure I don't skip this)

P.S.: Thanks for commenting JustRun. Makes me feel I'm simply not talking to myself :)

Hello World!!

2006-01-28T23:34:00.000-05:00

After weeks of mostly lurking and sometimes commenting on other blogs, I have been insipred to create my own blog. Well, come to think of it, that is not entirely accurate. I had been thinking of creating a blog for about 3-4 months now and I was simply not getting a chance to sit down and do it. Finally, on New Year's, I made a resolution to create a blog. I had actually told myself that I will do it on Jan 1st itself, but as long as I am getting it done in January, I am pretty happy.

What can you expect to find here:
Most often, simply my feelings on what goes on in my life.
Also, I hope to be able to use this as a place for sharing all the things I read and and my thoughts on those (the same thoughts that pop up in my head in the middle of the night and I don't know what to do with them :))
I may even use this as a place to share some GTD tips ( I took the GTD seminar fairly recently and am in the process of implementing it in my life). Let's see how that goes...