Anand's Comment on the Olympic post warranted a separate blog entry by itself. So, I've posted his comment as an article.

Anand says:

Let us take swimming for instance. You need great swimming pools, researchers who understand fluid dynamics, companies that excel in fluid dynamics and continuously push their R&D to develop better swim suits, private companies that are willing to fund swimmers during their training and great universities that are willing to hire such swimmers into their program and nurture them so when they are in their mid 20s - they have a post swimming career in place.This is a heady concoction - which is available may be in the G7 countries of the world. Of course, I was surprised to see Coventry is Zimbabwean [of course she spent her last 6 years in Auburn.Cavic is Serbian only for olympics. He is a thoroughbred Californian. The other great swimmers from the non G7 countries seem to have gone to Ann-Arbor or Cal.Basically at this level of competition where the difference between #1 and #10 is less than half a second - infrastructure is EVERYTHING. I can extend this argument to Track and Field as well. San Jose Mercury News carried a story about why Jamaicans rule in Track and Field - it went back nearly 40 years to SJSU. Their athletic program took nearly 30 years to start yielding results. Of course a lot of the research support I mention is now available to those athletes too, who also train a lot in the US.If anything, I am totally convinced that to be anywhere near the top in any of these competitions, you better have the entire infrastructure to support you. When would India grow enough to create such support? Not anytime soon I think. If someone spent $200m to build a fantastic T&F center or a swim center - imagine the ruckus it would create right now. Only when the basic needs of the common man are met, can and will India think of esoteric acts such as excelling in sports come into being.Yes, there are random acts of individual brilliance that bring medals to much smaller countries - which will happen in India too. But as a system that generates medal winning athletes olympics after olympics - I would be very surprised if I saw it happen in our lifetime.

Anand further pointed us to an article written by Amit Verma

http://indiauncut.com/iublog/article/india-doesnt-need-olympic-pride/

The silence of the Moon

It was a long day. There were a number of interesting events today, but I'm here to report none of that. I sat in the car, in silence. I knew the lack of conversation was all my daughter needed to fall asleep. She had had a tiring day too, and had been extra active for the past 6 hours. I glanced across at my husband holding the steering wheel, and then looked out the window. It was either the full moon, or close to the full moon.

I felt strange, sitting there watching the trees go by, the cars whiz past. The clouds moved - dark gray clouds, but it wasn't supposed to rain. How much one relies on the weather forecast, I thought idly. It was beautiful to watch the moon peer in and out of the gray clouds. Just as I thought some clouds were moving fast enough to eclipse the whole moon, the moon would slip out again. I watched the moon looking for a smile when it emerged. But all I saw was the bright moon with the same dark spots. I wondered about how we overload our thoughts and yearn for other things to change. Just because I wanted to find a smile is not going to change the moon's contours to be a smile. The moon is the moon - reflecting sunlight, moving around the earth and awarding a peaceful moment to anyone willing the take the time to notice it.

I just sat and watched the moon slip in and out of the clouds the whole way home. I am trying to find the word for my feeling - but then I realise I cannot describe it. I couldn't remember the last time I spent time just looking at the moon. Is peaceful the word? I am not sure, but it felt good. I watched as my husband stopped at the traffic signal - my daughter had slept.

I loved the for 7.2 miles in the silence of the moon.

A Leap Yearly Affair

It happens every leap year without fail. There is a sinking feeling, a feeling of great shame. As the second most populous nation in the world marches into the Olympic arena along with every other countries (some hitherto unheard of), the Indian in me cowers. I know of the feeble attempt we will manage, and feel terribly sorry to see the tiny contingent who has made it to the Games.

What do we lack?

Political will for sure. The making of Sports as an industry for another. Sports have to be made enticing enough to want to make people pursue them as a career. The prime-time in the life of an athlete is a short span, and if the industry surrounding this spurt does not sustain such talented individuals, few people would make the choice. There have to be careers for those who excel - as trainers, as team co-ordinators, as people who can be given the responsility to contributing to decisions in ways that touch not just their lives, but those of others who have the honor of representing the country. Cricket has achieved that, and I think it should be the same for other arenas too.

My husband and I were chatting about this, and one viable option would be to have a roadmap to win 5 medals in the next Olympics, and then make a career path for aspiring athletes. Make the infrastructure ready and available, hone skills and inspire people to succeed.

It is not difficult to achieve once the commitment is made, just difficult to overcome the reluctance to commit.

Aah ... Camping

We had been camping last week-end - a bunch of moms from Kee's class thought of it, and all-in-all eight families went camping. IT was only for a night, but it was enough to have me reeling for days. I am just recovering!

The camp grounds were far enough from civilization but close enough to the wilderness for us to get a sense of rugged adventure. From the top, we could actually see the city lights glittering at night, and I must say it made a melancholy sight to be sitting there in the tent peering out at the city lights down below. The tent itself is a masterpiece - a small package, that, when erected properly rooms a family of three or four with ease and relative comfort. We had the foresight of 'selecting' our tent site on a slope that had a 11.3 degree inclination and I must say we enjoyed the night slipping down the grade and getting back up grumpily and hauling ourselves back up again - sleeping bag, pillow, torch, night light, cell-phone, Kee and all. And try all of this on a full stomach and aching limbs, and I've sketched out comfort for you. Oh yeah - it was great fun - I spent half the night giggling as we picked ourselves up and 'moved north'.

I see some eyebrows raised when they read 'full stomach!' - you see, we were a bunch of Indian families. While we may have forgotten some things like nightlamps and flash lights, do you think we forgot food? We had food fit for a king and his army - ordered from a fancy restaurant and brought to the summit with heating trays and candles. A complete Indian meal with Shrikand for dessert. If we couldn't do justice to it, it was because we had too much tea, cookies and brownies for snacks! And of course, we had a HEARTY breakfast the next day - samosas with bread, butter croissants - all in the name of feeding our kids.

Speaking of the kids, they had a blast - running around, hiking (three year old kids actually did 1.5 mile round trip hikes, can you believe it?), 'rock climbing' and of course falling and getting hurt. Our campsite was on a gradient as previously mentioned, and every second minute a child was toppling over. I found it quite amusing to note the varying reactions to a fall. Girls generally seemed to summon folks from neighbouring camps with first -aid kits for all their din, while most boys brushed themselves off and just toppled over again with no second thoughts! There was a tap at the site, and every once in a while a harried parent would be seen shaking their heads in disbelief, wringing their hands and pulling an unwilling child from the tap.

The highlight of the trip were the racoons - they are food lovers, and come scanvenging for food near campsites. They don't have fear of any kind towards humans, and quite a few times the whole populace was grimacing with wild gestures, only to see the racoon get more and more convinced that this was the place for a wholesome meal! (I actually have a pic of everybody shooing the racoons, and it really looks comical )

Eight kids and their families on a hillside with a raccoon to boot - that's what I call a fun vacation!

The Cine's got them all!

All things Strange and Wonderful

All things Wise and Foolish

All things Bright and Beautiful

The Cine's got them all!

I went to a cinema theatre last week. Those who know me know that it is an event worth blogging about. Somehow, the cinema theatre has never appealed to me. I have always left the theatre with a headache (Dolby/fantastic sound systems, too many speakers) and blurry eyes with the humongous images that always seem too close for my liking! The Indian theatres had the added disadvantage of letting a tiny bit of urine smell 'waft' in through the opened doors after intervals. All in all, never enjoyed the theatre as much as curling up at home and watching the scenes I like and skipping the ones I don't. I have the dubious reputation of watching whole 3 hour feature films in less than 15 minutes ( I hate violent scenes, I don't like fights, I don't care too much for most of the songs, and would rather fast forward an unnecessarily maudlin scene - That leaves the titles, which I don't watch anyway!)

Anyway, we made an event out of the movie outing, and made sure my daughter did not take a nap in the afternoon, so she would fall asleep soon, and set out after an early dinner. As we were walking towards the theatre explaining the many virtues of popcorn to my daughter so she gets excited about the experience, what should happen, but she tripped and fell. Luckily, she hardly got hurt.

My daughter is a sweet-heart but a fall just jolts her! She cried and exercised her vocal chords considerably. I went and asked the theatre manager (TM) for ice and a band-aid. Guess what?

She donned one of those falsely sweet tones - "You know...I really would like to give you one, but, yeah, we aren't allowed to do that"

Me aghast: Why? It's just some ice and band-aid!

TM: Yeah, I know, but we aren't allowed to do that.

Me: May I know why?

TM: Yeah....for the risk of being sued

Me: *Laughing inwardly* Believe me, I have neither the time nor the inclination to sue over some band-aid and few blocks of ice!

TM: Yeah - I know, but I really can't

Me: Yeah...okay (What?! "Yeah" does get to you after a while!)

Anyway! I spent the first half an hour of the movie trying to soothe her, and put her to sleep. Well - no points for guessing what happened next. Turns out, only the first half hour of the movie was supposed to be watch-able by even less stringent standards than my watchability guidelines outlined above. So, I came home with a child who had body pain because of the fall, a bad head-ache and blurry eyes to boot. Not to mention a hoarse throat with the rather vehement criticism on the way back!

Sigh - I remember why I don't like theatres!

In memory of Raga

In every child's life, there are few teachers who make a true, lasting impression. In my life, the person who tops the list is Raga (Mr.G.Raghavan) Raga was one of the few teachers who could make children love a relatively tough subject like Mathematics! Weekly once, 1 half of one class would be dedicated to story-telling. He would take a story, and elongate it over weeks, while having children wait eagerly in pin-drop silence for the next point in the story. He had mastered what took ages for television to figure out. He would stop the story at a critical juncture, and have the class waiting for the remaining part of the story the whole week! What better method to have a child wait for Maths classes? He had such compelling story-telling abilities that entire generations of students were spell-bound with his stories.

It takes special ability to teach children, and most of all make every child feel important and valued. He was gentle, kind and no matter how good or bad you were at the subject, you never felt unwanted in his class. That is what separates a good teacher from a stellar one. At a boarding school, a teacher metamorphs into a surrogate parent, and as housemaster and Prep School head, he was the father figure to hundreds of children as they struggled to settle in to boarding school for the first time.

Raghavan uncle and my father started life at Lawrence School, Lovedale as bachelors sharing a single bedroom apartment. Over the span of three decades, life moved on, they had children, and we all grew up together. Monsoon vacations in the pouring rain, playing board games and listening to the whooshing sound of the rain, and of course my father and him rattling on in the back-ground. Vacations, school years, leaving with a glistening teardrop as they dropped children off in college, marrying them off, and finally both of them retired as grand-parents from the school.

I visited him a few months ago. The image was shocking. I had never known Raga to fall ill - 'Sunny' is the word that best describes him. He had survived one bout of cancer, and he looked pale and thin. He started talking, and I could hear the same old Raghavan uncle again. As he carried my toddler daughter, he said - "My god! This is Kutti Saumya, Mr Balasubramanian - I feel like I am in my thirties again carrying her as a toddler."

I still remember one incident - I was all of seven years old. I had come to write the Entrance exam for Lawrence. There was a column for my father's name, and I had confidently filled out - "Mr.K.Balasubramanian (Late)".

Mr. Raghavan was supervising the test. He called me aside, and asked me why I had written "(Late)" near my father's name. I explained to him that everytime one wrote their father's name, one must write '(Late)' (Both my maternal and paternal grand-fathers were no more then, and everytime I saw my parents write their father's name, they had always added '(Late)'!) He then laughed heartily, and explained that you append '(Late)' to a person's name only when they are no more. My father and he had their laughs about this incident for years. Decades later, I still laugh everytime I recollect this incident.

Yesterday, Mr.G.Raghavan lost a battle to cancer. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I append "(Late)" to Mr.G. Raghavan's name. This time, I am doing it correctly, just as he lovingly explained to me all those years ago - but it doesn't feel right. He lives on in the hearts of thousands of children, and will never really die.

Ideal workspot

What are your expectations of an ideal work-spot/ professional environment?
Top criteria for me would include:
Challenging work (Just the right amount too!)
Ownership
Good Team
Good Manager
Flexibility
Proximity to home (The last two for work/life balance)

Business Ventures

When I was growing up, my father kept on harping on three business ventures:

1) Seven Star Saree Center

2) Anand cycle mart

3) Bama tuition center

Seven Star Saree Center:This venture originated in the endless love of Indian women for clothes. His plan was to have sarees from 7 major brands in the store (Garden Vareli, Calico .... I forget the remaining brands) He spent endless hours designing the showroom (the showroom design and his ideal house design somehow merged in the designs, and I am sure had it put to paper would have looked like a five star hotel that doubled up for a shop or a house!)

State of project: Somehow the sizzle for this died down, but not without running its course of a decade worth of "planning".

Anand cycle mart:This venture was planned because of the high expectations set by my brother with respect to his academic ambitions as a boy. He drew far greater pleasure in tinkering with his cycle than in sitting with a textbook! Actually, my brother is a gadget-junkie, and used to fiddle around with anything new. I still tease him that he must have started concentrating on the academic front only when he realised that his income as a cycle mechanic is not going to pay for all his fancy gadgets!

State of project: Thankfully, this business venture plan was put to rest in a few years time, when my brother became a chartered accountant.

Bama Tuition Center:

(Creative title origin: first 2 letters from Mother and father's first name)

State of project: I regret to inform you that this venture even now sporadically raises its head in our home, but by and large the frequency has come down from everyday to every month or so.

I have my share of business ventures too!I wanted to start a potato supply business when I worked at Infosys. The seeds of thought were planted in the fact that almost evey dish at the Infy canteen had a generous serving of potatoes! Masala dosa, aloo poori, potato bonda - you name it, and there would be some portion of it containing potatoes!

State of project: Abandoned when I moved away from the Infy Bangalore campus

Tea Stall at BART:This, I know, is a sure shot! You see, 80% of BART commuters in the Fremont line are desis. Please tell me who would hesitate to buy a few bondas/bajjis in the way home after a tiring day and journey!

State of Project: Current, meaning discussions still rampant

I am sure everyone has some crazy escape mechanism to think of when evaluating one's own life. Let's hear all your fantasies.

A new pair of Jeans

To the rest who did not know! I am wearing a new pair of jeans.

Though new clothes don't exactly require an occasion anymore, I am still a little girl when it comes to wearing new clothes. I love them. When we were growing up, new clothes were worn only on festivals, birthdays etc. I remember my birthday falling close to Diwali, and both occasions being satisfied with one set of clothes. To this date, I exhibit a certain reluctance to release new clothes without an occasion.

Regardless, I wore a new pair of jeans without any occasion, and as I was running towards the station, some friendly stranger called me, and told me I looked really good in my jeans. "Thanks!" I beamed, before realising how on earth she knew. For one thing, there is little way of telling whether a pair of jeans are new, they all look the same. Could it be the glow on my face?! I had run a little ahead before it struck me - I must have forgotten to remove one of those infernal tags! I had removed three of them, but had forgotten the fourth.

So, there it is for the rest of the world who did not know - I wore a new pair of jeans today! Glad to have got that of my chest :)

I pat your back, you pat my back

Disclaimer:This post is not aimed at any set of individuals or corporations. It is months of diligent observation culminating in this highly unscientific post that many can identify with, and yet nobody can quote.

Primates have been known to use this technique. This technique has undergone Darwinism, and is perfected by few in work environments and offices across the world. I'm fuzzy on the specifics, but most scientific findings are fuzzy on some level, and just define fuzzy better, so here is my theory.

People with a high talk to work ratio indulge in this technique for survival. In general "talk to work" ratio is also related to "talk to volume" ratio. The louder you are and the more indignant you sound, the more convincing you sound. In a cubicle farm, a marginal achiever with a high talk to work ratio, and a voice that has a high bass quotient can be viewed in different ways. For people with the MBWA (Management by Walking Around) syndrome, it is a sure strategy to pull attention towards oneself.

People who fit into this elite bucket, congregate in groups every once in a while to pat each others backs. This associative behaviour is required for a sense of belonging, and a sense of fortification on one's stand and technique verification. While in the gathering, one also has the opportunity to gather irrelevant points of problem areas in other teams. This hitherto irrelevant information can then be wielded to one's own advantage in another gathering.

Such behaviour finds itself being rewarded because the higher echelons of said organization themselves would have indulged in this to get ahead of the breed. A candid self appraisal should let one know whether any of the techniques need to be perfected if one wishes to surge ahead.

Once ahead, one would think the club member would shift allegiance to the next higher level group, but this is a technique that needs constant practice. So much like a pregnant waistline, the sphere of influence expands. In order to do this, one must spend time in multiple circles patting each other's backs, talking more, talking louder and achieving less. This only means the Talk to work ratio just got higher, while still maintaining a knowledgeable aura.

Good leaders are charismatic speakers - I rest my case.

Run Away!

"Amma - why isn't appa home yet" asked my daughter while we were reading her bedtime story last night. I answered her saying her father was held up at work. When she persisted, I explained that her father had a bug, and that was why he was late.

"Then he should run away right? Ms Chato said if you see a bug, you must run away! Is it a snake or a small bug?" (Ms Chato is her teacher)

I did not explain that running away from a bug in a software engineering department is not going to bring you any accolades in your career.

I laughed, and enjoyed the sweet fragrance of innocence that the scent of childhood bears.

Perspective

I had the strong urge to not cry - I could feel the pressure of the welled up tears against the blood vessels surrounding my eyes. There was a lump in my throat that had no business being there. I suddenly wished for the familiar confines of my bedroom where I could let my tears flow on unbridled by the demands of maintaining a public facade. My mind raced and stood still at the same time. I thanked God, my stars or destiny (whatever name you could call it) for the life that I am enjoying compared to those I had identified with in the mystical world of fiction in the last few days.

I was reading 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini. I could see it was difficult writing this book - the author uses two voices throughout the book - that of Mariam and Laila. Using two voices, and maintaining the tempo through out the book is a daunting task, but one well accomplished by Khaled. I felt like the luckiest woman alive for the life I am leading. For my loved ones, some of whom may be separated by more than a thousand miles, but all connected through the feeling of unity, of sharing some things in the past/present together.

"You like big words Laila, don't you? Let me give you one - Perspective" says Rasheed in the book. That statement said it all. My little worries, minor irritants - both human and otherwise seem fine.

Olympic Torch

Morning:

Today I get to witness the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco! I am so excited seeing the crowds milling on the street with flags, and the crowded trains. There are loads of buses carrying police forces from nearby Richmond and Oakland areas. I feel slightly disturbed by the protests - to me, the Olympics is the human unifying spirit, and should not be marred by anything political. I already feel slightly dumb at not having brought my camera - but, my friend has, and I am sure we can take some pictures. I feel this is the closest I have ever gotten to anything "Olympic", and I am filled with a strange sense of excitement.

Hope the event passes smoothly!

Afternoon:
I went out with my friends - I was so excited. The streets were milling with people - protests in different hues and flavours! Some people got up in the morning, and put on their protest hats, and began randomly protesting. I think they just forgot that the protest was against the Olympic torch. A majority of the protests could be classified against China, pro-Tibet, pro-Human rights etc. But there were some protests to 'End the war in Iraq', 'Darfur' and 'Free Burma'! Free Burma from whom?! This protest took the cake though : a bunch of stark naked guys turned up, apparently calling for legalizing nudity in an Olympic Torch relay ceremony!

Of course, by the time I post this, you all would have known that San Francisco city officials changed the route, and actually had the torch bused to another route, and had the relay pass the torch every fblock or so. The closing ceremony was cancelled citing the protests, and the whole episode was all-in-all a dampener!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/09/MNDS102IIM.DTL&tsp=1
The olympic torch hid behind the police, and was safely moved by bus from one point to another, and only made it out in the open to streets heavily armed with police as spectators, and did not even mark the event with a closing ceremony - this for the only run in the North American continent.

Evening:
Hard to describe my feelings since I did not get to see the torch - a once in a lifetime experience for sure, and was snatched away from the thousands of people waiting patiently for the torch to appear!

Another week-end went by:

Another week-end went by:
I felt strangely tranquil this week-end, an inner peace if you could call it that.
It could be any or a combination of all these things that contributed to that particular feeling:
1) I was excited because of the new dish I was preparing - I tried making vegetarian lasagna. Everytime I try something new, I behave like a child looking forward to cutting their birthday cake - eager and enthusiastic.

2) It may be because the cleaners came and rummaged through the house, and left it looking squeaky clean! The immense satisfaction I feel looking at a clean house, when I haven't passed out doing the cleaning, cannot be compared to any material pleasure in the world. I am not the only one - my daughter was so thrilled with the "cleaner uncle" around - a trip to Disneyland could not have made her happier.

3) I had a shelf which I was thinking of disposing, thanks to the closet overhaul the dear husband did with the closet organizer - the cleaners took it to their apartment to use. Boy, did that feel good?!

4) The trees in my backyard have now started sprouting flowers, and I even saw the first green apricots appear. Have I told you about this squirrel? He appears frequently in the epics of the cat and the squirrel enacted in our home at regular intervals. He is also overfed! The first time I moved into our home, I watched on idly as this little guy tottered on the fence, and ran up the fruit trees. Slowly, the bloodbath started. The greedy one, did not spare a single fruit. We were competing to lay our hands on fruit before he got to it. I am determined this time: that squirrel needs to go on a diet. I am taking all the apricots and freezing them this year! He can content himself with the plums in my backyard, not the apricots!

5) Spring meant that I could get up late on Sunday, and go to the park for a run, and play in the park in the middle of the day!

Aah....lethargy! How I miss you!

10 Things

Archana tagged me, I hemmed and hawed, because I did not want to answer the question. I was happy just letting life lilt along. But, I did tell her that I would answer her tag, so here I go.
Ten things I want to do in the next 10 years -- hmm. There is no priority here, just mentioned as I think of them.
1) I want to read more varied works - lots of books spanning different subject areas.

2) I want to learn Carnatic music. I may not have the best voice in the world, but I love it, and there is no harm in trying.

3) I want to learn swimming very well. It has been my dream since childhood, and I finally managed to fit myself into a swim-suit - though, the way I wear one is probably the most unsexy way any swimsuit can be worn. Regardless, I love swimming, and want to get better at it.

4) I want to be a person who is able to embrace myself for who I am. This has more to do with building a sense of overall achievement in all spheres of life. Sometimes, I tend to fall into the drag of a uni-dimensional lifestyle, and lose out on the big picture.

5) I want to undertake at least 1 academic course in the United States

6) I want to be able to spend more time in my daughter's activities - ideally, I would like to volunteer at her school for one afternoon every week. What better way to understand her world? This is a totally new ballgame for me, and I need to understand her world. Right now, this seems like a long shot, but I am hoping that I can eventually do that.

7) I definitely have to find a way to understand the economics of different things, and also how they tie into a cohesive whole. I know bits and pieces about the stock market, about interest rates, about forex reserves and exchange rates. I still don't understand the ripple effects that one produces on another.

8) I want to be a good parent - I want to be a friend, guide and disciplinarian all rolled into one. I find this an especially daunting task, since the world my daughter is growing up in, is very different from the world I grew up in. Point #6 maybe a sub-task of this one in that sense.

9) I want to excel in my profession.

10) I want to be able to do all of the above!

When I started out with 10 things, I found myself thinking really hard to come up with a list of 9 really! Anyhow, thanks Archana!

The Colourful House - By the daughter of the colour blind father

I like how furniture can set the tone of the home. I love the way you can transform a dull home to a vibrant place with the right colors and the right furniture. Furniture complements a house. Everytime I walk into Ikea, the interior designer in me springs to life, and my mind buzzes with possibilities.

Here is my pet peeve - the interior of my parents beautiful home never looks good in my eyes because of the ghastly furniture. Bookshelves littering the house, each one a different colour, dimension and size! Unnecessary tables, that once served their purpose.

I sound harsh, you may think, but what house boasts of a green dining table, with a pink stool near a maroon fridge? Which house boasts of 3 sky blue almirahs, sharing the wall with a yellow shelf (70 by 30) and a parrot green shelf (65 by 40)? Oh, and I did forget to mention the bright blue tiny almirah with a white archaic typewriter on it!

The furniture was not always like this - our house did have stately furniture at one time. The furniture grew old, as it is expected to after 30 years. The sheen was gone. One day my father called in a handyman and handed him our dining table, and asked him to relaminate it. "What colour sir?" asked the man innocently, and my father assured him that he left it to his fine
judgement, and any colour was okay with him. The handyman left with a sense of satisfaction - he liked green, but none of his customers seemed to have an eye for green table-tops. Secondly, the table wasn't going to live in HIS house - and that my friends is the story behind the green table-top!

One would think that this bad experience would have shaken his trust in humanity, and subsequent furniture transactions would be handled with more care. This is where you under-estimate my father. He may be a whiz-kid with stocks, never once making the same
error in reading the balance sheet, but when it comes to furniture, "Egregious" is the word I would choose.

He had our house painted, and while at it had another idea - why not paint the pale shelves? He asked the painter about the colours he had remaining. "From the painting of this house sir?", he asked, his face dripping with innocence. My father was taken in by this simple soul who was willing to give away paint that he had remaining from other jobs. He flushed, and told him to use any paint he may have remaining.

The painter and the aforesaid handy-man were thick pals no doubt, and the handy-man had probably thrown a drink on the house at the local pub that he had gotten rid of his green laminate. The painter not to be out-done used his bright pink paint on the stool, parrot green on one shelf, bright yellow on the other shelf, bright blue on the small almirah. Word is that the local drunkards had a party unheard of in the parallels of Uppilipalayam town Panchayat - it was all on the house, paid for by the painter.

This is how the house looked after the dining table and paint jobs:

The sky-blue colour cupboards have another story. Appalled at the uncanny choice of colours by the benign painter, my father decided to normalize the equations by painting the remaining almirahs the same colour (his favourite colour: sky blue)
So, that's how our house looks now.

Now, please tell me your impressions of this house's furniture, and join me in my appeal to have the book shelves replaced with woodwork for Phase 1.

India Trip: Food

I know why Indians are a religious lot. I know why we pride ourselves on being a secular nation. We love food. We have many festivals, all of them involving a special culinary adventure. I have heard various statements relating to food in my life, and some award winning statements bring a smile to my face everytime without fail.
1) Oriyas eat a lot of sweets, but nobody gets Diabetes.
2) Parattas without ghee is like a king without a crown.
3) Any food made as an offering to God, if consumed does not result in weight gain.

The third statement explains why we first offer everything to God, and then eat. Any undesirable effect the food may possess is negated when it is taken with God's blessings. I have an aunt (bless her), who came to stay with us for a while. This was the period when my mother was posted in a different place, and having this Aunt around was helpful in many ways. When she left for her hometown, we waved her good-bye wearing pants two sizes larger, and had gone in for a sturdier vehicle to support our weight. We attributed the new vehicle to a better financial position, and did not try to tick off God by saying the extra weight from his offerings caused the previous vehicle to break down under the strain of the extra fat!

Back to my India trip: We dedicated one evening to the delights of Delhi - we crammed in Moomos (steamed vegetable rice cake - nope not vegetable idli, this one had spring vegetables stuffed in maida flour. I shall try making this one, and post the recipe soon), and Pani Puri followed by a round of parattas fit for a crown wearing king. We then crammed ourselves into the car with a driver who was slightly intoxicated with the food, and drove home using the safety rules outlined in the previous post.

By the end of the trip, my tongue was begging for respite. I love the flavours of good food, and had many a good meal at the hands of friends and relatives - Thank you all, now will you please help me stand up?

Traffic (absolutely) Rules in Delhi!

We had been to India for a glorious vacation. This time we travelled a lot apart from the customary visits to relatives. We had been to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur in the first week. During my stay in Delhi, we travelled a lot by car, and it gave me a chance to observe the traffic.
Here are some traffic rules you might find useful in Delhi.

1) When you have trouble deciding whether you want to turn right or left, switch on the emergency blinker. This will warn other vehicles on the road, that you may turn right or left, and the onus to keep safe shifts to the other vehicles on the road. I find this most helpful, since both sides blink when the emergency blinker is on.

2) Stopping at red lights is considered belittling, and your driving capabilities are scoffed at by other drivers. While driving through red lights, it is prudent to sound your horn.

3) There are atmost three signals in a radius of 25 km where you really need to stop at red lights, and any localite could enlighten you about which ones to stop at for a red light. At such signals, please do not make yourself an object of ridicule by stopping before the line. When you do stop, you need to stop almost midway through the signal - that alone gives you the power to surge ahead before the light turns green.

4) Parking is a right - you may park alongside the curb (not cool!), or in the middle of the road, sideways perferably hindering other traffic. It does not matter as long it is not a very busy road. If it is a very busy road, the only risk you run is getting shouted at more vehemently. There was a time when I found a camel drawn carriage parked sideways on the National Highway. Many times, I found lorries parked diagonally across the road, since that was the most convenient method to unload the goods at the back. Traffic found a way of needling along despite this.

5) While it is useful for the car driver to have a clear view of the road, it is more useful for the vehicle to transport as many people as possible from point A to B. I saw various instances where there were 5 adults sitting in the front seat of a car. Unfortunately, I did not have time to count the number of children. I am assuming the gear change is achieved using a complex rhythm that involves nudging the correct individuals for gear shift. Push Bunty for gear 3, pull Bablee for reverse gear etc.

6) Roads are built for the convenience of the users. Rules are an unnecessary hinderance. For example, if there is a divider on the road built with the intention of having the left side for traffic flowing east, and the other side for west flowing traffic, it does not mean that east flowing traffic has to use the left half and the west flowing traffic has to use the right half. Since the right half is more appealing, all traffic can use the right half, leaving the left half free for parking vegetable vendor carts, and chaat carts.

7) Animals on the roads are not restricted to dogs, buffaloes and cows. Camels and elephants are a common enough sight. So much so that my daughter started asking to see tigers on the road! I couldn't help laughing at her question when we showed her the Delhi zoo as we passed it. Her mind buzzed for a fraction of a second and quipped "Why?"

8) Rear view mirrors are meant to be folded in, lest they get damaged by other vehicles on the road. You can use other mechanisms such as asking folks in your car to look out, or simply turn your head in all directions everytime you want to make a turn.

A pat on the back to my brother and brother-in-law who drove us all around safely in Delhi. It is far more difficult than we imagine!

Life comes a full circle

I made my mother take leave one day. My mother worked in a school that required her to sprint to the train, and then hop, skip and jump onto a rickety bus. Cold, mist, rain - she weathered it all every day for 18 years to give me this life, and I am eternally grateful to her. Taking leave was a privilege she rarely indulged in - she saved all her leave for when we fell ill, she fell ill, or for a family function.

I made her apply for leave when nobody was ill, and nobody was visiting. Here's why: I used to go to school, and we had a maid who would bring me hot lunch in the afternoon. I was okay with the arrangement. After all, I liked the maid, and I liked my friends with whom I sat on the grass while eating. But here is the thing - for all my friends, their mother brought their lunch. So, I yearned to see my mother bring me lunch. I actually dreamt of seeing her walking down the long, winding road that we could see from the hilltop in our school. She did one day - she took leave and brought me lunch. I can still envision the scene - she wore a purple saree with pink flowers(Amma - that katthiripoo saree Appa bought from Calico) the pallu hanging clumsily of her shoulder over the sweater. A gold medal wouldn't have made me happier that day. I boasted to all my friends that my mom brought me lunch!

I took my daughter to the saloon, and gave her a haircut. Her hair required no special handling now - all you had to do was draw her hair back, and clip on a hairpin. For the past month, every other day in the evening; she tells me how nicely I comb her hair. Her father manages she assures me, but she feels her hair is "flooppy" at the end of the exercise.

"Can you comb my hair for school one day?" she asks. I answer I can if she gets up before I leave. That seldom happens.

Another favourite question of hers is if I could drop her in School one day. In her little mind, she probably has the probability calculated, and figures if her hair can't be combed, getting dropped in school is an even farther shot, and doesn't even bother asking this question as much.

Today, I indulged in both - combed her hair AND dropped her off in school. I could see the pride in her eyes, as she walked into the classroom, and beamed. "My mommy came today", she announced, and introduced me to all her friends.

As I went round and round the parking lot looking for a place to park my car at the public transit terminal, it felt totally worth it. I loved spending the morning with her - life does come a full cirle!

Pink nail polish is good for health

For those of you who wear nail polish, I would like you all to start wearing pink nail polish. There are rich health benefits to pink nail polish. To those of you who don't wear nail polish, I suggest starting off with pink nail polish. All non-pink nail related problems could disappear, and your nails could once again come to the pink of your youth and prime.

Okay...Okay I am coming to the story. My daughter and I went strolling through the aisles aimlessly one rainy day. She walks up to the cosmetic section, and picks up pink nail polish. I asked her why she needs nail polish in the first place. Her face had a serious expression while she explains:

Amma, I need this pink nail polish because it is good for health!

Everytime I pick up vegetables, fruits or any produce, she asks me why. I explain that I am buying it because it is good for health. I guess she thought it was a use-it-for-all-occasions type of statement - sigh!

There was a group called 'Pessimism'
They used a term: 'deadlines'.

There was another group called 'Optimism'
They used terms: 'achieve-lines' or 'goal-lines'.

Guess the happier group (there is something in a name don't you think?!)
Deadlines sound so ominous for something you are trying to achieve in a regular work-day.

What is a widget?

A widget is an application you can easily stick to your own blog page - it is a small window that has been programmed to show you what you want. Check out the Dilbert widget on my blog. The dilbert widget is free for downloading now, and is available in various sizes from http://widget.dilbert.com

How cool is that?!

Has anyone eaten Durian?

Durian: The King of Fruits

I spent the whole day with my nose puckered up to avoid the strong stench emanating from my neighbouring cubicle. To me the smell (or stench!) was over-bearing. A close enough description would be: When one takes heavy antibiotics, and also take B-complex tablets along with it, this stench seems to be there in one's pee! In one word: unpleasant!

My colleagues told me it was Durian flavoured wafers that gave that smell. They tried hard to sell durian cookies to me - if you can just shut the smell out, and eat it, it will be lovely. One or to adventurous ones tried it, and endorsed their claims of it being very tasty. But my nose (I have had reason to comment on the length of my dear bulb on several occasions, so I shall refrain) is just too sharp for that sort of thing. I wiki-ed Durian, and found it looks like a jackfruit, and is supposed to taste great.

Interesting piece of info that I could not cross-verify anywhere: apparently eating durian in Thailand in Public is banned, though Thailand is a major exporter of Durian - all thanks to its distinctive odour!

If anyone does try Durian despite the smell, do let me know how it tastes.

"Hey! How are you?" I hear a genuinely surprised voice. A familiar face comes into focus, and my bleary mind finally places the face as one of the commuters I used to see everyday on the public transit. I remember talking to her once or twice, but the details of the conversations are blotched out. Gone. Erased. Clean slate.

My expression has turned from a dazed one into a smile that shows vague recognition, as I reply - "Good...how are you? I haven't see you in a long time!"

I can feel my nerves rattle like a toy held over the head of a giggling 4 month old, as she remembers how far my workspot is from the transit terminal, the name of my office, and even my daughter. She fondly asks after my daughter, and I am still trying to get her name! How I wish my brain had a search functionality that could access archived areas of the "past" database.

I remember she has children, and ask vague questions about their well-being. I hope she doesn't sense my desperation, but I am sure she does. I hastily take leave, still wracking my brain. It starts with an 'N' - I start down the path of listing all the names I know starting with 'N' and cross them out with plausible explanations. I know this will nag me till the next time a similar incident happens, and I start out with another alphabet.

I read somewhere that names can be remembered if you wish to remember it. But here is the thing: I seldom ask anyone's name with the intention of not remembering it. I want to remember it, I can't.

Any pointers to help me would be greatly appreciated.

Disneyland: A trip to the magical kingdom

Every time I go to Disneyland, I become a small girl again. This time was more magical than ever. You see this time I truly had a little princess with me.

One of the things I find about Disneyland is that we can never be dressed right for the place. To elaborate further, this time my sleigh(read: bulky stroller) was loaded with woollen like it was truly travelling to and from the North Pole. We had gone when the low temperature in Bay area was hovering around 0 degrees celcius. So, we dressed in layers, took along additional jackets and coats that would have put an eskimo watching a polar bear in the cold to shame. Guess what? The day was so fine, we were hot in t-shirts and jeans! So, I spent a wonderful day in a wonderful land with a huge bag containing jackets strung across my back! This...when I had the foresight to check the weather prior to the trip, and the temperature indicated a low of 3 degrees celcius on the aforesaid day - sigh!

The last time I went was August of 2005, and we spent the majority of the day skulking around in the shade, and fanning ourselves with the disney map because the temperature hovered around 90 degrees fahrenheit! We got active only by 6p.m. and rushed from corner to corner after that.

While I always enjoyed the music at Disneyland, this time it was more meaningful because my daughter was singing all these songs at home, and for the first time I knew all the songs being sung! I gaped at the parade, and loudly sighed everytime I saw a character I knew my daughter would recognize. Kee was so excited with all the activity in the morning, that she fell into a deep slumber just as the parade started. The parade went like this:
" Oh .. see snow white. Oh no....kunju please get up. Oh..mickey mouse. Oh no...please get up"
I admire myself for mentioning said phrases for every set in the parade tirelessly much to the chagrin of folks around me. At one point, I thought the parade was going to stop, and Mickey would come by and say, "Don't worry - she can see me in the evening, can't she?!"

I even tried to pluck her eyelids open, but she wouldn't budge. I call myself a dutiful mother because I wriggled through the crowds, and found her a spot on the dustbin where she could see the 6 p.m. parade from - then I stopped whining about her missing the parade.

To beat the crowd weaving out after the fireworks, we left before the fireworks, and asked a Disney employee how to get to our parking lot. She helpfully pointed us in exactly the opposite direction, and we ran and jumped into the trolley - daughter, stroller, bag of jackets, old parents and all. We realised what happened after reaching the destination, and doubled back to the park entrance. Now, we ran towards the right direction, this time without opening out the stroller. I don't know why we did not think of opening the stroller, but my husband ran carrying the bulky stroller folded and held most uncomfortably. I shall have to save this for another blog, but there is no comfortable way to carry a stroller and a car seat!

I ran behind him carrying the following:
1) My 3 year old daughter who was in splits laughing. I don't know why she found my predicament so amusing, maybe it felt like a bumpy safari - I would never know, but I couldn't help laughing with her too!
2) A huge bag weighing around about the same as my daughter with the jackets for protecting us against the cold on my back. I must mention I was sweating profusely with all the running!
3) A camera
4) A handbag

I was running at a pretty decent pace. That explains why people were staring at me like I was an ostrich taking weight training and sprinting to an extreme!

Disney managed to spin its magic as always, and we reluctantly plucked ourselves away from the magical kingdom to the real world in the right trolley towards the right parking lot in splits of laughter that had other tired folks jealous.

Happy New Year!

Wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year!

I know I say this every year, but 2007 has flown past (Well, I say - the past year has flown past)

Looking forward to an interesting 2008!

Rant

What is it about Western clothes that I find boring?

Less than vibrant colours surely
Lack of prints
The racks and racks of the same thing neatly folded, or hung

If I go looking for a top, there are 4 racks with 5 different shades, same cut different sizes.

I miss the prints. I miss the radiant colours. I miss the agony of not knowing which print looks better than the other one. I feel bad for those millions of shoppers I see thronging the mall not knowing the variety they are missing everyday.

Dubai - A reminiscence!

I am very reluctantly back in the US after the most invigorating holiday I've taken in perhaps a whole decade. I visited my family in Dubai. While there, I could not help admiring the thought and planning that goes into making an inhospitable desert a place you would want to live in. The city has large expanses of greenery in state maintained parks, lots of trees and given that it is winter now, does not feel like a desert.

Just to give you a broad background of UAE. Seven emirates make up the UAE:

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman. The emirates unite and elect a Prime Minister and President primarily for Foreign Affairs, but within the UAE, each of these Emirates is ruled by their respective Sheikhs. There is an election to the council, but the election of the PM and President is based on the Economic wealth of the Emirate. Therefore, currently the Abu Dhabi ruler is the PM and the Dubai ruler is the President (or vice-versa!)

There are some things that I must mention with respect to Dubai. I can't classify them as anything other than musings:

1) The buildings are all nice looking. Most of them by themselves look good, but collectively they don't gel all the time. For example I saw cases where there was a Hawa mahal-like palace near a very swanky looking modern building. It was like Noor Jahan linking hands with Madonna - bad analogy, but you get the picture.

2) The tunnels or bypass roads have both sides of the walls lined with tiles. These tiles somehow give an illusion of driving through a rather large bathroom corridor, but that's just me!

3) Dubai is one of the few cities in the Middle East where purdah (i.e. the portion covering the face) is banned in Government offices. The women you see clad in robes do so of their own accord in this city.

4) The Arab nationals wear a spotless, clean WHITE robe. I was amazed to see not one of them had a crease or a speck of dirt on them. Apparently, my sister had the same doubt, and she asked somebody who works in an Arab family how they manage that. The lady confessed it is a full-time occupation just to clean the robes and maintain it at that sterling white at all times. If you ask me, you could pay a maid a month's salary just for that! I was also wondering why the men wore white robes, while the women wore black robes in a desert.

5) Dubai is undergoing growth pangs like any other city that has tripled its population in the last 5 years. The metro railway is under construction, and the city has been dug up through all major roads. The vision is to promote suburban areas, and encourage people to commute to Dubai for work. While this is being implemented, roads are clogged and parking is a nightmare.

6) Citation required here: Apparently, when the temperature hits 50 C, all construction workers need to be given the day off. Officially, the temperature had gone up to 49.2, but not 50 quite yet :)

Just a pic of a signboard!

Highlights of my trip (not necessarily in the order mentioned below)
Desert Safari
Jet Skiing
Ibn Batuta Mall
Al Ain trip
Khor Fakkan
Shopping
Al Sooq Al Rasheed

The Ibn Batuta Mall:

The mall is built on a sprawling 1.6 million sq ft space with parking for 4000 cars available. The mall is themed after 6 different countries: China ,India ,Persia ,Egypt ,Tunisia , Andalusia. Walking proved enjoyable in the mall, but after a couple of hours we discovered we had only covered 4 countries, so we beat the retreat passing up the mall areas looking like the other countries.

Al Ain & Khor Fakkan:

The trip to both places involved driving through towns built around an oasis. The beauty of the place if definitely unlike any other I've seen, spotted with Arabian architecture (like huge lanterns, pots in the middle of the road!) The beach water is inviting and warm, and all of us had quite a time. It was at Khor Fakkan that we went jet-skiing for the first time. I remember it like it was yesterday - the sea breeze, the salt water spray, and then getting hit by another scooter, and tumbling head first into the Arabian Sea!


Desert Safari:

Here is the one of the gems on the crown of my visit. This was so amazing that I fear I cannot do justice with mere words and a badly taken video. The drive through the dunes was in a regular 4 wheel drive vehicle. Right before we hit the sand, the driver coolly deflated the tires, and my brother helpfully explained that this was to increase the surface area of contact to avoid toppling over the dunes during fast turns - gulp! Thankfully, we had my sister in the car who isn't frightfully fond of automobiles. She would rather take a horse buggy than a car to get from point A to B, so you can imagine how she was on the safari! That made life simple for me: I just swallowed my apprehension and put on a brave face to keep her alive.

While on the safari, you have to trust the ability of the driver. If not, you just cannot enjoy the ride. The jeeps keep together in a large convoy, and space themselves enough so that if the car ahead of them skids, it does not crash into the next one. We got chatting with our driver Salim, a young Pakistani national who does this everyday for a living. He explained that there are 3 dunes that are slightly taller than the rest. So, their job is to follow these larger dunes, and turn right once you cross the third dune. As usual, I had to ask him what happens if we turn left?

Ans: You are doomed to die, and will be devoured by vultures by sunset the next day, if your troop doesn't realise you are missing. But of course they would realise, and you would be rescued via helicopter, as a family was 2 weeks ago at 1 a.m. five hours into their ordeal. I explained to him that I have a three year old waiting for me to come home that night, so let's turn right at the dune.

"Yes Ma'am" , he earnestly replied. Every time the tires turned left to avoid a rock or something, I yelped- "Right Salim, Right!"

What happens when a sandstorm comes along, and the height of the dunes change? Apparently, they survey and study the landscape again, before opening the route out to tourists. While on the trip, I had to admire the tenacity of the generations of humans who lived and prospered in the Arabian desert with nothing but the stars to guide them.

We watched the sun set over the dunes, and then moved to a desert camp with henna stalls, drinks and a Belly Dancer! This belly dancer was hugely talented, and controlled not ony her movements and her body, but also the crowd with her breath. The Arabian music was scintillating, and the Lebanese dancer's movements made it an exhilarating experience. It didn't help my bachelor brother that he was watching this belly dance with his two married sisters - but hey, he invited us over didn't he?!

Al Sooq Al Rasheed:

Arabic has a soft spot for Q - pronounced as 'KH'. I found it quite amusing that English has so few words in Q, while every sign post has at least one word starting or ending with 'Q'. I digress : this Sooq is the famous gold bazaar. The gold bazaar was brimming with people, and here is the thing: not a single store had metal shutters for protection! Gold shopping in Dubai is an experience by itself. I am not very fond of jewellery - or so I thought till I saw the patterns. You can imagine what would happen when a person who likes gold goes there.

Shopping is a pleasant mix of shopping in India and in the US. It was only when was I packing up to leave did I realise that I had shopped quite a bit!

A vacation with loved ones would have been fun if it had been in Alps or Ranganathan Street in Madras or a quaint village near Trichy. Nevertheless, I was immensely glad I took a vacation in Dubai. All I have to do is think back, and I smile instantly - now, that's what I call a good vacation!

Happy Diwali!

The legend goes that Diwali is celebrated to honour the return of Rama with his wife Sita (after vanquishing Ravana) to Ayodhya. The legend also states that Rama after vanquishing Ravana refused to take Sita back as his wife, and she was upset and cleansed herself in fire, emerging unscathed to prove she was pure. Evidently when they got back to Ayodhya, they weren't on the best of the terms. We celebrate Diwali anyway.

Another legend goes that Sita gave birth to 2 sons Lava and Kusha, and something happened in the form of a row, and Mother Earth swallowed Sita yet again.

As a human race, we tend to not speak evil of the dead. I can well imagine how Rama became Lord Rama over time, giving us yet another excuse to eat and make merry.

Well ... I don't know how or when Diwali started. I do know that it was one of my favourite festivals. I grew up in a residential school, and most holidays were not declared holidays in our school. Diwali was. (Well...what would you do with 750 children on campus if there were declared holidays for Mahaveer Jayanthi etc? ) It was also one of the opportunities to wear new clothes, and attend the Diwali puja in School. 10th and 12th grade students wore sarees and dhotis, and I can't tell you how wonderful the whole scene looked.

Diwali is here again. Celebrations have been pushed to the week-end for those of us who don't have declared holidays on Diwali.

Happy Diwali Folks!

Burglar Alarms

I have a car remote that has a mind of its own. It decides when it wants to work. I went grocery shopping the other day. Not my favorite kind I assure you.

The grocers had a store-full of stuff I needed, or rather my house-keeping has fallen on bad days. All on a sudden I was spotting a trend to anything I wanted to make. I would suggest a dish, and then realise one tiny but important ingredient is missing. So, I would happily switch to another dish without batting an eyelid. When that happens thrice the same day, the mind's eye discerns a trip to the grocers. I don't know how my car senses my mood, but it seemed reluctant to go along as well.

I digress..but the point of the matter is, I came back with bags hanging from very limb (also 1 bag per finger on the hand) and attempted to open the car, and it wouldn't budge. I tried from every angle, and it refused to emit the necessary rays. Another sigh, and I finally opened the car manually.

It was totally unresponsive to my remote, and when I opened it manually, it screamed and shrieked and shook violently. Well...not really, the car alarm went off, but the screaming, shrieking and shaking pretty much summed up my reactions in the parking lot. I finally cajoled it into staying quiet, but it whimpered.

"Blip Blip" it said every 2 minutes and started the alarm again.

I attempted to show it my face, and say -
"See, this is me, you idiot! You see me everyday! Stop wailing!"

When the nerves are wracked, it takes a while to reset the burglar alarm, and by the time I had figured out how to do it, cops from San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego were piling into their cars. I exaggerate but you get the drift.

A month ago, my dear friend's car was stolen from his community. The same model as the one I was pleading and cajoling with. Apparently, that car went without a squeak! Why did that car not go crazy? Or maybe the car thief knew exactly how to turn the burglar alarm off before the sirens wailed.

SIGH! Remind me why burglar alarms are there again?!

Surprise !!

Keeping surprises and I have a certain .. well, "relationship". I can't keep them. Its spiteful, the way they insist on tumbling out of my mouth the moment I try to keep one.

This time, 'Determined' was the word. Not one slip of the tongue - even if it means less communication at home. These surprises have played with me long enough for me to take some stern action.

I know my shortcomings, and consequently NEVER plan surprise b'day parties - I'd probably be asking the b'day boy/girl the menu. I decided to start small - a surprise birthday gift would do. I went online, and decided to buy my husband some books for his birthday. We both use the same Amazon account, and I figured the books would come soon enough.

I ordered the gifts, and came home every evening looking for the parcel from Amazon. The birthday came and went, but there was no sign of the books.

A week later, and still nothing.

How long can a sane person keep a surprise?! Left with no choice, I called my husband, and asked how long Amazon delivery usually takes. He told me what I already knew - max a week.

"Why?" he asked
"Oh .. umm nothing..I ... er ... just wanted to know. My friend asked me - so I ..er.. told her I'll ask you" *How LAME?*

You can imagine the strain on my nervous system by now. I was twitching and fidgeting with every doorbell. I could take this no more - a person needs peace. This just wouldn't do! So, I checked Amazon, and the site confirmed that I had cancelled my order.

What the >$#$#)%? I never cancelled the order. I have been looking forward to those books so much now - my head was reaching bursting point.

So, I called the old husband again, and put on my interrogative hat. For those of you who are new to interrogative techniques, let me assist you:

First the gentle prodding:
Me: Honey... Do you have anything to say about Amazon?
He: It's a great site isn't it? I saw something you might like. Just click on..

I cut the conv. short - I was piqued and desperate to get to the bottom of the matter. I also adopted the curt tone for added measure
Me: No....I mean, did you do anything with an Amazon order 15 days ago?
He: No...why would I do anything with an Amazon order? Hey...just check out what I am showing you...

An edgier tone is warranted. It helps if you also clear your throat once or twice to signal how dire the situation is
Me: *Clears throat*. REALLY! Did you or did you not cancel an order 15 days ago? I'd ordered 2 books
He: Oh...was it you who ordered those? I thought I had added them to the shopping cart by mistake and cancelled them

Cool as a cucumber!

All these days my nerves on end, and this cutlet went and cancelled the order without a squeak!

"Why would you do that?" I shrieked. "I bought them to surprise you for your birthday!"

"Oh" - Is that a response, I ask you. Is that a response?

NO MORE SURPRISES!

The Shopping Cliche

I love shopping, and it is not one of my husband's favourite activities.

When I say I love shopping, I am not an obsessive shopper, who shops 8 hours at a stretch, or demagnetizes the credit card with use. Every once in a while I love to stroll through the aisles, just looking at the interesting things out there, browsing if you may - but not necessarily online.

When something attracts my attention I alert the better half to take note. All I have to do is say is:
"Isn't this nice"

I can reel the reminder of the conversation in my sleep:
"Yes, it is....Why don't you buy it?" he quips.
"I only said it was nice, I never said I wanted to buy it!"
"Well, if you don't want to buy it, why bother telling me?"
"Because I thought of sharing my obs."

Oh well....I never learn, and he never learns. I may be generalising here, but when women shop and say something is nice, it is not always with the desire to acquire the article. There are times when the intention is to buy, but THAT, you can sense in the tone and eyes. (In such situations, regardless of what you say, we buy the article.)

Here is my theory with shopping: you have to browse around to see what you like enough to buy.
Here is my better half's theory: you have to browse around only when you know you like something well enough to buy.

My question is: how do you know you like something enough to buy, unless you spend some time aimlessly looking around?

Year 3: Birthday #1 Account

Dear all,

Ref: Year 3: Birthday #1 Account

Keerthana's first 3rd birthday party was celebrated with great pomp and splendor on her father's birthday yesterday. She did not exactly steal his thunder, but yeah....she cut the cake, wore a lovely dress, a crown and beamed as she cut the cake with her 22 3 ft friends watching with a look that combines all of the above emotions:

Anticipation, joy, enthusiasm and a weeny bit of jostling to get a good view of the cake!

Yesterday, I went along to her school, and just observed her class for a few minutes. I had taken leave yesterday because

(a) It was my dear husband's birthday
(b) I had leave that was overflowing
(c) I was sick of all the tamasha at work and just wanted a day off
(d) I really wanted to meet Keena's friends at school.

Her teacher casually mentioned that if I wanted, I could celebrate Keerthana's birthday at school. So, we had a birthday party with 22 avatars in her classroom yesterday evening at 3:00 p.m. Her father could have attended the function, but he had an important customer call. So, the guy whose birthday it really was, did not get a chance at the cake. But Keena performed admirably and glowed in all attention and finery.

The children were all standing around the table, each one trying to poke a finger into the cake (Luckily I had not yet opened it) Their teacher (bless them both) came and told them

" Children ... Please don't touch the cake. Can everyone stand with their hands tied behind? Thank you!"

Lo and behold: All eager 3 year olds stood with their hands tied behind themselves!

The cake was served and all the little ones sat and ate them while I chatted with them all. A number of them said they were Keerthana's friends.

Towards the end of the party, a Barney song was sung (lead by me and sung by all the pre-schoolers)

A word of thanks to Monsier Thaatha who assisted in buying the party items at short notice and Madame Paati who quickly put the goodie bags together.

If you need any further details, please get in touch with me.

PS: You may call her and wish her a happy birthday starting from 25th Sept through Nov 16th for the Financial Year 2007.
Reference blog: http://nourish-n-cherish.blogspot.com/2005/10/here-cake-there-cake.html

Suing God

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20827350/

Senator sues God. The news item states it is an attempt to show how frivolous the lawsuit culture is.

So, God is summoned to the witness stand, and you just feel a cool breeze. The judge is leaning towards declaring contempt of court for filaure to appear, and a huge voice thunders from above

"GOD IS OMNIPRESENT. YOU MAY PROCEED"

Well....okay. Please take an oath in the name of God

ON WHAT?

The Bible

If it is on one of the books written on me, shouldn't you bring all the titles: Geeta, Koran and anything remotely religious?

You have to swear on God

I am God.....what use would an oath on myself do?

You would die if you lie

I don't live and I don't die. I am God

Well... are you refusing to take the oath ??

At this point thunder strikes the courtroom, and God is held to task.

Did you make thunder?

Yes that was me spattering in exasperation.

And so it goes ..

Did you know

Did you know that
(a) The gas-station 76 was named after the fact the Brits got kicked out of the US in 1776?
(b) Route 66 used to run from Chicago to LA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_66)

Black days

Dec 6th, Sep 11th, Aug 6th have all become dark days in our lives thanks to the thoughtless actions harming thousands of people. Yet, the wars we wag that have daily death tolls nearing Dec 6th and Sep 11th are unheeded.

History...please enlighten us to learn from you!

Another milestone

Another milestone in the life of her first-born.

She started school. She seems to be enjoying it. The mother was having difficulty leaving her daughter to cope in the unfamiliar classroom.

As she took the 3 mile drive home, she was disoriented. She stopped at green lights, got honked at by peevish office-goers heading grumpily to work after the long week-end. In her defense, visibility was poor. (The visibility factor was later clarified by her husband as being clouded by tears, not fog as she wanted to believe.)

Here is wishing her daughter the best for the exciting life that lies ahead - school stories, new friends, a lifetime of learning.

I think this is the rough schedule for the day:

8:30-9:00: settling in time. They can play with the puzzles and toys while settling in.
9:00 - 9:30: some songs I think
9:30-9:45: snack time.
9:45-11:45: rigorous work! They have S.M.A.R.T (simple math, art & reading time) I think they also sing songs and dance at this time.
11:45 - 12:05: lunch time. They have to eat on their own
12:05 - 1:30: nap time. they have to take out their sheets, sleep and clean up after themselves.
1:30 - 2:30: they play in the playground outside. There is a silly train, slides, bicycles, sand box and swings
2:30 - 3:30: another round of S.M.A.R.T before heading back home. BTW, each of these activities have a restroom break in between. So, you can imagine how much actually gets done during the day!

Any comments may be sent without inhibitions to her mail_id. I am hoping that with the amount of money we are dishing out, she will learn to read eventually!

Defending choices

Here is a pet peeve of mine. People make choices - what irks me is the justification for these choices. When there is a choice, a person takes what works for them better - period.

You could be a person who analyzes everything to death or be someone who makes a choice rather quickly, and lets life unfold. Whatever it maybe, I don't like the approach of : "I take the high road because I am smarter"

Some choices turn out to be smart ones, some don't. The important thing is to feel comfortable with the choice when the option to choose is given to you.

I was reading this morning about parenting, and again got me thinking. Guess what? I am not an ideal mother. I am irritable, I sometimes take shortcuts with my child's food (soup is enough I declare - but that's only because I don't have the energy that day to get her to eat spinach and rice!). But overall, I am okay. My child and I enjoy each other's company - well....let's leave it there shall we? Did I make a highly intelligent choice when I initiated my daughter into reading? No! I just did what I enjoyed doing, and did it with her. Consequently, she started liking books. Instead of saying this, I could ramble on about the research that proves reading makes the brain more stimulating - guess what? I just alienated myself! Sometimes, we all make choices that may not prove to be ideal.

I hate the way parents obsess about the colds their children catch from other kids, the share and play mentality, the gentle approach - the swim class, the dance class. I may take my daughter to dance and swim classes in the future, and if she likes it, and sticks to it long enough, why not? But if at that point, you catch me talking about what a wise choice I made with the swim and dance classes - do me a favour and stop me will you? This sort of thing is infectious and the more I meet mothers, the better the chances are that I start talking like this!

Eateries

I headed home from work with such a determined mind that day, that I was going out for dinner. This happens often, but what else I had made my mind about was the fact I was not going to set foot in the kitchen that lovely Friday evening! Dinner plans were made, and we set out amidst certain excitement that comes with getting your child to stop cycling outside, and wearing something nice.

We arrived at the haute restaurant and waited for an hour outside clutching out tickets in our hands, waiting for our turn with the menus. We finally went in and sat, and when the waiter busied himself with notepad and pen to take down our orders, we gave him the first order of the evening. A special order - nothing on the menu.

A boiled egg we asked with as much nonchalance as we could muster. The sure footed waiter faltered, he stammered for a response, and said - "a-a b-boiled egg?" Yes, we beamed. I stepped in and comforted him with the assurance that I would be ordering something from the menu. "We love your food", we told him before he broke out sobbing. I could see the pride in his restaurant shattered in his eyes.

You can take my daughter to the fanciest restaurant with the most fantastic menus, but of late, what satisfies her immensely is a boiled egg. We all ate our favourite dishes, and handed a special tip to our waiter who had gone through considerable difficulty obtaining the boiled egg from the seasoned chef.

Everytime I step into Coldstone Creamery, and order a small plain vanilla icecream, I go through a similar experience. Don't blame them - check this out!

http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/icecream/original_creations.html

No one but J.K.Rowling...

My husband and I talk minimally these days. No, we are not having a row. We are on perfectly good terms.

I finished the 7th Harry Potter book and he hasn't.

Given my abyssmal track record of keeping secrets, we have mutually agreed to not talk (about it) till he finishes. But talk about it till he finishes became difficult because he is curious, and asks leading questions and before I know it...another oops moment!

So, dear hubby and I love each other, and don't talk to each other! No one but J.K.Rowling could have done that!

BTW, hubby dear, you do realise we get insecure if we aren't exercising the jabbering old mouth - so before we become really insecure, READ THE BOOK!

PS: This is also my 100th post.

Summer Reading List

Brainwaves (husband and co-blogger on our group blog came up with a comprehensive reading list based on KQED's summer list) I thought I will include a link to his post on this blog, so that readers of this blog can get the list too.

Summer reading list. Bring on your suggestions:

Looking at KQED's suggested list, some of the things stand out on first glance:
Blink
The Assault on Reason, Al Gore
The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai
Finding an Angel to Fund Your Business, Joseph Bell

For the comprehensive list given by Brainwaves, please visit:

http://am-kicking.blogspot.com/2007/07/summer-reading-list.html

In general, if you have any suggestions for good books, please suggest. I am bit stuck with books such as Nemo goes to School, Thomas & Friends Nursery Rhymes etc :)

Playgrounds

My daughter has been terribly excited about starting pre-school। She has been telling everybody who cares to hear that she is going to school. So, I took her to the school one day, just so she can see what she is getting so excited about.

For the first time I realised that my little girl has always been in a protected environment, and I was curious to see how she coped. I let her play with the other children. One girl came up to her, and declared she couldn't play because she wasn't enrolled. (Yes....I was shocked too. this statement coming from a 4-year old seemed too much!) My daughter went to another area and started playing. This time too, the older girl followed her and said the same thing. I kept away on purpose. This happened twice more. then my daughter quipped- "But I am also going to school।"

That was brave! I am sure my daughter will have lots of things to talk about, and tons of interesting stories to narrate. I hope she makes lots of friends and enjoys schooling.

Breakfast

I have a unique experience with breakfast everyday.

An experience cannot be unique when it happens everyday. Here's the thing: it is unique because it probably seldom happens elsewhere.

First of all, I make and eat breakfast at work, in the break room. Most of us do. Our office is in the city, and most of us live in the suburbs. We have some archaic kitchen devices to use. Have you ever seen a plain jane toaster give you the mental satisfaction of making toast, burning toast and making pancakes all at the same time?

Our toaster does it all and more. A judicious mix of perseverance, grogginess and lack of enthusiasm to get to work is what keeps us all going to the poor toaster everyday, though the toaster begs retirement. So, this is how is starts:

1) We pop in the bread, and select the darkness level.
2) Twiddle your thumbs and wait (maybe I'll time this one day)
3) It pops noisily and the bread slides back into the toaster (yep it does)
4) You lift the toaster and shake it upside down to extricate the slice of bread
5) It is either too light or too dark, and only 1 side is toasted.
6) This is where you get the pancake feeling because you have to flip the toast and wait for the other side to get done!
7) Depending on the result in step (5), you adjust the darkness level
8) Repeat steps (2) through (4)
9) It is either too dark or too light now
10) End result doesn't matter because the taste would cancel out the burnt portion and not toasted enough sides of the toast

That, with a hot cup of coffe somehow nudges the old brain awake, and I start work!

Sleep Clubs

I admire people belonging to the other club, solely because I know I don't have a chance of ever belonging to that club. I may do the things the other club members do, but forever I shall pledge my allegiance to the my prized club - the club I really belong to!

This is the way I look at it. You can categorize people into the following categories:

(1) Those who like to get up early in the morning when the birds begin their chirping.
(2) Those who like the stillness of the night, and prefer to complete all their tasks before hitting the sack.
(3) Those who neither like staying up late to complete their tasks nor like getting up early to complete their tasks. In short, those who don't care about completing their tasks.

* By task, I mean anything from working, studying to watching a movie/cleaning.

Everyday, I get up early, leave for work early etc. But I really feel like I only belong to (2). I love my hot cuppa when the sun has moved halfway across the sky, and the birds are active and the world is already busy. Gone are the school holidays when the cold and inclement weather just made the morning snuggle even more enticing.

Ahh....late morning sleep!

PS: How coincidental that 2 days after this post of mine V.Gangadhar writes about the exact same thing in the Hindu!
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/06/17/stories/2007061750060400.htm

Dhania...

San Francisco has a lovely chain of eateries that cough up amazing sandwiches. It is called Specialty's Cafe. Yesterday, I took my sumptuous bite into one of them, and guess what I found - a tiny dhania seed.

Nothing surprising - just was intrigued to see dhania seeds used in any other type of cuisine - especially American. Right enough, I wiki-ed it, and found that dhania seeds are not usually used in European (except in Portigal) and American cooking. Well.....what can I say other than I love the flavour of coriander and its seeds, and relished on!

I love playing the game of guessing the ingredients in a restaurant when I am eating my favorite dishes, and wonder every now and then as to how many people do that.

Privacy ?!

It is time for me to talk about it. I have tried to keep my silence, and wander on with the vague uncomfortable feeling. Slowly, the vaguely uncomfortable turns to slightly disconcerting, and then takes on a mildly put-offish, and soon reaches a point where it bothers me enough to blog about it. I feel so strongly about it. It never lets me feel otherwise. Everyday, every few hours, there it is to remind me of the sweet freedoms that I have almost forgotten. The sanctity of the experience seems lost forever with these designs. The joy of the cleanliness factor is nullified by the 'lack of closure' factor.

Yes...I am talking about the restrooms. Why have them conceal only a portion of the cubicle? Why expose a portion of your leg during the process? There you are blissfully releasing the pent-up "stuff" when you are suddenly aware of another presence because you can see their feet. Worse yet is when these folks actually recognize you by your footwear and holler at you through the cubicle walls?

What does it take for a little extra privacy?!

Food

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050801960.html

I was reading this news article, about the Queen Elizabeth's dinner in reciprocation of George Bush's presidential dinner. The dinner was served in Manning's residence (Mannings is the British ambassador in US)

"Under Manning's roof, guests dined on wild Scottish smoked salmon (appetizer), roast rib of veal (main course) and a summer pudding (dessert). Four wines were served, and the queen asked everyone to drink to the president and first lady Laura Bush, to the future of Britain and the United States and to the countries' "enduring friendship."

I don't know how hard it is to make roast rib of veal(http://www.kycattle.org/recipes.cfm?recipeid=4). Assuming it is really difficult, and takes hours of pain-staking effort - I have trouble stomaching the fact that there were totally 3 dishes. I suppose you can cut your roast rib of veal into 4 equal pieces and sample with 4 different types of wine, giving you the delusion of variety.

My Indian upbringing jarred when I saw this new item, and also realised just how much importance we place on food. I think all our social gatherings hover around food. Our wedding banters have the supreme ability of stumping the most gluttonous eater. The precise statistics are unavailable, but I presume 50% of the wedding banter involves asking one another whether they ate food. At my brother-in-law's wedding, it was surprisingly easy to make conversation with folks I saw for the first time in my life. All I had to do was smile and ask whether they had food or would like some coffee.

At a royal dinner, there must be a hundred topics to steer clear of for political reasons. The weather is too boring. What do you ask people after the "How are you", if food is out.

Manning had served as ambassador in India, and I am imagining the chefs of the the President (CP) and the ambassadorial chefs (CA) met at a bar.

CP to CA: Phew! This queen's dinner tired me out.
CA: Really? what did you make?
CP: Pakoras, Salad, Soup, bajjis for appetizers.
Pilaf, Naan, Aloo paratha, Chicken Tikka Masala, Shahi lamb curry, Malai matter panner, Malai kofta, Hyderabadi biriyani, Raita and Pickles for the main course
Ras malai, gulab jamuns, Kheer for desser
CA: Yeah! Last night, I was really tired too. I had to make wild Scottish smoked salmon (appetizer), roast rib of veal (main course) and a summer pudding (dessert).
CP: HEY! That's not fair.
CA: Sure is - took me the same time, and people enjoyed it too. See my news item - and where's yours to compare?!
CP: BAH!

How late is too late and how early is too early?

Every so often, I try to answer this philosophical question. You are in a conference and you stare at the brilliant radiance eminating from the shiny baldness of the speaker. The eminent guy is throwing jargon around like hailstones. You can start firing off your questions rightaway.

Self: What does the 3rd word in your previous sentence mean?
Shiny head: Blank stare....'AND'?
Self: No...the word before 'AND'

The moment this happens, you give shiny head the upper hand, because he can say, you have to be patient. He will explain everything eventually. AND you have instantly alienated everybody else in the room, who either wants to enjoy the monotone and relax, or find it an unnecessary interruption.

You wait for a while assuming that the jargon will eventually dribble down to a few more often used terms before you ask for clarifications. Take this as an exercise in your next technical seminar. You pen down all the fancy words that you want clarification on, and put a statistical indicator near the words. Soon, you know the shiny head's favourites. You are still seeking clarification remember.

Shiny head's list: Cognac, TR!FS, GORR

So, all you need to do is wait for the next breather to seek clarification. Now, you look around the room, and everybody nods looking as though they are grasping everything.

Cognac's blah...blah will be used while TR!FS schedules an intermediate transmission routing via GORR.

blah....blah.....blah Cognac meanwhile responds to GORR...blah blah.

The following approaches are available to you at this juncture:

1) Look equally knowledgeable, and nod your head convincingly without falling asleep.
2) Look around for the person who nods the most and ask them to explain. If the concerned person was following strategy (1), it would make them look like a prized fool and provide for some entertainment.
3) Play a word-game while pretending to take notes and run into the arms of the search engine called Google at the nearest opportunity!

I wonder how people managed before Google!

EMERGENCY LIQUIDATION! STORE CLOSING!

We are out couch shopping. Suddenly, we look at all the mails for furniture deals without taking them directly to the waste bin without a glance.

We found this store with banners in BOLD RED all over the city. The store is closing NOW, the placards proclaimed. So, we went to the place with the lure of finding a good deal.

Everything must go!!Owner Lost Lease. EMERGENCY LIQUIDATION SALE!!

You would think the store owners have to purchase their air tickets only after selling their merchandise, and leave the country by this evening.

We were unsure, but stepped in anyway. The store was full of furniture - a large store with all varieties of furniture - dressers, beds, children's beds, tables, corner pieces - everything except couches of course. So, after the first glance, the stroll through the store turned recreational. Ominous signs of liquidation loomed large over our heads wherever you turned. I walked through, wondering if the store had a particular table in Cherry wood finish, since the display model looked dull.

This is where it starts getting entertaining. There was a helpful shelf with all the available wood colors they have. And the note on the shelf was even more helpful. It added, that if I didn't find what I liked, all I had to do was tell the owner, and he would order the color for me.

Maybe, my inventory management knowledge base were rusty. I always thought that if you are closing IMMEDIATELY, you aim at reducing inventory, not ordering more to satisfy new customers. So, if they were willing to order new furniture, while holding his existing furniture inventory, what were all the EMERGENCY LIQUIDATION signs doing all over the place?

PS: This month had a lot going on, and blogging took a back-seat. So, I am back with 2 posts in a row today. I sure missed my blogger!

Speeding:

This is about the terrible accident that collapsed the Mc Arthur intersection. An accident is an accident, and probably has no reasons, but still I can't help thinking:

If the accident was caused by over-speeding on the curve, what was the driver thinking? So, the truck toppled over, the driver got out, ran to a gasoline bunk, called in a taxi, and then left to the hospital. At what point did the truck explode bringing down a maze of freeways with it? It is remarkable that no one died. As soon as it toppled, he probably knew the truck would explode. But still getting out of the truck and running on the freeway seems to be a humongous effort. How could a fire like that be put out?

If he was simply testing the limits of the trucks strength on curves, couldn't he have chosen an exit where the curves are sometimes much more than the Mc Arthur. Why on the busiest intersections in Bay Area? I know the trucker's conscience would be heavily relieved that nobody died, but still accidents such as these make me wonder how vulnerable the whole system is.

While driving back yesterday, I was in the car, when I saw 2 idiots in pick-up trucks racing each other. I call them idiots because those 2 had absolutely no regard to the hazards they were causing to the others on the roads. Weaving in and out of lanes at break-neck speeds. If something happens to them, at least they knew what were doing. But when an accident occurs, it seldom hurts only those who are knowingly erring. In spite of such a huge wake-up call on speeding in the morning, that every evening there are folks who do it - well....find a word for them will you?

1st April Long ago

This incident happened many moons ago. But I remember it as if it was yesterday. My father gets very excited and involved in the purchase of anything new. He spends weeks gathering pamphlets, relevant or otherwise, about the product he intends buying. Then after several weeks of agonizing indecisiveness, he settles for a brand on which he has no research material. It is a sure-fire success strategy that he has adopted for many decades. We usually wait till the process is over before quietly trashing all the pamphlets.

That year, he had gone in for a new colour television. It was a major financial decision in the early days. Add to the whole equation that we lived in a remote hill-station, and bringing the television home requires ingenuity of a different kind. Rightfully, there was much ado in the house and neighbourhood.

My brother loves fiddling around with gadgets of all sizes and shapes. Around 90% of the conversation between father and son at that point in time revolved around how my brother should not be fiddling around with things that did not concern him. That being the background, my brother decided to rope me in on his scheme to fluster my father.

A while later, I nonchalantly called my father for watching a program. He strolled in, we switched on the television, and only the audio would come on. He kept pressing the remote, but you just couldn't get any video signals. I suggested in a worried tone that the picture tube may be out. I still have my father's picture taken then in my mind's camera. He was genuinely worried - I can make an attempt at the list of things that would have been crossing his mind at the time, but it would probably be too long, and varied.

My brother had the look of a stuffed frog in the background, bursting at my dad's perplexity. Finally, it was he who gave it away since he could no longer stifle his giggles. He had reduced the brightness to zero, and the contrast to the highest setting so that the video signals would always be black.

I loved that 1st of April joke, and we still joke about it! I wonder what our kids are going to do to us!