Just My Way of Thinking

India Trip Part II - Delhi Days

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 18:53:00 +0000

The week started with the early morning flight to go to Delhi from Thiruvananthapuram. Even though it was a vacation, we literally had to get up at 4 am to go catch this flight. That was the hardest in the trip. It was December and we had heard about Delhi being 'cold'. We had brought over warm clothes from US - but questions in mind were - how cold will Delhi be, especially for us going from the East Coast of United States?

Day 1: As we walked out the airplane in Delhi, a sudden chillness engulfed us. I immediately opened my backpack and got hold of the hoodie. We contacted the driver of the travel company who was waiting for us. Somehow we had missed seeing him in spite of him holding a placard and standing on the way and had come farther to the front. All good, found him and loaded our luggage in the Inova and seated us. I was happy to see clean bottles of water loaded on the door pockets.

We went to the hotel, checked in and ordered breakfast since we had missed the complimentary breakfast window by then. We were surprised they brought us bowls of plain yogurt along with the breakfast. Then in an hour, we set out to pick up the guide and headed to India Gate. It was massive. I definitely have been there as a child. Then we went to see Khutab Minar.

Lunch was much delayed to our typical standards. We are always 12.30 pm lunch people, but since we had a late start to the sight seeing day, everything shifted.

When we asked about eating chaat, the guide emphasized the need to stick to a hygienic and decent restaurant so we don't get 'Deli Belly' while in Delhi. We concurred and enjoyed a nice lunch in a good fancy restaurant. My two boys were a sport and enjoyed the food wherever we went. After lunch we went to see the Humayun's Tomb.

A honest confession is that we always overate, a multi course meal every time with appetizers to dessert - but, hey, we were in India, after all! After few days of back to back over-working the stomach, we all invariably felt the need to skip a meal to rest up the tummy! We were so exhausted when we got back to the hotel, it truly was the longest day ever. We skipped dinner, showered and crashed.

Day 2: We started the day with breakfast buffet that was complimentary. I absolutely enjoyed the Old Delhi tour. We went to the Juma Masjid where I was asked to wear a black gown to cover up. We admired the majesticity of the monument. From there, we got on a cycle rickshaw to go to Chandni Chowk Spice Market. That was the best moment of the trip for me. We zipped through the hustle abd bustle of the Delhi streets in the cycle rickshaw like we live there forever. We walked and the boys and us followed the guide - not a moment to laze around or you may get lost in the crowd. I kept looking for where the boys and walking, are they still with us..?

We got some rare spices in the Spice Market. 3 kms stretch full of these tiny spice shops..wow!

We went to a gurudwara there - a first time for all of us. It was a unique experience to sit in there with the other devotees in the main sanctuary where the holy book is kept. We saw the kitchen where volunteers come and cook food to be given to visitors and the needy. We donated the prasad we got to the poor people outside the shrine. I noted in my mind again that one day I must visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

We hopped on the cycle rickshaw to head back to where we started and got on to our car. After an hour or so at a carpet shop and all the pressure to buy a carpet and ship to US and refusing to buy, we finally started to Agra. We had lunch in a travel plaza kind of place. The guide and driver had picked this place as a safe one to have lunch. Alas, to the dismay of my Son 2, when we started to order, this place had only vegetarian! But we were so starved that everything tasted super yummy. The food quantity was good even though the place was not fancy. Yet another day of super late lunch!

The hotel in Agra was nice. This was Dec 31. They had a new year party celebration in the hotel. It was decent. An MCee girl ran the show and conducted some games involving the guests. We could not do any justice to the pricey dinner buffet which was Mandatory Gala Dinner we had to pay for while booking (coz of the late and heavy lunch). I was pleasantly surprised to meet my colleague from US suddenly in this party. It is a small world, indeed! The boys had some dinner and went to chill in the room. We oldies continued till clock struck 12. Happy New Year 2025! Travel saga to be continued in the next post!

India Trip Dec 2024 - Part I - Time with my parents

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 22:42:00 +0000

Looking at the last post I did, I realize it has been 2 years since I wrote anything here. For a minute, I got scared when I tried to load my blog post page and it said, it has been removed. I had almost forgotten that blogpost is gone, but my old posts were still alive in blogger.com.

The December of 2024 was spent in India working from there for 2 weeks and having a family vacation for the rest of it. My boys now 23 and 19 years old had not been to India for the past 9 years.

The time spent with Appa and Amma in Nandhavanam (it is the senior living where my parents are at) was good. Appa laughed and smiled for my jokes and sang songs with me. We read some Sujatha story book I had taken with me - this is something we enjoyed since I was little girl. I had wanted to see Meyyazhagan with him and as expected, we both enjoyed every minute of it. The movie did not disappoint me watching a second time and seeing my Appa react as expected to for every scene was bliss.

Another movie I wanted to watch with him was 'Kishkintha Kaandam'. Thanks to my friend who uploaded good quality video of the movie! I could not watch it in the first visit to Chennai due to hospital visits that I had to take Appa to. But on my revisit, I made sure I try my best to watch it with him. I did make it happen in the span of few hours I had the day before leaving back. And he absolutely enjoyed and appreciated KK also! I made fun of his occasional memory issues and pointed him to Vijayaraghavan's character references!

I did not have time to take Appa Amma to a resort like last time. So all my time was spent in Kanchipuram suburbs with them.

Two of the days I took Appa to hospital checkups I was able to take him to different restaurants than A2B. He only goes to A2B, Saravana Bhavan or Sangeetha. One day I took him to a Nagarjuna kind of restaurant hoping for a Ilai pottu meals with parippu podi and the andhra daal. It was not in my destiny during this trip to India. Lunch closed and we had to order a'la carte. But Appa now had to eat things that I ordered and really enjoyed the soup, naan, curry and veg fried rice. The next day I had him try idly manchurian which he would never have ordered if it was left to him - but ended up relishing it.

It has been 3 years since Appa Amma moved to Nandhavanam. This is the first time I was there for at least one day of the annual December Arts Festival. I took Appa to watch the first day music program and then boys and hubby joined too for that and the lunch that day. We did Wordle together (kids and I and thatha) which was a dream also. After that it was time to say bye and leave back to TVM. That made my heart heavy but I cannot show it out. Part of me wanted to execute the North india trip with the boys successfully. Part of me was sad to think I won't be seeing them this trip after this. It is what it is!

Traveling to Greece from US in off season (November) – tips and lessons learnt

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 17:12:00 +0000

Traveling to Greece from US in off season (November) – tips and lessons learnt

When we planned our trip in November Thanksgiving week, I was looking up the web for advice on what to expect from a trip there during the off season.

Pros:

Lower prices: As found in all search results, the expenses are very low compared to the peak season. Airbnb’s and hotels are much cheaper, so you save a lot.

Weather: Summer is pretty hot and humid, so that distress was not there during this November. To our surprise, weather was in 70s which was unexpected for us. We assumed it will be cold and packed more of the warm clothes.

No crowds: You can enjoy the quiet. Santorini had very few people we would bump into. Mykonos had much lesser than that. Athens will always be busy and crowded.

Cons: When I read about ‘not everything is operational during off season’, I did not understand the impact. But after traveling, I realize the impact now.

a) So, this means that there are no excursions available. The catamaran tours and such won’t be operational, so you are on your own in planning your activities.

b) Very few options for restaurants – you got to pick and choose from whatever is not closed for the winter. Google does not show the season closures, so we had to sometimes call restaurants directly to check if they are open.

c) There are hardly any taxis or Ubers operating due to off season in Santorini and Mykonos.

Santorini:

When we were in Santorini, we stayed in a Cave house in the Oia. Oia had some restaurants open and there was some life still prevailing. The beauty of this place can be enjoyed in off season also. But when we went outside in the Santorini Island, you can see many restaurants have been shut down completely. I wonder where the people who own these shops go during off season. The answer I got was they probably are in a holiday or spending these months in Athens.

Should I rent a car in Santorini

If you are planning to stay in one place and move about closer to it by walk, you are good. If you want to explore the island, you MUST have a rental car – especially in off season. We were able to drive around and stop at different spots and enjoy the scenery only because we had a car at our disposal.

Pros of traveling in off season was that we had no trouble finding parking, which I am told will NEVER happen in peak season.

How many days is enough in Santorini

I felt 3 days was more than enough to explore Santorini and I was ready to go to the next place.

Attractions we visited: Sunset at Caldera, Órmos Ammoúdi , Akrotiri Prehistoric City (we drove there, but did not care step out to see the ruins), the Red Beach, The Black Beach.

We did the Oia to Fira hike which is super a long hike but lets you see the whole island from up above.

Mykonos:

This is such a small place to explore and in off season, there isn’t much to it at all. Had we seen a clear advice online, we would have totally skipped the trip to Mykonos. I believe in summer, it is beaming with all the people and lively – it is known to be the place to party, but all we got was a harbor front with 4 or 5 restaurants open.

We rented a car only to find out that we cannot drive into many small roads and so cannot park next to where we lived. We had to park in a public parking and wheel our luggage for 10 min to get to our Airbnb.

How many days is enough in Mykonos?

We spent 2 days in November and since there was not much happening there, we felt this was enough. I am curious how the experience will be in spring or summer.

Attractions we visited: Windmills Little Venice, Chora neighborhood, Paraportiani Church. We drove to Ano Mera village and roamed, but there is not much to it.

Athens:

We stayed in the city in a hotel – a change from the Airbnb’s in Santorini and Mykonos. The best part was the proximity to all attractions and a million restaurant options around us. There is no need to rent a car if you are only concentrating on the historic monuments (Acropolis, Temple of Zeus etc.). Parking and driving in Athens will be a pain, so you are better off walking around or making Ubering or getting a taxi. It reminded me of New York City overall.

How many days is enough in Athens?

2 nights is probably enough to explore the main attractions in the city. Of course, if you have longer, you can explore more and I feel you can keep finding places to visit around here because it is rich in history and heritage.

Attractions we visited in Athens: Parthenon, Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, Philopappos Monument on the Philopappos Hill,

Hope this helps overall if you are planning a Greece trip in off season.

2020 review

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 00:07:00 +0000

New year wishes are pouring in from all directions. People are posting in Facebook what a year 2020 was and how it changed everything.

I don't feel anything. It just feels like the end of this year came too soon. We had time off for the last week of the year and we took each day lazing around and doing home projects or chores. In the midst of all that, it seems like this year abruptly ended and everyone is so excited to welcome 2021. I am not ready yet.

All those messages of hope! I am an optimistic person for sure, but this seems too much. How different is January 1st going to be from Dec 31st? Not too drastically different! Yes, the vaccine is here and front end workers are getting it. I was not expecting this before the end of 2020 and I am not able to believe it and I am so happy for that! But I am not sure when we will get our vaccines being the common man here in US. And when will our parents get it in India?

The whole year flashes in front of my eye now - at least I have to pretend that it does! I am feeling pressured by all those posts on Facebook that I have been reading :)

The year started quietly with my hopes of bringing my parents when the weather gets warmer here in the US. Then came Covid in March. - just a few days before our wedding anniversary. We were all locked down - something no one ever imagined. Flights and airports were closed. We were scared to go to the grocery store. We wiped the things we got. People cooked delicacies and posted pictures of food. It was like a cooking competition! It inspired even me to look up dishes and try new recipes. That has never been a thing with me! I used to cook only my traditional dishes and never ever watched a recipe video.

On our anniversary, we got pizza and pasta for takeout - this seemed like a sin in itself.

Then things got better when weather got better. We stopped wiping the groceries. I walked with my neighbor and we shared our frustrations of being cooped up inside home with no outlet. We shared what we cooked that afternoon and which take out options sounded exciting. The ultimate luxury was getting food from outside.

I have never walked this much ever! Everyday I used to walk in the morning and evening. It was so addictive that I could not bear to be indoors when the sun was out in the morning. It helped me a lot mentally and physically!

We managed to go for a beach vacation and survived it!

My college-goer went back to college to try his hand at apartment life. I worried about him as much as I worried about our parents in India during the initial lockdown. We were constantly scared of Covid.

I have also never read these many articles on the internet. I was panicked and in a frenzy, reading every article that came my way about Covid.

I got tired of sitting in my room day and night. I woke up, worked from there, and slept in my room. When work ended, I came down to cook AGAIN! The vessels were never ending - I cannot complain as my boys and husband DO help a LOT. Laundry became totally my department. Folding clothes became a mundane routine thing I could do while watching TV.

I connected with so many people from my past. Talking to my friends and relatives during my walks with the new airpods was a blessing.

Some new Whatsapp groups were formed. It was like family and we shared day to day happenings. We traveled by road to meet friends.

I spoke to my father every single day almost. First time in my life, I did video chat on a regular basis. I drove him crazy when I was worried or panicked about them being exposed to Covid. We would talk about what movies he watched during the day in Youtube. Our Tamil jokes, connections to old memories all came into play in the conversations. I am grateful for every such chat which made me connected to him when hopes of meeting in person was close to non existent. I "whatsapped" my mom to keep her involved with what was happening with my life. I sent them both pictures of dishes I made.

I had to take time off during the year. There was no point conserving vacation for a trip outside the country. I met friends for lunch in outside restaurants and sometimes inside them. Pajama bottoms and a decent top was the attire for every day video call meetings. I dressed up when I got any chance. I clicked pictures whenever I could.

I am really happy and grateful for how the summer went by. The sun was enough to lift my spirits. I dreaded winter and it struck me exactly as I expected. Dark evenings that started at 4:30 and not being able to meet folks outdoors killed me. But I was glad that Nikhil came back home which added some color to our dreary winter days.

I am grateful to my friends in Bangalore who toiled to help sort out things in our home and we were able to rent it out finally. I am forever thankful to my cousin brother in India who guides me on what I should be doing next in the grand scheme of things.

Elections happened with a welcome change in leadership!

And here the year has ended. I am truly happy about meeting friends and connecting with folks via phone calls. These are folks who have not been in touch for decades. It was interesting to see how different people remember different bits and pieces of information of what happened years ago.

I don't want to say that 2020 has changed me forever for fear of sounding cliched. It was a totally different year and it drove us crazy and scared the hell out of us. Thank GOD that were are all still alive while throughout the year,we have heard stories of lost parents and great talents.

Let us hope for a 2021 which will be different from 2020. Let us hope for the fear to end. Lets hope for a year that would bring us back to normalcy. May we not forget the lessons we learned and may we continue to appreciate the little pleasures of life.

Gone are those days (foodie memories alert)!

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Sat, 26 Sep 2020 20:49:00 +0000

BC (Before Corona):

We used to go to work (into the office), meet people on office hallways, elevators, restrooms and kitchen and have conversations there. It was fun to catch up with different folks. These are folks we would not otherwise meet in our social circle, but there is always something to learn from/relate to their experiences in life. I miss all those random conversations with the colleagues.

There were two kinds of days: one where you had packed lunch and one where you did not.

The packed lunch days meant that we get to eat lunch in the picnic bench in front of our office building if the weather was good. Outside air can do magic to you. We would share our food and taste what each person brought. We would share recipes and stories of our home and kids. We would then go out for a walk in the trail near by. We will aim for some miles in our Smart Watch or sometimes rush back for a conference call. In winter, we missed the walks outside, but still enjoyed having lunch together at a table.

The second kind of days was more fun too. When I don't have packed lunch, I would reach out to others at work - hey, who wants to go out for lunch? It was unplanned, many times, but it let us get out of the office building, enjoy some different food, chat and share what is going on in life and then come back to work world refreshed. I would catch up with ex-colleagues or old friends and I thoroughly enjoyed those times. I am very particular about staying in touch with old friends, reconnect with them from time to time.

This takes me to the exact point I was going to make. What do I miss the most in those lunch times - don't laugh at me or judge me, but it is the truth! I miss the Indian buffets - especially the South Indian ones!

Before you judge me and say - oh my God, that is a lot of food, you overeat and gain weight etc, hold on! I am a vegetarian, and over these recent years, I have started appreciating quality more than quantity. Yes, we tend to overeat in a buffet - but the variety it offers is amazing.

Let me try to describe the spread of my favorite South Indian buffet!

It begins with a nice appetizer - uzhunnu vada, Gobi manchurian, veg spring rolls, chilli idly, bajji - any of these could bring a smile to my face. They better have a complementing chutney in the condiments section.

Then comes oothappam or appam with vegetable stew or kurma. Or pongal laden with ghee. Poori or Semiya upma would be welcome always. I am not a fan of naan in South Indian restaurants, so I would prefer these other tiffin items anyday. I save my naan cravings for North Indian restaurants.

Again, people laugh at me if I say I like to try an upma in a buffet. I want to taste an upma that I did not make, how hard is it to understand that logic :-)

This restaurant brings dosas and chapathis to the table. In the initial days, they brought kerala parotha instead of chapathi! Even better! So we can relish 1 chapathi with the yummy paneer butter masala and enjoy the mini dosa with sambar/chutney!

Oh! I forgot to mention that the small cup of hot steaming- spicy and sour rasam - was grabbed on the first round itself and placed in my table. It gives a heavenly solace to the soul.

Time to enter the world of rice. They typically have Vegetable Biriyani and a mixed rice (curry leaf rice, tomato rice or something of that sort). A spoon of each is good enough to determine which one of them is better today and have it with raita and pickle. The fryums or oil fried appalam on the front end of the table comes in handy now.

A small steep cup half filled with curd rice and topped with some sambar or pickle lets me taste the curd rice. Curd rice better be without the pomegranate seeds - just regular seasonings for me, please! A spoon of any poriyal or vegetable would be appreciated.

At this point, I cannot eat anymore. So I go grab a small steel cup and get the dessert - nothing to beat the kesari which is orange or yellow in color. I love the cashew nuts, avoid the raisin and don't like the pineapple or mango they put in it. Any South Indian dessert would make me happy. So tired of gulab jamuns that come in north Indian buffets.

Finally, just half a cup of masala chai to call it a day!

With this corona, this is the ONLY thing that one cannot dream of today. Resturants reopened for take outs and dine-ins even, but I have not heard of the Indian buffets resuming! Take out does not cut it, after all and it can never replace the satisfaction of sampling each item in a buffet to enjoy it with its complementing side dishes!

Sigh! Until AC (After Corona)! Waiting to relish a quality Indian spread without worrying about 'spread' ! Who is with me :-)

Week 12 of Quarantine - The Illusion

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 22:06:00 +0000

When you are in the cold claws of winter, it almost seems hard to believe that warmer days will be here. You keep waiting and waiting for the freedom from the jackets and sweaters. The slightest bit of warmth or sunlight is like a boon and I would adjust my work schedule to step out for my daily walk to catch a little bit of the sunshine.

Now, we are officially in summer. What a relief from the suffocation of quarantine added to the winter agony! It almost is misleading. It created an illusion that corona virus does not exist anymore. As we walk in our neighborhood, initial signs of driveway get-togethers was a shock. How are these people able to do this? Are they not afraid of the consequences? I used to wonder.

I guess people are tired of waiting for months for the freedom to breathe outside and starving to have some human conversations and meet-ups with friends.

We are slowly becoming comfortable with breaking the lockdown restrictions we religiously followed in the first few weeks of quarantine. Going out to a park and hanging out with some friends sitting far apart became ok. It was nice to finally meet folks and talk. A part of me was still worried, but I hear that if you are outside, we should be ok.

The excitement phase of trying to cook new dishes has faded now. It was a cooking marathon of dishes we never would make - now it has come to the normal routine with occasional desire for new trials.

The restricted feeling of making-do with the grocery you had is not there anymore. I can just wear a mask and go to a store to get an ingredient, if I want it badly.

Today our county moves to 'yellow' phase. We are all afraid of increased number of cases in the coming weeks. Hope things stay in control and we can be relieved of this menace soon!

Week 6 of Quarantine

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 12:46:00 +0000

Quarantine Week 6 is rolling. Will we get used to this as a permanent thing?

Other moms are complaining about how they are overwhelmed by school work help they have to provide their kids. From what I hear, the struggle is more for parents of elementary school. They never had a online learning concept or system in place. So it is a major struggle to devise such methods now.

My boys are thankfully older and more independent. I cannot complain much about them troubling me with help for zoom calls or school assignments. I wonder if what I am doing is good enough as a good mom.

I start off the day with breakfast and shower and the morning office calls. In between hours of work, if I were in the office, I would have stopped by a colleague's desk for a chit-chat. On the way to the restroom or back, I would have exchanged some small talk with someone, complimented them for their outfit or shoes and or made some ad-hoc lunch plans. Not any more.

Tired of sitting at my desk and typing, I walk around craving for a chat. I enter the room of my 8th grader teenager and he says - "mom, can you go out, I am in a zone with my home work. Don't distract me".

I open the door of freshman-in-college room and he is obviously in a zoom call. I flee from there hoping to chat a little with my husband if he is not on an office call. He too seems to be on a call and I wave at him and walk away,

Before it is too late in the night for my dad in India, I call him. These talks give me the confidence that he is doing good and can comment about movies, whatsapp jokes that are relevant to current situation. This gives me peace that I can go about my rest of the day and night. There is always a fear and worry in the back of the mind still.

It is all about food prep and food to make. When there is time at hand, we head to the kitchen to make something. It has been a good opportunity to try out dishes we never had the time to make. Lot more time at hand for preparing ingredients that will come in handy for cooking,

Here too, I cannot complain that I am the sole chef at home. There is a partnership in place, my husband cooks too, and the boys have all been very co-operative.

Apart from emptying dishwasher which they used to after we nag, now we have them help us furthermore in the kitchen. Like cleanup after dinner or lunch. Putting dirty dishes away (yuck...) and loading dishwasher or wiping clean dishes.

They like to jump in to the kitchen and bake occasionally. Both boys worked together (argued and fought too in the process) and made their first ever pound cake from scratch and converted it to a pineapple upside down cake. I am impressed.

Boy 2 helped peel a whole stalk of garlic in exchange for a fast food meal he has been craving for 5 weeks. And I caved ..!

We have been playing carroms and it is a series of tournaments going on. We all have improved the skills a lot. First time in my life, I impressed my Boy2 with any kid of game/sports skills. I am so happy for that.

Still, there is a certain thing about routine that needs to be broken. It makes us stick to the same things every day - and there are areas of focus needed around cleaning/organizing closets etc which don't fall into this routine.

So far so good.

Week 4 of Quarantine

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 20:51:00 +0000

Today is Apr 8, 2020. We are living in an era where somethings never imagined are happening. Like me blogging again :-)

Three and a half weeks of quarantine period have passed by.

Only thing that can guarantee to put a smile on our faces is nature. Sunshine during the day as opposed to gloomy clouds are THE ONLY thing that will make me happy. That means, I can step out for a walk. Gone are the days when I would ask to go out for a dinner with the family or dream of going on a long drive. All I ask for is a sunny day so I can walk. Even while walking, I think of those friends who have not stepped outside home to avoid the risk of contacting the virus from the air. I wonder if I am safe by doing this.

This walk is so very needed after the hours of sitting on the desk and typing. The stiff neck longs for some movement and what is better than a nice walk outside.

We have been blessed with some better weather days. Morning times, the bird sounds come as a realization that some other system is going on as usual even though human lives have come to a standstill. Added to the sunny surprise, is the view of the spring blooms on the trees. Some are waiting to bloom and these buds promise a better tomorrow. It is good to see nature going on its planned course as we transition from winter into spring. This gives us hope for some day soon, summer will be here. There is also the hope that summer temperatures may help curbing the spread of COVID-19.

P.S. After typing this positive post, later in the evening, I heard about the 21 year old Malayali boy who passed away suddenly due to COVID-19 and I was terribly moved and affected. At this point, I could not smile even with the sunshine and spring blooms.

Best week of the year 2015!

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 02:02:00 +0000

I have been contemplating this post for quite sometime now. As the year came to a close, I should pen my thoughts which have been floating in my mind about that particular week from last year.

The opportunity to perform the duties of an RJ on an Internet channel came as a possibility through a friend "AM" who happens to be a founding member of the Internet channel. I spoke to another founding member "PM" which I considered similar to an interview. It was a nice chat and I was asked to record a sample audio file and send across. I dragged that for couple of weeks.

It was not easy to record. What you have to say has to be thought out before hand and even scripted out clearly. Only then I could produce any audio without a stutter or pause. Finally I sent the recorded sample, which got okayed and I was given a go ahead. It was as thrilling as getting a new job. Except that it is all completely voluntary!

Then family and life got in the way. Months rolled by with this thought in the back of my mind that I will someday 'may be' air a program of my own. Then it dawned on me that I have to take the first step towards it. The goal changed from putting out a perfect episode to just get a episode out.

I learnt that you have to embark on certain journeys without knowing about what all could happen on the way. I have to accept the fact that one cannot always be prepared completely for everything that might happen.

As PM said, I was ruining the fun in the journey by insisting that I should know in advance about what will happen at every step of it. So I came to terms with that fact that I will figure out what it takes to produce an episode of the show - one step at a time. And what a fun ride it was!

How true it is to say that you will always find time to do something that you enjoy doing. Also, the order of tasks to do becomes second nature when you figured it out. I figured it all out and as it was told to me, it just kept getting easier as each iteration happened. After the tiring job of cleaning up the kitchen after cooking, I managed to sit and write script for couple of songs. Little by little. I learnt that I have to complete the recording in one shot. That was a big time commitment - so I had to manage my time efficiently not to impact other important things in life.

So what do I love about this RJ role I play: I am the queen of my own world. I set the rules. I select the theme (of course, here I have to mention my partner in crime who has been a source of song ideas and encouragement to pursue something I have dreamt of. My classmate TP). I select the songs which have made an impact on me. I have to have a relation with that song, else I cannot do justice to writing the introduction to the song. Writing scripts was exercising the creative side of me. I love this part the most. Years have flown by me where I have not exercised my creative abilities for anything worthwhile.

So - coming to the best week of the year - it was a week in October where TT edited the files. I awaited eagerly to hear the first run of my program. All the bits and pieces I have recorded and given, how will they sound when edited into a stream? I was eager to find out.

That is when I found it out it already aired the previous day. Some miscommunication. The next run was going to be early morning 4AM. Can you imagine me getting up at an early hour of 3.45 AM to listen to my first program? Hubby dear was worn out with his voluntary work for church. So as he dozed off, I enjoyed the show with my friend (partner in crime mentioned earlier) and my Appa on whatsapp. I was so thrilled.

Next re run was on a Friday and I let each friend know. And what fun it was to know that people who are close to my heart are listening to it and letting me know that they are with me!

That surely was the best week of 2015!

Months later, for Xmas, my hubby dear gets me this new mic and we record and edit all at the same time! It is all a puzzle to begin with, it flows along and before we know it, the whole episode is ready! Hoping for many more enjoyable creations in 2016!

2015 - Chugging along

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Fri, 29 May 2015 15:20:00 +0000

OK, OK - it has been a good few years since I even tried to put a post here.
There are many posts that I drafted in my mind while I was driving to work when my head was ringing with so many thoughts and TO-DO items.

So the moment has come to type up what is going on here. I know a handful of people is all that would read this - who have given up checking any updates to this page years ago. But these handful are some I can trust to visit the page once I tell them - hey, I put a post in!

Life is moving along. My teenager will be 14 year old soon. I am already comfortably settled in the phase where the boys are pretty independent and can manage their studies and activities all perfectly. At least that is what I am thinking!

My boys do not want me anywhere near them when they are doing homework for fear of me yelling at them to write neatly or to write the steps for a math problem. I am not even close to trying to force my Indian educational skills into them. I think I should do some of it - but they cleverly escape from me or I escape from the rejection or failure of our advices being thrown out the door.

But they are doing good at school - so I will let them be independent for now!

Hey, I am taking a quick trip by myself to India to attend couple of weddings. I am excited and nervous at the same time. Will it be too short - will I be able to handle the jet lag which always bogs me down..usually worse when I am back in the US? Will it be too hot? All sorts of questions pop in my mind.

But one thing is sure. This will be the first Tamil wedding I will attend in 15 years after I came to the U.S. So I will cherish the fortune that lets me take this trip. I am thankful for my family and circumstances that are making it possible, And it is the wedding of the kid I carried in my arms - technically, probably the only other kid I carried other than my own. To admit the truth, I was never kid savvy. So these bride(s) are special to me and I wish them a wonderful life ahead. I will wish them in person.

Meanwhile, I am leaving the boys (all three) with my B's parents. I realize it will be hard for them to juggle things while I am gone. But I should be back in a jiffy. 1 week to go for my departure and I am yet to start any packing/shopping. I will take it easy this time - coz it will be my trip alone. Hmm..I know you envious girl friends...your time will come too..don't worry!

In love with Manhattan..

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 21:43:00 +0000

It has been two consecutive weeks since we have been visiting Manhattan. Last week, A and A took us there - Mr.A cruising through those Streets and Avenues gave us a tour of all those eateries to be visited and landmarks to checkout when we come back. The one evening with them there was a fun prelude to what was to follow the next week.

We parked in Trenton for overnight parking and took the train.

B and I booked two nights in a hotel right on Times Square. Did not expect a luxurious stay but wanted to be close to the hustle-bustle. Got just that. We checked in to the hotel and stepped out. We took a stroll around and found ourselves in the Rockefeller center. We called to India to speak with the kids and chatted with them. After a round of appetizer in an American place, we were walking. An hour later seeing this Desi restaurant, we felt it is time to have something Indian. Dinner there and then walked back to the hotel to crash.

When we step out in the morning, there you are - you can see the city on the move! And you have this amazing feeling that you are part of the happening place and you cannot afford to sleep in a hotel room anymore. It is time to start moving!

Breakfast is no other place than Saravana Bhavan in Lexington Ave. Which other place is open at 8.30 AM to offer you food close to home? We enjoyed the South Indian food and took a cab to Central Park.

Central Park was amazing - the more we walked and we looked in the map - we figured we still have so much more to explore. Every direction you turn there is a fountain or some nice scenery. Groups of friends playing volleyball and stuff. Parents walking behind kids running away from them. Canadian anniversary celebration. The Lake. The Cubbon Park style grass meadows with couples here and there. The bikers made me regret I came unprepared to rent a bike and roll! Some other time..

The next stop was the Broadway Show. Thanks to A who recommended 'The Phantom of the Opera'. The story line as well as the rendition was captivating. B fell in love with it. I liked it but I guess it was my nap time.Ever paid money for an excellent show and fought with your eyes to keep yourself awake? May be I was too tired from the wandering around so much. The Phantom's character made an impression in my mind.

I had made reservation at Vatan Restautant. I learnt a new term - Prix Fixe menu. It was Gujarati food - bit pricey but I had heard so much about it that I had decided to explore the place. Great ambience and the setup of a village is nice.It was a good experience. I had read so many bad reviews about their service - but it was really nice in our experience.

The next morning, B insisted we go to Saravana Bhavan again - usually it is me who wants to go there, but this time it was him. Then was the adventure ride in Subway to Financial District. There was a moment when we stood in the hot and humid subway station that I thought we are completely lost. But we made it. Lots of things to figure out when you ride subway the first time - but we reached where we wanted to. We were thrilled to get the first glimpse of Freedom Tower. We saw the Bowling Green Bull which we had visited 13 years back with a friend's family. Roamed around more and eventually my feet were extremely sore. Then we took a train to Grand Central Station and were wowed by its majestic architecture.

Had a quick lunch from the "dining concourse" as they called their food court. Time to go back to the hotel, grab our stuff from the locker and head to the train back to Trenton. Quite a memorable experience!

N and N - my boys - I have made a list of all the places to take you both in NY. We missed you when we ate good food and especially when I tried the Icecream Soda in coffee flavor, I wished I could ask N1 to try. Now Appa and Amma are well versed with the Streets and Avenues - especially with Google Maps in Appa's phone, we can conquer Manhattan. Lovely city!

A school year later..

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 21:03:00 +0000

When I hopped into this blog after a long time, I realize I had not posted even once after we moved into our new home.

A week ago, was the completion of an entire school year in the new school district. Initial days of my older one complaining about the new atmosphere and not having friends. The days when the younger was lucky enough to find a friend and hang on to him. The school bus change and concerns around timings/pickup/drop off. Then it rolled off smoothly.

I took part in some Elementary school activities with the younger one. I would feel totally lost in the beginning since I knew nobody there. I missed the old school where you walk in and you could recognize faces. Now at the end of this school year, I can say I can recognize some faces.

Long story short. Kids have gone to India with grand parents. It is just the two of us. You will be surprised
how much our lives revolve around kids that you don't know what to do when they are not there. But I would be lying if I say that I am not having a good time - I am doing things which we cannot think of doing when a normal routine school week is going on. I went for Nails after 2 years with a friend. I am meeting girl friends for dinner and lunch. Last week, B and I went out couple of times for dinner. We went for a long walk in atrial. It is almost like a bachelor life. Every evening we watching a movie or a half of it until we know it is too late.

All friends are making plans for evenings with us. It is a break for them too. Make hay while the sun shines!

Nearing it..

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:40:00 +0000

As the closing date to the new home approaches, mixed feelings emerge once again.

Past 5 months, we were in a temporary home. That holds true for everything about our life. More than half of our things boxed up in the basement, we were living with what is utmost necessary. When seasons changed, we went on the look out for winter clothes in suitcases. We realized that however good you label your boxes, it is not possible to quickly get to what you want.

About 2 weeks to move out of this apartment townhome, it does not still feel real. When the structure was being built, we would swing by every day to see what is new. Every little change was exciting and it was a ritual for our family to drive by every day. Once the structure outside was complete, then we started getting inside the home to look for any changes within. And then came a stage when we were locked out. We can only get in with the builder's help. It has been exciting so far.

This temp home was so convenient in one aspect - we had the school bus stop right outside the home. Never had it so close before. So when my 1st grader is ready, we get out of the home and wait for the bus.

We have fun conversations at that time. Once the bus comes, I wave bye to him and he blows me kisses.It is like we do not care how stupid we look to others and I have never done that with my older one even when he was small. Once my older one got on to the bus, I could never see where he was. Also this is much different from my to-be teenager now who does not want to see me anywhere near the bus stop.

I think that is what I will miss most when we move out of this home. The memories of me waving bye to my younger one and him smiling to me eye to eye!

Change is good

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 20:34:00 +0000

Last week, we had the most exciting days. We sold our current home and moved to a rental place. All the foundation work for eventually moving to a new home in the near future.

After spring break, we put our townhome on sale. The one month and odd when our home was on sale - constant cleaning up, refraining from cooking inside, take-outs and eat-outs, yelling at kids to not mess up the house, getting out of own own home for others to walk through it any time - thank God that all ended when we got an offer. It seemed like a very long time though! We could not believe it that it ended since during our Open House we did not even have a potential buyer come in and the response that was so great in the first 2 weeks we put it on the market dwindled down very very soon. Just about when the hope was running low, we got an offer.

Then came the stages of inspection, mortgage appraisal from buyer's loaning company ..one step at a time. We were really afraid to tell anyone for sure since anything could go anyway. The date was fixed by the buyers to settle - it was the same day they were selling their home.

Now the challenge was to find a rental place which fits our future school district needs. We were looking at a new construction from time to time and working out our agreement with them. After a bit of struggle, we signed a lease with an apartment where our kids would go to the same schools when the new home is completed.

Last week was the big move. Even after the movers took the bulk of everything, we were shocked to see how much more needs to moved to the new place. It was a marathon loading our cars and unloading stuff in the new place.

The settlement meeting went smooth. Now we slowly settling down in the rental place. I am even enjoying the rental place and unpacking boxes - I do curse when I hit a box on the way or can't find what I am looking for right away..it is all part of the game!We embarked the journey now on making selections and finalizing options - will take some months to get our home. One step at a time...but the changes are really exciting.

The Year That Was

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:45:00 +0000

So why was I procrastinating so much from writing? Finally I hope these thoughts will see day light.

The Year That Was - I am talking about the year I decided to quit my job and be home. When

I quit the job, I thought I will be home for 3 months. How that went to a whole year (and a couple of months) is a story.

Once I put Nithin into the half day Montessori, my life revolved around that schedule.

Memories:

Early morning walks in the Mall when no shops have been open yet. I would buy coffee and wait around to return something in a shop. Somedays I was to early in the Mall after dropping him that I had to sit in the car, kill time with iPhone until it opened.
Times when I always early for everything including the one time I was 1 hour early for a doctor appointment
Times when the radio station talks about traffic in the Turn Pike, I switched it off because I don;t bother about it anymore.
Times when the people I interacted most were automatically non-working moms.
Afternoons sitting on the king size bed with Nithin and reading to him
Evenings when I would look forward to work with Nikhil on Kumon or something - so I feel like we accomplished something together!
Days when I had the enthusiasm to cook and days when I hated it so much that I escaped it
Sundays when I felt and enjoyed the relief of not being compelled to go to work the next day
Days when my Google Calendar consisted of nothing other than kids' birthday parties

In an effort not to break the rhythm of Nithin's half day school, I did not feel like looking for a job. B had a 1 year timeframe in mind after which I should start looking for a job. Summer went by like a breeze with my parents' visit and with kids out of school.

September began with the worry of how Nithin will adjust to his schools - he was to continue the AM in his montessori and the PM in public school. I had worried about this all year, but other than the the first day's crying, he adjusted beautifully. I started getting bored at home - so automatically I started job-hunting - as per plan.

The next couple of months I went through the frustrations of

a job-hunter. I was back in the same state that I was after my layoff (2 years back). Trying to market my skills - except that this time I was looking for new role completely. I did not want to commute too far and did not want to travel for my work either These really narrowed down the options I had.

After some weeks of hope and despair alternating, I should say Thank God for that phone call.

Ek Pal Mein Zindagi Badal Gaya...

I heard the golden words - We want to make you an offer. My old work place. The product in which I had worked for 5 years before. A chance to start off officially as a product analyst. B will be my colleague once again. Commute = 5 min.

December went by knowing that I have a work place destined for the next year. Parties and holiday gatherings. Dressing up. Apprehensions and tension as usual about the future. How will it be?

More later on how life has changed after joining work.

The Week That Was

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:07:00 +0000

Monday started off with preparing mango pie to be taken to Nithin's school for the Diwali celebrations at the Montessori.

Tuesday was the Diwali party. All the Indian moms contributed to a couple of hours of Diwali joy with music, food and crafts from India. It was a beautiful sight to see all the kids dance to Bhangra and Bollywood Music. We indulged in eating the goodies and savories made by other moms.

The week day evenings were busier than usual for the past few weeks due to practices for the upcoming Diwali Party for our community. Nithin was going to the Diwali dance with his age kids. I was happy that he was not clinging to me like last years' practices. I could just drop him off and pick him up and he went into the routine without issues. He is growing up fast and he is already 6!

Nikhil also was going to ramlila practices. B was playing guitar in the band that practiced songs for the Diwali party. I sang two songs - so music practice meant we four would go to the venue and the kids would play DS - but they were being good boys letting us sing. In fact, they also would sing our songs when we are back home.

Wednesday I had lunch with two of my fellow friends/moms. As usual, we chatted a lot about us and kids and this time we had lunch at the Thai restaurant near by. Fun times.

Friday was the arrival of B's parents. Their flight got delayed and it took them much longer in the travel than usual. They all got home at 1pm in the night.

During the day was the Halloween parade at the school which I missed at the last minute. I had mehndi applied in my hands by my beautician neighbor and that made me handicapped totally. I did not factor in the time required to get the mehndi dry, so I figured B has to go to the Halloween parade! It was a torture because I could not even make a phone call or pick up a call using my iPhone. I had gloves on my dried mehndi, so my swipe action would never work. Finally I had to use the thumb of my foot to swipe it ON and receive a call. Next time, I swear I will get it done towards the night, so I can sleep without feeling handicapped (pun intended!)

Anyway, mehndi was done and it looked colorful!

As I wait with bated breath for the much awaited Diwali Party in Saturday evening, Saturday morning begins with snow. All of a sudden, the weather turned unbearably cold. We had different engagements throughout the day and B and I were in the car on and off over the snowy roads. We did get through the commitments, went to party hall and set up music instruments and mic etc and came back home to get ready for the party.

The attire was decided already this time. B had bought me a saree just for this party from his India trip. I had also got the blouse stiched by an Indian lady. I discovered her through a friend and thank God, she had the bandwidth to stich my blouse in this festive season. So I was super thrilled about getting a blouse stiched in the US for the first time. With B's mom's help, I wore the saree, jewelry and the rest of the boys wore jubba.

The evening went by smoothly with our music performances. The disturbances of the mic were annoying. It was hard as usual to get the talking crowd to pay attention and keep quiet. But I was happy with our performance. I have to mention here that I could sing one of my all time favorite songs - I had been suggesting this song from before but the time time came now. It is 'Janeman Janeman tere Do nayan'.. from Chhoti Si Baat. I love Amol Palekar's innocence in this movie. So being able to sing my favorite song made the day for me!

Also I sang a duet with B - 'Sham' from 'Aisha'. Of course the whole orchestra gang did a great job and we all enjoyed the practices and the performance. The public review was encouraging as well.

Sunday was marked with the halloween parade within neighborhood. We lost power for the whole day almost. Heating up food in the stove without microwave is a pain. Thank God it came back toward evening and life soon became normal.

Monday evening was trick or treating. So finally it feels like we can breathe. That is the story of how eventful and happening last week was.

Zumba

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:04:00 +0000

It was a pleasure attending our favorite Zumba class once again last evening.

Some of my friends were pretty regular at a point months ago in attending this class. That is how I started getting hooked to this one. The instructor is very good and she plays vibrant lovely music. Also, my experience says that if you are regular, even somebody like me (!) can pick up dance steps. The class gets filled up so much that if you need a decent spot, you have to arrive early. Decent means that you can get a good view of the instructor to copy her moves - or you are right behind one of those good dancers so you an refer to them when in doubt - and also there is enough room around you so that you don't risk stepping on somebody.

When each song ends and the next song begins, it is a pleasure to realize it is a song that you know and you have danced to in a previous class. She does bring in latest hit songs and introduces many new ones. It takes a while to get used to them and from then on, I am happy to hear them being played since I can manage the steps. She also brings in some Bollywood songs. I was super thrilled to hear this catchy song as a Cool Down song. I would have almost been dancing instead of doing stretches yesterday when I heard this particular one. Since I am not so up to date with new songs, it took some googling to locate this one.

Pee Loon from Once Upon A Time in Mumbai.

Anyway, this post is just to proclaim that ZUMBA is fun and if you have a chance to try it, PLEASE DO!

Bidding Good-Bye and the emotions associated with it

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:36:00 +0000

As we stand on one side of the security check at the airport, while Appa and Amma are on the other, putting their hand bags in the conveyor belt for scanning, I felt helpless. I was wondering what more could I do at this point. The truth that we all will have to go back to our own lives, stared at me. Just 10 minutes before, I knew this moment will come and I can tell both Appa-Amma and me were dreading this moment. We don't want to break out into tears and make it awkward and difficult for each other. But the emotions associated with the good-bye moments were overwhelming us.

As B and the kids hugged them one by one, I did not know what to do. May be because the culture of hugging is not in our family, even though I am accustomed to doing it with US friends, wasn't I still not able to hug my Appa-Amma?

It was weird and it felt sudden when Appa just moved on to the line of security check. He did not want to break down. I could see that. Amma waved ta-ta at the kids and us too from the line.

As we watched them complete the processes and as I hoped he would turn back and see that I am still watching them, I could see them walk into the airport. He did not realize that we are still watching them. They don't have cell phone, so the only thing I could do was to wait for his call when they are completely settled.

Throughout the car ride back home, B and I were talking and talking about how life would be for them when they go back. To continue with my own life, there are challenges awaiting me.

Finally the phone rang after I had gobbled up yummy Appams at our friends' place in our street. Appa and I caught up. He sounded energetic and we laughed about surviving the emotional moment with minimal tears. As we walked home from the friends', we saw an airplane up in the sky and my younger one goes, "Amma, I think Thatha and Paatti are in that airplane" and waved at it!

The quiet of the home is not new to us. Whenever B's parents left, the front room has stared at us with the void. It was the same this time. The kids tried to find something that Thatha and Paatti have forgotten by mistake.

I hope everything goes well for my parents as they step into the retired life and restart life in Bangalore.

Life's new routine

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:52:00 +0000

When kids had school, I was lost in a different kind of routine. Now it is different. No school for the boys. My parents are visiting us. So days are flying by so quickly. When you are in a routine bubble, it is so hard to break out of it. Each day has to be following the current routine and I cannot think of how I spent my days before this all started. I know when they go back, I will go back to the same old life - but it seems unthinkable now.

Timetable - we sleep late, but I don't like it when it is too late. I prefer to have the breakfast done by a certain time, then cook everyday for lunch and finish lunch by the same time everyday. Just because we don't have school does not have to mean that we do things out of schedule. That is just me and I stress myself around this a little bit.

Highlights of the summer so far are:

I thought I would not be able to remember how to make Tamil oriented dishes since we cook mostly Mallu at my home. But I have been doing a good job so far with making good meals for my parents. My joy knew no bounds when my parents say they like what I made.

I was amazed that I could go into this Tamil mode of cracking jokes and making parodies just because I have my Appa here. Some relations don't change over time and it is possible to be pick up from where we left. I am talking about being together in person - talking over phone is fun but different. To say the least, we do enjoy our conversations and a lot of time, listen to him talking whatever he chooses to.

Making travel plans to take them to some places and making them happen has been fun.

The best part is seeing the kids interact with them. When they enjoy and laugh at the pranks the younger one does and when they appreciate the older one for being the mature boy - I thank God for making this trip happen. Because I could not have showed them how my life now exactly is better than this.

Nikhil is hooked to the 7 Little Words' app in the iPhone. I am happy he can connect with Thatha and learn the valuable lessons of vocabulary and English that I got from my Appa. When we three jointly work on each puzzle, I know in my heart I had always dreamt of this to happen if my Appa visits.

A.C is running constantly. It is so hot these days. But I like the way it has been going.

A Beautiful School Year

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 03:50:00 +0000

When I started Nithin at this new school, he cried one day - much less compared to the months of wailing in the car during drop off to previous school. Very soon, he made very close friends. What is more surprising is that the moms of these kids became real good friends. New friendships are interesting and fascinating. We enjoyed watching our kids play together and enjoy.

Pick up times during noon had an automatic chat session built in. We could not leave home with our own child without at least saying Bye to each other - even in case of hurry. All the kids in the school would leave, but our kids would play and play and we moms would chat and chat. Now I am not sure who was waiting for who? :-)

The kids learnt a lot during the school year. Socially, I could see Nithin blossom into a totally fine kid from the shy boy he was. It was truly a pleasure to see him open up with his pals. In the middle of the year, he used to cry if his close friends were absent from school. If they got picked up early, he has cried. But now, he seems to handle that much better. I am really thankful to his tiny friends for the role they played unknowingly in his social development.

Last Friday, the academic year ended. It was quite an emotional moment for me to see him walk into the stage with the graduate hat on. This whole year, whenever I picked him up in the noon, I have experienced the satisfaction of things working out the right way for him. When the boys giggled and ran around in the playground, my heart soared. I was never driven by the pressure of going to office after pick up. I let him have his fun time and then carried on with my mental ToDo list for the day.

Some afternoons, we headed straight to the restaurant where he wanted to have soup or Dosa. Some times we went to library. Most of the noons we relaxed sitting in our bed with the books he chose to read. Some we fought over Kumon while I yelled at him for not writing neatly. He would write one letter and run away from me and jump on the bed while I lose patience. I will really cherish the one academic year I spent with Nithin as a stay-at-home mom. Sometimes I stared at the clock which displays the date and time worrying about what lies ahead for me. I tickled him and cuddled with him and sometimes I was gloomy when he checked if I was sad.

The plan is to take care of the kids during summer. But I could not begin doing that without writing about the beautiful year that went by.

Mexico Times

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:39:00 +0000

Once I got this idea of all inclusive vacation in a resort, my mind was so determined about making it happen right away. Here are the reasons:

I am still unemployed by choice (so far!), and I wanted to reap the benefits of not having to take a vacation to go on a family trip.
My boys are not too small - so traveling with them should not be a nightmare anymore.
The 9 year old and 5 year old have similar interests and get along well with each other regarding what they play and watch in TV. WHILE THIS LASTS, I wanted to make a memorable family vacation.

What started as an attempt to go with a bunch of friends' families, ended up as a family vacation. No regrets whatsoever!

All set with sunscreen and swimwear! On the day of departure, we were stuck in the Philly airport within the air plane for 3 hours - which was actually the duration of the flight itself. There is something with us and flights - we got stranded in the airport during our Disney trip and the connection flight would not take off due to mechanical issues. Anyway, when the flight finally landed in Mexico, I was more than thrilled.

Walking out of the airport, I was almost in tears because it felt like landing in India. The surroundings and the people all reminded me so much of the old Bangalore airport. For a moment, I could even picture my dad waiting there for me. That explains the teary eyed part, I guess.

Driving to the resort in the van arranged by the travel agent, don't laugh if I say it felt like
driving from Trivandrum airport to home. The weather, the coconut trees and the surroundings reminded me of the Shankumukham beach - all these came to memory.

As soon as we checked in to the room, we had decided to bid adieu to the sneakers and slipped on to flip-flops. We took it easy, had dinner and figured out where everything was in the resort.

The next morning, after breakfast, we headed to the beach. Pretty much every morning, we were at the beach until lunch time - when it got hot. The sea looked as blue as those pictures in the calendars. The sand was pristine and super clean. Nithin mostly focused on building sand castle. Nikhil helped him most of the time and also had his fun in the water. As days went by, my comfort level with the beach went up. Thanks to B, I ventured going the farthest into the ocean in my life.

One day, there was a sand castle competition. I motivated the boys to participate in it. B helped them a lot. I came up with the caption for the castle and we got a third prize of our team work called 'Templo Antiguo'. We were also called upon stage to receive the prize in the theater that evening.

One day, we went on a trip to Tulum to see ancient Mayan ruins. It got so hot so early in the day quite unexpectedly. The boys could not take the heat and would not let us listen to the tour guide's interesting talks that peacefully. After Tulum, we went to Xel Ha - the natural water park. B and kids ventured into snorkeling. I was not up for it, so I stayed in the land. Eventually Nithin was cranky and sleepy, so my not getting into water found its own meaning!

The dinners at restaurants within the resort were fancy. The only trouble was my being a vegetarian. They made some veggie stuff for me, but it is always a tension and I have go reminding them to make some.

It was funny to note that in Mexico, the Mexican food did not have sour cream as part of it. I had a tough time explaining what it is only to find out they don't use it that much. So the Mexican food we ate in U.S is what I expected, but it was not exactly the same. Thank God for the spicy salsas!

Overall, a trip for my lifetime. I will definitely cherish the memories of this trip always.

On raising the younger one

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:18:00 +0000

Not to be mean towards the older kid, but with the younger one - there is a lot of 'first-time' things which makes it interesting. It is too gratifying to see the younger one go through different phases and get exposed to new things. But with the older one, those phases are over and I have to work harder than ever before to come up with such new things.

For example, during this school year, Nithin started in a new school. He cried a lot in the old school, but I thought that is the only choice. Now in this school, may be due to his age or sheer luck, he has found 2 best friends. Every time I go park the car for pick up , seeing him play in the school playground with them happily, I thank God for bringing him where he is now. It looks as though I was forcing him to adjust with his fate in the older school and that he is now truly happy where he is. This friendship will have to come to an end when this school year ends for all practical purposes. We truly owe the confidence boost and sense of feeling at home with this school to the friendships he has built.

Each day is interesting to see the things he speaks now - the new words he learns from school or his big bro'. The first time for many things - new friendships, play dates, first swimming lesson, first Kumon class, first skiing lesson and first Ice Skating lesson. It is a challenge to get him started with anything new and it is truly satisfying to see him get over that initial stumbling block and flow freely with the routine.

I don't know how to put this into words - but isn't this easy to achieve compared to dealing with the older kid where we have already finished all these milestones? Teaching the 5 year old ABCs and getting satisfaction when he is able to read a page in an easy book is the EASY way to get parenting satisfaction I feel. And in every step with your previous experience, you already know what to expect in the next step and you are mentally prepared for it.

Another point is that, with the younger however little they do, we are thrilled and satisfied because it for God's sake - just their first time! Shouldn't we have a celebration that he went into the class without crying? He stayed without us near him for 2 hours! And for his age, this itself is a big deal! The level of expectation from the younger is very less and so is easily achievable for him.

But with the older one - it is not easy anymore. You have to work harder to maintain what you have built and you have to put extra effort to find NEW things for him to do! To challenge him further is not as easy as it is teach the younger one ABCs!

Playdates and more fun

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 02:07:00 +0000

John Lennon said: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

I would like to rephrase it to say: Life is what happens to you while you're taking kids to birthday parties and play dates.

What an eventful week that was!

Tuesday was B and my 11th wedding anniversary. I scheduled our annual physical appointment with our physician that day, so we both can go together to the doctor and B will take off also. I like to flow with the habits enforced by the health care culture here in the U.S. So if anyone of you have been skipping the annual meeting with doctor - here is a reminder from my side. Please go!

We cut a chocolate cheesecake (I love cheesecake and Nikhil loves chocolate, so he picked a chocolate cheesecake from the grocery store!) in the morning. Kids were excited because only on these occasions they get so much sugar as part of breakfast!

It was a week full of play dates for Nithin. Back when Nikhil was small, I should confess I never knew the concept of play dates. I never consciously arranged one for him so that he could develop social skills. I was too busy for them and I was not aware too. Now Nithin is having so many play dates with compatible friends. It is fun time for the kids. It is also chat time for the moms. The weather was so beautiful and we spent some time outside in the park soaking in the sun. Make hay while the sun shines!

Yesterday, we bid farewell to another family who are moving to India for good. The potluck dinner was delicious and too much fun with Antaksari and Dumb Charades. Another set of families where the kids played well and adults had some game time. I am glad to be where I live.

Weekend marked B taking Nikhil to soccer game while I took Nithin to a fun birthday party. It is a relief to see him not shying away from people and taking part in fun activities with other kids. It was again moms' talk time - a different set of girls this time. It was a week filled with a lot social interactions and laughter and fun.

Heritage Night

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 21:59:00 +0000

In Nikhil's school every year, there is a multi-cultural evening called Heritage Night. Since we have been with the school for 4 years now, we knew what to expect. There is a big crowd of Indians who dress up in Indian clothing. But it was more colorful that what I had expected.

For the past one month, volunteers from our development had coached the kids to do a traditional Gujarati dance. That was one more thing to look forward to. It is always exciting for every mom/dad to watch their kid perform and there were many many parents who went through similar feelings that night.

I had volunteered to help man the India booth. There were so many yummy things people cooked and brought for sampling. People walked around from booth to booth sampling foods of different countries. India booth had delicious sevai upma, besan halwa, fryums, banana chips and gulab jamun which we all digged in along with serving the visitors politely :-)

"Do you want your name written in Hindi in a bookmark?"

Right at the booth, I landed the job of writing the names of visitors (mostly only kid visitors) in Hindi, the National language of India in bookmarks. I enjoyed this task since it put my Hindi writing skills to test. Of course, writing Indian names was easy - but I did have a real challenge with writing American names in Hindi. I managed to survive with Andrew and Zoe! But almost every kid and parents were excited when I wrote the kid's name in Hindi and handed over the bookmark to them. Some even got it written for other kids at home!

My initial reaction before going to the event was "Been there, done that!" But over there I met many folks who are attending this for the first time and seeing them I remembered my excitement of the facing the unknown years back- "when is the fashion parade", "what time is our kids dance"! I realized that the Heritage Night this time takes a new meaning for them. It is these newcomers who keep the spirit going every year!

Hurray!

noreply@blogger.com (anamika) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:05:00 +0000

For the past one week, me and my Appa were laboring to submit a Passport renewal application for him using the new website called Passport Seva Portal. He could not successfully get past the login screen at his end in India, so he officially appointed me his travel agent in US. After getting through the creation of application and uploading the documents, we were shocked to note that the Normal appointment at the passport office is too far away for our needs. We needed to get an express appointment to proceed with our plans. Looks like these appointments open up a 8AM IST and they get filled up in no time and you had to wait the next day or another.

Since then my job was to book a Tatkal (meaning instantaneous) appointment - which was not an easy task. Every time I check for the availability of the Tatkal, all I got was "All Tatkal appointments have been booked, please try again later or another day". I kept trying at different times with despair.

Yesterday night, I tried at exact 8AM IST and I could not believe my eyes. I FINALLY saw the tatkal slots listed. My hands were literally shaking because I KNEW these will get filled up in no time. As I picked a slot and clicked "Book Appointment" keeping my fingers crossed, I saw the words "The slot you selected has been taken by another person. Please try again later". My heart sank! All the efforts went futile, I thought.

I knew LATER I may not even get this far. I could see that all the open slots that I had seen a minute earlier for the location I selected within Bangalore were GONE. I just tried another location in Bangalore and voila, I saw just ONE slot. I pounced on it and prayed to all Gods. My dad was doing the same thing from the one end - except that he can't even get as far as I can within the website. And I got the appointment!

I was never THIS happy in the recent past. Phew..! I called Appa to narrate this success story and now we can go ahead with the plans. Interesting experience - frustrating for the whole time but since I finally succeeded - now I have a smile! Little joys of life! Sense of satisfaction and accomplishment - isn't that all we want to take away from any experience!