Saturday, December 24, 2011

One month already.

Today we concluded two days of religious ceremonies for my mother-in law's first month anniversary. One shanthi puja and two "masikams" as we call it. For the first one year, it is a monthly event. The adage is that the soul travels in steps (majilis) to its final destination and what we provide every month, makes for their meals at each step. I cannot believe that I've already gone from having dinner with her every single night to providing meals to her soul, so fast :(

After everything was done and the purohits left (they came in from Hyd), we just sat down, my father in law and I, and were thinking how it has already been a month, when we saw the time, it was exactly to the tee - 2.45 PM. One month ago (the Indian calendar's one month coincided with the Roman calendar's one month this time) on the same date and time, my mother in law passed away. Sometimes it feels very long ago, sometimes it feels like yesterday. Swinging emotions. It has been an eventful month for sure though, with lots of things happening, lots of things learnt, lots of things done. We feel like adults now, performing last rites and death-related rituals, with people coming and staying at our place etc. I was telling Subhash, we need to expand our inventory in terms of kitchen utensils and bedding, we have officially moved into my in-laws' league. Too early, too soon :(

One debate we have been having is whether or not we should do the monthly rituals at home. The first month and the 6+ month one are important, and except for those, Subhash's dad says (and rightfully), that it will be a lot of work to do it every month at home, we should just go to the nearby Raghavendra Mutt and do it there. But I want to do each of them at home. For a very special reason.

When my father in law's brother died, his sons did the monthly event at home, every single month. The older cousin is a CEO and the younger one is one of the top executives in his firm. Both busy, working guys. And my mother in law used to tell me that she felt so good seeing them doing the rituals at home every month. And she said this multiple times, over the few years it has been since. The older cousin got all the yearly dates ahead of time and would plan his travel around them (he travels a lot) so that he would be in town when the date came around. And I think she particularly loved it, that sons, who were so busy, in this age and time, took the time to do it this way. If my mother in law is indeed on the journey to her final destination (and that is what our belief system is), I am sure she will be happy, proud and content that her meals are also coming from home. So at least I have emulated the cousins in the first step, taken all the dates ahead of time and put them in my Outlook. Now I hope I have enough strength and favouring circumstances, so we can get this done properly, every single month, at home.

We see her in everything at home and sometimes it really tugs at the heart. I had to prepare the madi sarees yesterday and I only have silk ones so I had to pull out a couple of her sarees and both Subhash and I were sighing at the sight of all her clothes. Here was a person we were living with, day in and day out, talking to, looking at, eating with, and suddenly, it is just thin air, no person. I still look in the fridge every day and see that dabba of chutney that she made, and wonder where she is now. I have never experienced anything like it. Grandparents, uncles etc have died, but we never lived with them constantly, they were never part of our day to day routine so it was sad but in a distant sort of way. This, on the other hand, is right at home, affects our very daily routine and it is not easy to get a grip around it. For a long time to come, this is going to linger and hurt.

I hope you had a good and satisfying meal ma. Unfortunately, you are not around to tell me how much you loved it :(

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

One more milestone

Yesterday it was three years since we had the house-warming for this house. At the risk of driving away all my readers with repeated melancholic posts, it reminds me about Subhash's mom. As per our traditions, the oldest couple bearing the family name is supposed to walk in first, break the pumpkin and perform the initial few rituals. We were extremely happy that they were able to do all of these especially since she always used to get nervous before any big function and wonder whether she would be able to pull it off. She had an oil spill on her saree that day and got very nervous about whether or not she would be able to get it cleaned especially because it was a saree I had given her for my father in law's 60th birthday ceremonies. She was happy that we settled down closer home, bought our own place and had a properly planned and elaborate house-warming. I think she was quite proud of us. Going forward, I don't think anyone would celebrate our successes, big or small, so vocally or visibly :(


Monday, December 19, 2011

Many thoughts

The past few weeks was a whirl of activity. Going to Hyd for the last rites of Subhash's mom, then coming back, doing some pujas at home, settling back down into routine, Rohan falling sick, then breaking his nose and lips etc etc.

He fell flat on his face when a mattress which was propped up against the wall fell on him when he was with his back to it. Not sure what transpired, the dad and son were upstairs, but almost 99% sure that he went and gave it a nudge or something. Subhash got him down and by then his nose and mouth were streaming blood, and it was a horrible sight to watch. We took him to the ped near our house and she said, since he is not letting her examine him, to wait, give him some ice, and watch if the bleeding persists and then show him to an ENT doc. The bleeding stopped after 10 minutes and he also fell asleep but his face was fully disfigured what with the upper lip being super swollen and the nose likewise. Lip got back into shape in 2 days but nose is still swollen. We took him to his regular ped this Saturday and he said nose looks ok and so does lip. No fracture of nasal bone and that the nature of injury will cause his nose to remain swollen for at least 2 weeks. Its been a week now, got to wait and watch for another week. Kids, and their injuries, it nearly makes the heart leap out of the body and bleed. My little baby!

He again has a runny nose. He keeps getting this every 15 days, and at least now we found a good medicine which controls it quickly, so at least he doesn't end up throwing up food for weeks together. Still, coughing through the night, not sleeping, not letting us sleep etc, gets a bit much to handle.

Sometimes still cannot come to terms that Subhash's mom is no more. Somehow it feels she is someplace else. When I think about the fact that she is not alive anymore, somehow it feels very surreal, as if it is something that is not possible, sometimes it is shocking, sometimes it feels final. Yesterday, an old friend of theirs had come home (his wife also died in Manipal nearly a year ago, succumbing to a neuro complication made worse by her ERD as well), and when her last days were being discussed, it filled me with sadness. For the first time in almost a month, I was close to tears again. The confusion of not knowing where she is or what she is doing, if she is able to see/hear us etc is sometimes bothersome. But at least I feel better in the fact that when she was still around and able to listen, I made my peace with her, she was happy to be with me, happy for everything I did for her, accepted my good-bye and died knowing that I'd take care of his Dad, acknowledged it with her tears, precious and hard to come by in those last few hours. Sometimes I think this peace is the only thing that keeps me from going insane over her death.

Monday, November 28, 2011

61

Today is Subhash's Mom's Birthday. Had she lived four more days, she would have finished 61. Happy Birthday Ma!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

RIP, Ma

WARNING: This is a long post. Please feel free to skip. This is more to document my thoughts so I can read them many days hence.

Subhash's mom passed away on Thursday, November 24th. She has left a void which I am sure we have not half assessed or felt yet. It will hit us gradually and slowly. Here is an open letter to her from me, I am sure she can never read it but I am hoping that she can read my mind wherever she is. RIP, Ma, you will be terribly missed.

Dear Ma,

I think of many things about you. It is a collage of thoughts, I cannot straighten them out.

I think of the time I wrote you that first email addressing you as aunty and uncle, wondering how you would take it.

I think of the time when you asked me what colour saree I wanted for the engagement and I said brinjal colour and you actually got me one.

I think of the time you got me that plate of food at our wedding without anyone seeing it so I could eat, since I was very nervous about going hungry till noon. This you did for me alone, while Subhash married on an empty stomach.

I think of the time when you were nervous about coming to the US, getting a visa etc, we used to talk everyday, several times a day.

I remember the joy I felt when I got you to the US. I was showing you our world, and I was quite happy I was able to come to India and take you back, I felt proud that I did the same for you like I did it for my own parents.

I remember you called us as soon as you reached Boston and were happy like a girl because you were able to see and meet Anna.

I remember your child like delight when we went to Disney. I see the pictures and I think, wow!

I remember how much you walked in Vegas. It seems so distant. We covered the entire strip many times in those few days.

I remember how you offered to help S with her wedding rituals when we went to LA.

A remembers you Ma. She says she remembers how you were the only one who offered to help her out with prasadam, when they had their housewarming ceremony.

I remember that yellow wool you got with you from India before leaving for the US so you could knit a sweater for me. You were not very happy with the finish (it was loose) but I always wore it (even to work) just because you'd always be so happy when I did. I am wearing it today (it is cold here, do you know) and wondering are you happy now too?

I remember those UNO games we all used to play and your child-like happiness when you'd win :)

I remember how you insisted I get a chain too when we went shopping for you for your birthday in 2007, exactly 4 years ago, to the date today.

I remember how happy you were that we were moving back. I am awfully glad that we moved back when we did, while you were still able to go around and travel.

I remember how you never let me do anything while we were in your domain in Hyd. Although you were not well, you'd never let me cook or do anything else. If you wouldn't be able to do it, you would arrange for someone to do it, but never let me.

I remember how happy you were when we bought this house and moved into it. I was so happy when we finally got you here and showed you all the renovations we did and when you said it was all so awesome. You were so proud of us! I don't know if I am happy or sad that we had to give you a farewell and send you on your last journey from this same house.

I remember how happy you were when you heard we were expecting. You told me it would be a boy. And I used to tell everyone confidently that it would be a boy. And when they asked me, I'd say, Subhash's mom told me so. Needless to say, they'd be puzzled. Well, we did have a boy!

I remember how you climbed three flights of stairs in spite of it being totally out of your physical power just so you could see Rohan quicker and not wait for the power to be back.

I remember how you arranged for most things for his pujas and naming ceremony. All we had to do was fly to Hyd!

I remember how you'd want to make so many things for him to eat when he went to regular school. I feel sad, you could never finish this dream. I am sure just like Anna and Thammu, Rohan would also have enjoyed your elaborate meal preparations for school's dabba.

I remember how concerned you were about my stressful job and how I had to manage the house, the baby and the job. I know the guilt always stabbed at you horribly. And I was helpless to fix that :(

I remember how you took it on you to do a lot of things which you didn't have to do, for people purely related to me and not concerned with you whatsoever.

I remember how you enjoyed being there for Rohan's major milestones, the naming ceremony, the annaprasana, the first birthday, the second birthday, the aksharabhyasam. We thought, the next and only thing left is the odugu, I wonder if you knew during that conversation that you wouldn't be there to witness that :(

I remember how you bought Rohan his first bicycle. And were happy that he loved it.

I remember how you always let me know whatever little compliments other people paid me. You never missed telling me.

I remember how you said, "You have done so much for me, I can never repay you". After this, you didn't say much else the rest of the days you were at home. You simply were not able to :(

There have been some really awesome times ma and some amazing memories too. You have done so much for me, I cannot simply wrap my arms around it to measure. There were some moments of friction towards the end in the last year or two, but I am glad they were not so big as to glare in the radar. My fault at most times, I admit. I should have adjusted more. I am sorry I did not. The other day, during our last conversation, I forgot one most important thing. To say sorry for all the times I might have hurt you. But now it is too late for it. I hope you can receive my apologies now wherever you are.

Everyone was around you when you finally left. Except me. And Rohan. You didn't want me to see you going. Or maybe you figured that I didn't want to see you going and being the understanding person that you always were, didn't let me go through that pain. I came and saw you, peaceful, detached, finally away in some happy place, far away from all the troubles that beset you here. I hope you will come down once in a while to watch over us. And give us advice in your own way on how to do things or what is best.

RIP Ma, we will all miss you terribly.


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A good conversation

Today, I went to the hospital to see my mother in law. The docs have been saying we should remove life support and let it end. I let my father in law and my mother in law's sister go down and when I was alone with her,  I held her one eye open, pressed my face close to hers and told her not to worry I will take care of Naanna (Subhash's Dad), I will keep him with me and look after him, you go happily, don't worry and she actually nodded and there were tears in her eyes!

I was surprised and that is putting it very mildly. Then I told her since you are not opening your eyes, everyone is assuming you cannot hear, but you are able to see, able to hear and able to understand right, and she nodded her head once again. The tears continued to stream.

Then I called Subhash and told him to come up since she was responding to what we were saying. Everyone asssumed she was lost and can't hear what we are saying. He immediately came up and talked to her too. We asked, do you see who this is? Thammu (they call Subhash that amongst them)  has come, and she nodded again. And he was surprised.

Then we told Subhash's brother and when he went back and talked to her, she responded to him too, apparently!

I told her a lot of things, and asked her a lot of stuff, just like I would ask the son. When she cried, I said, "No, amma is a good girl and she must not cry, right", and she actually nodded again. And with this conversation, I suddenly found my peace. I got through to her. She could hear out what I had to say. She was not really lost already after all, and we could still give her some comfort, some parting thoughts, something at all.

I asked her "Shall I go now, I need to go and cook for Naanna" and she was not nodding her head, she wanted to talk, she started moving her lips, at one point a slight voice escaped her throat. I asked her, "What do you want to tell me", but she kept moving her lips and we couldn't make out anything she said. Whenever I said I'd go and come back the next day, she'd start moving her lips, as if asking me not to go. She never nodded her approval for me to go.

I told her many times not to worry about his Dad. We'd be there for him and look after him. I somehow felt she was worrying about him. I felt happy I had my conversation with her and that she actually could hear, see and understand what I was saying. Hopefully this will make her happy and peaceful too, just as it made me. I came back very happy today, I have not felt it in the past few days. And I am happy I was able to enable that for both the brothers as well.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Pensive and sad

Subhash's mom has been in and out of ICUs for the past four months. She has had ERD (End stage Renal Disease) for the past 4-5 years and was going through dialysis. Since June though, she had become susceptible to a lot of problems resulting from other organs getting weak. We had to move her into ICU on Diwali and she spent two weeks in Manipal before coming home last Wednesday and we had to take her back the next week Saturday, after 10 days, again, since she was seeming lost to everything that day. Since this Saturday it has been a long wait for everyone. Waiting for some deliverance. Some conclusion. Some miracle. Today the docs have decided to move her back to the ward since they don't think ICU will help any longer.

How sad is this for her. I cannot imagine why anyone would think this an appropriate thing to mete out to her, even if it is God. She has always helped others in whatever way she could. I don't think she deserves a time like this. Yesterday I went to see her in the ICU, we called out her name several times but she didn't respond. I had hardened myself for the worse a few weeks ago, and still, I wanted to cry. Her plight was tearing at my heart. So many pipes and tubes and that oxygen mask on her face and she was just lying there, oblivious to everything.

Yesterday, when I saw her lying there, I remembered the first time I saw her, she had cut out this big watermelon for me, my mom and sis when Subhash took us home en route to a friend's place. Later, several years past, she told me, he had never got any girl home till then so she knew I must be someone she was going to have a long association with. She was always very active, hated sitting back and letting others work, always wanted to help and felt hopelessly guilty when she could not help in spite of wanting to because of her weakness. Today, I remember a lot of things about her, our long phone conversations, how she shared everything that bothered her all her life with me. My father in law would never let her say anything negative about anyone and so wouldn't her sons. So whatever she needed to vent, she did with her sister and all that and some more with me.  I wonder, is there something she wants to say to me now? I have no way of knowing. She already seems lost to us forever.

I am glad that in the past few days before she went back to the ICU, I was able to take care of her, show her that we all care for her, and try and make her as comfortable as possible. She was the best of moms to both her sons and she did so much, so willingly for them. I am glad we had the opportunity of giving at least something back to her, although it was very insignificant.

I am just praying for a peaceful time for her whatever might come in the next few hours and days.

Monday, November 14, 2011

One year!

Today the son finished one year of going to the daycare! Somehow always, these milestones make it look like time flies but this one took me by surprise. I was like "Has it just been a year?! Feels a lot longer!".

That is 52 weeks of staying away from mom for a few hours everyday. In this 52 weeks, we saw a few weeks of sickness, maybe 6-8. Not bad, I'd say :)

Coincidentally, it also means I finish 1 year in my new team and I have fallen in love with my job all over again, thanks to a few folks who make it feel worth the while to work hard and do a good job, one thing I sorely missed in the old team.

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Sympathies

A lot of my friends and family have been increasingly wondering how I am coping (including Subhash;)). Whenever someone says that, I actually think, wait a minute, what exactly am I coping with? Sure, mother in law has been in the hospital for two weeks now, Rohan has been extremely unwell for the past 5 days, Subhash has been unwell for the last couple days, maid has not been coming for 4 days now and so on and so forth. But whenever someone sympathizes, is when I actually realize, yeah, life is actually being tough this week with so much to do, not to mention work on top of all this.

But that is all not the point of this post. The point is that I don't realize or feel any stress till someone actually shows some concern for my condition ;) Which I think is a good thing. (Of course, concern sometimes tends to induce self-pity, which I hate to indulge in, but I have learnt to control it well over the past few years I think). I am very very thankful for the stamina I carry and **touch wood** lack of my own sickness this week (which usually is unavoidable when Rohan is sick, since he passes on everything to me). Heck, I am even managing to stick to my workout schedules!!

(Thanking my stars and hoping they stay stuck this way)

Monday, October 17, 2011

A full week!

Last week was very "full". Of experiences and memories. I met a couple of people very dear to me!

One was my director when I was in SJ. He is an awesome guy and built a really awesome team too! When I was moving to India, I used to sit in his office for half an hour everyday and crib about how much I will miss being in the team and he always used to listen patiently and eagerly. A great listener, we always found a ready friend in him :) He was here on business travel and thanks to the fact that he was in the same campus and staying close to our place, I was able to catch up with him a bunch of times both at and outside of work while he was here and it felt really nice! I was meeting him after nearly four years (since I moved).

Then later in the week, one of my very dear friends, S, stopped on her way from Hyd to Chennai in Bangalore for a few hours to catch up with me. As always, very sweet of her, she did not really need to do it. We have been friends for 16 years now and she is one of my friends I really admire and adore. Yeah, we don't speak as often anymore and catch up only once in a couple of months, but somehow this never eroded that bond:) I took her out to lunch (which I believe she loved) and then some shopping and then it was back to the cab and on the way to the airport for her. She was last here for the housewarming of our home (lucky coincidence) and again, nearly 3 years since I saw her. So all the more special :)

Friday, October 14, 2011

Fed up!

With this central government for more reasons than one. But probably the most dangerous of these is this:

Now in Uttarakhand too

The friendly neighbors encroach more and more and we live blissfully on. What a pathetic state of affairs.

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Food for thought

Today I had to go by MG Road for an exam. Somehow, once I cross Domlur and go towards MG Road, I feel the memories of the past flooding back. When we were kids/teenagers, a Bangalore-Mysore-Tumkur trip was a done deal at least once a year since all my dad's family was here. And when I start going towards MG Road, the old Bangalore visits always come back to my mind. It's like the Domlur bridge is a separation between my pre-twenty Bangalore experience vs my current life in Bangalore.

I used to quite hate Bangalore in those days, more often than not, because it made me miss school when I was very young and this meant asking permission from Sr Rose! (usually cosuin's weddings would happen in non-vacation times). When I grew older, it was more because Bangalore was more open cultured while Hyderabad (at least where I lived and grew up) was more conservative.

But somehow at the back of my mind, I always knew, no matter how much I hate this city, I will have to live here some day. Because I knew this is where IT was going to boom (at that time Hyd was still not so much on the IT map). And here I am! Today, I think of those days when I used to hate this place, I feel quite neutral to it, have adopted it to some extent as "my" town, and more than anything, look emotionally at it as the birth-city of my son :) But my past Bangalore and my present Bangalore have almost nothing in common. Since we moved back, I have hardly visited Majestic (maybe twice at most in four years nearly) whereas in the past that was the centre of my experiences. Sometimes I wonder, is this the same city that I used to visit? I rarely visit the same places anymore: Rajaji Nagar, Malleswaram etc)

On that note, I always feel, if my 13-year-old self saw my 31-year-old-self, it would be in awe and would want to emulate it. I guess that is a sure sign of having achieved whatever I wanted to (at this age, at least) and of contentment? :)

Monday, October 03, 2011

Sickness

Less than a week after his second birthday where I was wishing this year should have less sickness, I got that dreaded call from the daycare. He had discharge from his eyes, they suspected conjunctivitis and they wanted me to take him home. He did have a lot of discharge in the morning when he woke up but I didn't suspect anything serious. So I went, dropped him and picked him back and came home, all within an hour :( We took him to the pediatrician in our colony and she gave him some drops.

Sickness comes in all varieties I should say, but every time there is something, I feel like I have lost a lot of my own energy :(

A comment to share -

I got this comment on my previous post :

Anonymous said...

wow nice my daughter is 1.5 .How and when should I start letters and alphabet books ? does your son sit at one place and read them.When do they start speaking?

@Anonymous - If I say I didn't do anything to make him start saying his letters you probably wouldn't believe me? :) We do have some board books (for letters) which others had given him either as return gifts for parties or when visiting home. There is also a rhymes book that he has which one of my colleagues had given him. But besides these, we never bought anything as such. I think I should give most of the credit to his daycare where I believe the curriculum is really good and he has picked up a lot of stuff.

That said, I would not worry about when they will learn numbers, alphabets etc. In fact I never worried about any of his milestones. They are just babies and they have the rest of their life for the race that is inevitable, why take any pressure as parents from now itself? At least this has been my mantra and I stick by it with my life. When he didn't roll-over till he finished 5 months, I used to get questions by the day on why, how, what etc, technically I should have been very worried since kids rollover @3 months typically. But he rolled over very very late and he is perfectly fine for that. They will be. It all comes in due course of time so don't get worked up over timelines etc :) That is all I would say :) I have noticed a great difference in babies when it comes to milestones. They all take their time. Sorry for the free advice, but this is the only answer I can give I guess ;) As for when he started to talk, again, that too was very late (by most aunties' standards), maybe around 19-20 months old. Since then his curve with words and numbers has been steep. So don't worry, when they start, you can't stop them ;)


Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

2 year old mom!

Today my son turns two and I turn a two-year old mom :) When did I turn a two year old mom? Am I still not that girl of seventeen?? (which somehow my brain is always stuck at, and also which happens to be the age when I first met Subhash ;) )

It has been an eventful year. One where I have seen my son start talking, saying his alphabets, numbers, rhymes, songs etc. Also seen him fall sick (yeah, first one year he never knew sickness at all!), thanks to the daycare and other things. I once had a really scary moment when I was alone with him in the house and Subhash was in the UK. I fed him at 1.30 AM that night in the hope that he wouldn't throw up and absorb that energy to survive the night (he was repeatedly throwing up anything I gave him and also had diarrhea). Somehow when I think of this past year, that moment is poignant. It feels like the moment I grabbed my son from the mouth of sickness and brought him back :)

He started going to daycare and has been a remarkably fuss-free child. He did cry a few weeks into the routine but by and large he has adapted like magic :) He has a lot of friends and can also name all the 13 children in his class and sometimes this amazes me :) Whenever you ask him though, only the girls' names pop out unless you show him pictures of the other boys in his class. Surely he has his priorities set.

I have a lot of dreams for him and I hope I can give him the best in whatever he needs :) I also wish him a sickness-free next year and many more happy, healthy and prosperous years ahead :) I hope above all to always remain a friend and confidante to him and be able to move along with his generation so he never feels distanced from me :)

Here is 2 years of being a Dad to Subhash too. The best ever (even his son says so - Naanna best). Much better parent than I am myself I would dare-say :)

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Celeb spotting

So I was at the salon and I saw this person walk in. She had short hair and said she wanted it trimmed since she had a family function to attend tomorrow. In the course of the conversation, she asked how come the place is rather empty to which my hair stylist said it is because it is a holiday. She said, "ohh my I forgot, we are working today, see". Then I figured that she might be some big exec in one of the nearby companies since it looked like she hopped in from work and was going to hop back (no hand bags etc). I did see her before and then I started wondering. Leela has Huawei in its premises, but I was not sure if she was from Huawei, then I kept thinking, Titan, Britannia..and suddenly when she was leaving it struck me. Of course, this was her! I then remembered seeing a very small thumbnail of hers in one of Cisco's Women's network thingies that they do, where she was a guest speaker on career and women or some such topic. So when Arlene came back, I asked, that person, she works for Britannia, right? She said yeah, she is GM, I added yeah, she is MD and CEO. Vinita something right? And she said, yeah, Vinita Bali!

It took my breath away, my realization. This CEO was sitting right next to me for a full half an hour and I was a dud enough to not realize this earlier ;)

One more addition to my celeb spotting (other famous ones include our very own Wim Elfrink, Vivek Oberoi's grand-mother-in-law etc).

Monday, August 29, 2011

One hour

I thought I saw the worst traffic in my life on 880 (237 E to Dixon Landing moving towards Fremont) at rush hour. Today came very, very close to that nightmare.

Left campus at 4.40 PM and reached the other end of the Kadubeesanahalli junction at 5.50 PM! This stretch is 400 mts! Effectively it is just like crossing the road (earlier there was a signal where I could just go straight, but because of construction I have to turn left, go further, take a U-turn and come back to the same spot where I started on the opposite side. And this took 70 minutes!!!

Outer ring road was bad last week in the morning when I landed there by mistake instead of sticking to my shortcut from behind the airport. It took me 40 mins from Marathalli to Kadubeesanahalli (<5KM). And I thought that was bad!

Also, today, there was a couple of places where the median sort of broke down and I could have turned but I did not. To go 200 mts and come back to the same point took a painstaking 53 minutes! And I was stuck at the official U-turn, just 3 cars behind, purely because of senselessly created human deadlocks for a whole half an hour. Just 3 cars away!! Can you imagine how much I cursed myself for not chucking the rules out the window and just taking a U-turn where I could?!Thankfully the son got very cranky only in the last few minutes and I was able to do damage control by giving him my phone with some videos playing.

To compensate for the one hour delay in reaching home though, today Subhash was at home to welcome us, he took care of giving the son his milk while I changed and started cooking so that effectively, I was just 5 minutes behind schedule for the son's dinner! AND he ate so fast today that I wish I was stuck in jams like this every day as long as they promise to ensure son's dinner is done so fast as compensation!! ;)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

10 years..

Today is an important day in my life. Whether I say it aloud or not, I always remember it and quietly acknowledge it to myself.

Today is the day I left home, flew out of the nest to test my wings so to speak. Literally too. I boarded a flight from Hyd to Chicago and life has never looked back or looked the same again.

It is 10 years today since I flew into the US. The reason was a Masters degree. But the experiences and quests and events have been manifold and it is hardly right to call that journey a mere university education one!

I don't associate with the US anymore, albeit it is the only country I have ever immigrated to and have spent a good chunk of my life outside India in. It was a harsh reality, followed by a dream run, a pleasant experience to have had overall. I am glad I immigrated and also glad I moved back :)

But more important than the destination is the source. I flew out of my parents home and I knew at the back of my mind that there probably would never be a returning back. I chose today to fly out since I wanted to make sure I spent my Dad's birthday at least, at home with my family(my entire family is August born, dad, mom and sis). I could anyways not spend time with mom and sis on their birthdays (I would be too late for school) so I decided to fly right after my Dad's birthday. And bad as the intuition was, it has been so right. In all these 10 years, I have never once been "home" for Dad's birthday again (even after moving back!). My mom and sis visited in 2005, and their birthdays were spent there that year, so my Dad's one somehow stuck out I guess ;)

When I see young folks at work who commute from their parents' home, I feel jealous. In some aspects. I have never ever experienced completely care-free life after 2001.  The kind you have when you are still fully under your parents' roof. I was always entirely responsible for at least 1 life, mine. How I fed myself, how I spent my money, how I chose to spend my time etc etc :) All the same, I grew up a lot too :) And it gave me a taste of independence which I cherish a lot and would never want to give up for anything.

I cannot believe it is already 10 years though, I feel rather old. But hey, it is not 20 years yet ;) So maybe I am still young? ;)

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Sweet SIXTY!

My dad turns 60 today! Happy Birthday Dad!! I hope you have many more great years ahead :)

Monday, August 08, 2011

Movies and more

OK, one last try at this. Last time I wrote a post and it published a blank one, I had not copied the matter and it was lost forever. I re-wrote a second time and (duh! still didn't copy) and it again published a blank post. Frustrated, I gave up!

So we got this DVR (TataSky) around 8 weeks ago and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I recorded all the movies I wanted to watch but couldn't in the last 3 years and its been great catching up with Bollywood. I am a movie buff, at one point in my life I was watching 30 movies a month and feeling very happy about it ;) (this was when I was 12!)  I usually schedule recording online and catch up with the movies much later whenever I have an hour or two to spare from work/home chores/baby etc. Usually when I have my dinner after the son sleeps before my share of work calls start at night. 

I watched Action Replayyy recently and needless to say it was a stupid movie. But I finished it nevertheless and the one thing that kept me going is the curiosity of how it would be if the son were to travel back in time when he was older and meet me when I was about his current age. I think it would be exciting especially if I knew he was my son ;) To meet as contemporaries bringing down the barrier of a generation is mind-blowing as a mere idea :) Whenever the son meets Aishwarya in the movie, I invariably thought how it might be if me and the son met. I was not so excited about the son meeting his dad though ;) Its meeting the mom part that made me curious and the piece I thought was most interesting. 

Anyways, lots more movies to catch up on..

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Major, major, major!

The son got pushed (at least according to his teachers and principal) at the daycare by some other kid and he fell on his chin and broke it. It was horrible. A big gash and blood all over his shirt. It was painful to watch. We took him to Manipal and when they said sutures we were not at all sure and decided to take him to his regular paed. He checked it, said sutures would leave a 1mm scar, else, alternate was to tape him up, but scar would be little bit bigger. Since the injury was under the chin (may not be very visible when he grows up) and since we didn't want to put him through anesthesia and needles etc, we asked him to tape him up.

Somewhere I felt angry. And sad. And upset, in equal portions. The doc we went to in Manipal, didn't help by telling us it was a crime to put kids less than 3.5 years in a daycare. We told him both of us work and we don't have a choice, he came back saying what are you earning for, this is a big price to pay etc. I told him, this could have happened anywhere, and he still persisted on his agenda. I just left it. I hate people who do that.

Then I was (and am) feeling angry about the daycare. I don't think they are maintaining the student:teacher ratio that they promised, and I intend to talk to them about it. This is the third time the son is falling and it gets worse every time.

But then I remember the tenants upstairs. They are a young couple and the girl had gone to her hometown to attend some wedding and in a very freak accident, she got hit by a bull and had to stay in bed for >20 days. She is still unable to get up and do her work on her own and is attended by her mom and other relatives. Whom can she blame? I am not sure.

So trying to find out which boy pushed the son and caused so much pain to him is like trying to find out which bull hit her. You basically cannot do a thing about either. So I get philosophical and lap up my own anger and pain. This is life I guess! Phew!!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Slapper

(This happened on May14th, I had it in my drafts)

We were on the way back home from the daycare after the PTA meet. When we reached CABS (3 minutes from home), the son finished playing with everything he could and wanted to drive. So he went and sat with his Dad. But eventually he wanted to drive all by himself and was pushing away Subhash's hand. When Subhash kept bringing his hand back to the steering, the son was mighty annoyed. He wanted to drive by himself. So he hit me hard. I asked him why he was hitting me of all the people, I had done nothing. So he did a 180 degree turn, aimed and slapped Subhash hard on his cheeks. Neither of us really expected this. But both of us started laughing. It was too funny and sudden ;)

My son, I tell you. One amazing guy ;)

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Compliment

When we were in Hyd this time, I was managing in laws' house for a few days while Subhash's mom was out. And her maid apparently was inquiring about me yesterday asking if I liked her work etc. And she asked my mother in law where her second son was, since she mentioned she has two sons and she didn't see the second one. Mother in law said, they were here, right, second son and daughter-in-law. Maid was shocked and told my mother in law that she assumed I was the daughter and Subhash was the son in law. His mom tried convincing her for a few minutes that I was indeed the daughter in law and not the daughter, and the maid just could not come to terms with it ;)

I believe I can take that as a compliment ;) ;)

Speaking of compliments, I got a really nice one from my father in law very recently. He said I was managing everything very well and that my planning was perfect. Somehow I thought of my parents suddenly. Had they not brought me up the way they did, I'd probably be a very different person today. Some genes inherited, some qualities instilled when raising us, we are just the sum total of what they made us :) Thanks Mummy and Dad!!

Monday, July 04, 2011

Back from a break

And I realized that I get nearly 3500 emails every week and a half. I didn't carry my laptop with me this time and I do not possess a Blackberry yet so I was stuck with that many emails to clear last evening and this morning. And Entourage for MAC downloads at the rate of 10 emails a minute so you can imagine my frustration at the client because I respond to emails only to figure it downloads a few more from that chain an hour later, yuck!

I really hate Microsoft Office for Mac. Especially Entourage. It leaves a lot to be desired. Or maybe it is by design?

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Technology rant

I don't know why MS keeps pushing office updates on Mac saying they are critical. With every update more things are broken. The latest being, opening an attachment in Entourage takes forever. The last update totally messed up my PPT toolbars. None of them would be visible. You would have to go unselect a toolbar, then re-select it and then click anywhere on the slide to make it appear. I mean, how productive it makes me.

And what is with the latest Firefox?! It is so damn slow to load and respond and it behaves so weirdly that I can hardly believe this was the browser that wanted to revolutionize the internet browsing experience.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Educated?

Today I was coming home on the usual route. There was a guy in a car in front of me. In a Honda City. And he kept smoking and kept dropping the left over cigarette stubs on the road.

I wanted to ask him, how come the car needs to be clean while the road can do with a few cigarette stubs.

I never understand how people manage to do that in spite of the education they have..

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Shame on me

I was feeling increasingly guilty of abandoning this blog space. Lack of topics to titillate the readers, plus probably a slight (only a very slight) lack of time maybe.

But then, today a colleague at work said she knew me through my blog some years ago. Made me feel really sorry for this blog. It has helped me gain so many new friends and I keep neglecting it. I came back and checked the last post and it was nearly 2 months ago. Phew! Something has got to be done now.

So what is happening. In no special order

1) I am as thin now as I was before the baby, if not thinner. And people notice it now ;)
2) The son is becoming taller stronger sharper (I watch way too many Horlicks ads these days, so my talk is ad-speak)
3) Life is content and full. Keeps me happily engaged (hate the word busy)
4) In laws were here for a couple of months, left a few days back, leaving a void which we are slowly getting used to
5) More often than not, I am thinking about what to eat next (See the recently read books list in the left panel of this blog).
6) Had a good share of mangoes this summer but missed the rasaalu ones sorely (one of the very few things you cannot find in Bangalore)
7) I talk of summer as if it is past. Yessir, it is, the past few weeks in Bangalore have been cool, cloudy and rainy. Bane for the laundry but good for the spirit. Also most roads on my way to work have caved in which means son has a roller-coaster ride, what with my driving and the roads put together ;)
8) More friends send in news of impending babies.
9) Rarely logging into Facebook for lack of enthu. Hardly post any status messages there anymore except the blog entries which have also sharply fallen ;)
10) Refused to try fish pedicure after seeing the fish clutter at my cousin's foot. Anything that is wiggling and breathing, I just cannot touch. Includes, cats and dogs. Except humans actually, just about anything else.

There, I made 10 statements, so I can live in peace knowing I am not neglecting my blog anymore ;)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Conditioned body

Today it was drizzling when me and the son were driving back from work. I rolled down the windows (which I do very rarely) so that I can enjoy the rain (no smells, remember?) drops. I rolled down just my window and the passenger seat (son sits in his own sinhasan aka car seat at the back). Suddenly he yelped angrily and held his hair. I am assuming either it was the wind or a rain drop. He didn't like it. Till I rolled the windows back up and shut out the external elements, he kept angrily signaling to me that he is not comfortable at all.

Talk about conditioned bodies. Phew!

The foodie and her sense of smell

Was down with a beastly cold all weekend (starting Friday evening). I lost my voice and faculties of smell and taste. Voice is slowly back now, but smell and taste still evade. For the past four days I have been having food very mechanically without relishing it at all. If you know how much of a foodie I am, you will understand what kind of torture this is. To eat and to not experience the food. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! And Yuck!

Taste slowly is coming back but no smells yet. Which made me realize, how important, the smell of food is, in this whole experience thing. Just taste doesn't cut it, unless you can also savour the aroma of good food.

Damn!

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Birthday girl

So it was a completely anti-climactic birthday. Subhash and I were planning to take off for the day and do something nice, but his CEO decided to visit just for the day and he had a slot with him to present his work. Can't say no to that. Plus he had to have dinner with him. No to that is also not possible. So off we went to our own workplaces. He in fact had to leave earlier and came back much later.

First half of work was ok. Same old Friday. I was to go out for lunch with my lunch gang, but that got canceled. My team was going to take me out for lunch but I had told them I had alternate plans, so I didn't feel very nice about asking them if they want to go ;) But in the course of some conversation I did tell them and they did take me out for lunch. It was all good.

I came back and finished some meetings after which my old team said they wanted to come and meet me. My lunch gang was also going to come with cake et al. So I was excited. Turns out my old team also got me a cake!! This was probably the best part of this birthday and I felt truly touched. I didn't think they would go out of their way to do so much for me! It was awesome. So I cut both cakes, called my team over and we all had the cake and I chatted a little while with my old team folks before signing off for the work day.

Evening was pretty much routine.

All in all not a bad day at all, thanks to generous folks at work! :)

Sunday, April 03, 2011

It is over, finally!

The wait for the World Cup. I am sick almost of all the Facebook pages being filled with myriad updates, but I must confess, that this World Cup victory has its special place for me too.

For the one and only reason being that we scored over Sri Lanka. The 1996 semi-final at Eden Garden was when I stopped watching cricket. Or at least, stopped putting my heart into it at any rate. I remember feeling crest-fallen, broken, and my heart really aching. For the way we played and the way we treated the players during the match, handing it over to them because it had to be called off due to rowdy behavior. I vowed I would never ever again put my heart into any sport because it causes vicarious heart-ache to see the team lose and fail. I am glad I could finally chase those ghosts away last night. Now when I recollect 1996, I will always remember 2011 too :) And I won't feel so depressed.

For my much-proclaimed "I don't follow cricket", I did watch the second innings of the QF against Australia, the SF against Pakistan and the final.

Never was there an easy victory. All of them were hard-won, simply because the pressure (off the field) was always enormous (unlike in 1983). We truly deserved it, there was no fluke or stroke of luck in play. So we can be happy that the cup is home.

In all the hullabaloo surround the result and the "bringing home of the cup", there is just one man, the heart is warming up to. MS Dhoni. If there was ever an Indian captain who deserved to lift the cup after 1983, it is him. Just look at him on the field and off it. An epitome of calm, both in wins and losses. And his post match ceremony statements were awesome. Simply superb. I bow to you MS, you are truly inspirational :) And what a captain he has been. T20 world cup, test #1 and now THE world cup. He rocks. I hope he has a future that flourishes just as his past has :)

And I hope the next cup doesn't happen only when the son has kids (I was 3 when it last came home)!!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

6 years

With one employer. Yesterday. Probably for the first time I forgot on that day, but hey, I remembered a day later ;) I cannot believe it is 6 years already! Seems like yesterday when HR made a bungle and I had to join a week later. This makes it 3 years in San Jose and 3 years in Bangalore and for some reason the SJ years seem to have flown by much faster than the Bangalore ones ;) Here is hoping for many more fruitful years here.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Telangana - a shame

Some months ago I wrote this post on Telangana.

Months later, I had stopped following the news and anything related to this "agitation" since it was becoming more and more of a joke. I knew that everytime KCR went on a fast, he'd take a (few) crore(s) to stop the tamasha. Well, I said, no point.

But what happened on Tuesday was a shame. The tank bund is one of the symbols of Hyderabad and what happened there because a few adrenalin pumped "protestors" didn't know what else to do, is probably a worse mockery of this country's petty political climate than Rabri Devi getting sworn in as CM for the first time (at that time I thought that was the biggest joke made of the country but we have had far worse scandals since then).

So the folks who thought that a separate Telangana was a good idea (at least the sensible ones) still think so? Do we really trust KCR so much to protect the interests of the Telangana people? I would be surprised if I heard a yes :( To me, it is just a stunt to create another CM position in the country and all the cabinet that goes with it so we can have a few more scams. Sad, but true.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Spring cleaning

I didn't know I would ever do such a thing which can be correctly categorized as spring cleaning.

There was some seeping dampness in our bedroom walls this past rainy season and this had in turn attracted a lot of minute insects. We tried pest control, which I think killed all of them. But now with the coming heat, I believe all of the corpses were beginning to fly off the walls.

Have been sick since 6 weeks. Not sick, sick, but constant phlegm attack. No other symptoms of cold like body pains or headaches or anything but just a nagging phlegm problem followed by a bad throat ache every single day when I wake up. And I HATE throat ache more than anything else. Ditto with Subhash (minus the phlegm). Kiddo of course has been having all kinds of cough and phlegm variations.

So we decided to shift base. We thought maybe the master bedroom was too allergenic. So we slept in our guest bedroom for 3 days till the weekend came around. Then I took a coconut-twigs broom and swept all of the walls (to dislodge all the corpses) and then left the windows open (this is something I am not wont to do because I hate lizards with a penchant and I have a creepy fear that they will start walking in if I leave the windows open, of course, there is also the mosquitoes) for a good 3-4 hours. The master bedroom in our house is delightfully well ventilated, it is thousands of lumens bright when the morning sun rises and it also has splendid cross ventilation bringing in cool breeze till about 11 AM (after which it gets too hot). After that, I put on new sheets, and in general got the bed setup. In the night there was a delightful moon-light and I love sleeping in moonlit nights, by the window, with the fan on (while the window is open ;) )

I guess what I am trying to say is that I had a lovely pre-nap time last night because of the clean room, the clean sheets, the moon-light and the fan air!! (of course the windows were closed, I told you of my fear, right?)

I think I love summers simply for the sound of the ceiling fan! ;)

Monday, February 07, 2011

Five years! And how ;)

Thanks to everyone for the wishes! We had a great time yesterday, our five year wedding anniversary.

We dropped the son off at daycare, then went to White Mantra. Spa was good, it is a neat little place tucked away in Rustam Bagh, so we didn't have to go very far from home. By the time we got done, it was 3ish so we couldn't really plan a good lunch and settled for an uninspiring buffet @Citrus, hurriedly, since they were 10 minutes from closing. Then went to the Galleria before heading back to work to pick up the kid.

All in all, for the first time since the son was born, we went out together all day, without worrying about whether he woke up and is crying, whether he is being a good baby etc etc. I prefer taking him with us wherever we need to go, so that we don't cause too much trouble to others, as a family ;) So, unless he is already asleep and we need to go out on an errand for <2 hours max, we have never left him and gone out alone. Even when we did, I'd always think in the back of my mind about what he is up to and hoping he is not causing too much trouble. Given all that, yesterday was pure bliss. He was at his daycare, going through his routine, doing his thing, and we spent time with ourselves, for a good 6 hours!! So this anniversary will be memorable for that :)

And here is a toast to my husband of five years, that special someone of seven years and a great friend of 13 years! My life today is a lot more content, a lot more joyous, a lot more stationed because of you :) Thank you for everything :)

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Mynt - A restaurant review

Last one for today. (I didn't realize I had such a backlog of reviews till I started writing them)

We had the Sunday brunch at the Taj West End last Sunday. @Mynt.

Food spread was expansive. So much so that you didn't know what to pick in confusion. But the vegetarian choice was limited and very uninteresting.

What I loved was two things (no, make it three).

Their dessert spread was awesomest, the best I have seen. I went through each of the stuff on display very carefully before selecting a few that I wanted to eat. I gave the Indian sweets a skip since those I could have anywhere. I picked a few things, but most delectable was the fig and honey cream served in shot glassed like mousse. Figs were just perfectly ripe and it was a superb melt in the mouth. The chocolate mousse was also delicate and rich. Loved it.

Second thing I loved was our table (thanks to Sm for her booking). It was next to a lawn and I believe the son had a blast playing in there with balls, golf clubs and what not.

Third one was the kids corner. Just looking at all that stuff I wouldn't have thought twice before eating if I was a kid, made me happy ;)

All in all, great afternoon, spent well, with friends and food and conversation :)

Taco Bell - A restaurant review

Since I am at restaurant reviews, I cannot give Taco Bell a miss.

I think I ranted on this blog earlier about how the Malleswaram Taco Bell ads appear all over the Indiranagar area making me sour over having to travel all the way there to just eat at Taco Bell (which I anyways didn't do!).

So Koramangala now has its own Taco Bell and I have been wanting to eat in it ever since they opened shop.

Taco Bell has an emotional connection for me. It was the only place (other than McDs, which I never really liked) which would serve us hungry grad students any food after 12 AM. But it was far out on University Avenue and we needed a car to get there. So many were those nights when an assorted collection of friends would jump into K's car and drive over to eat.

So I wanted to eat at Taco Bell, just for nostalgia sake.

Needless to say menu is Indianized. Burritos are better than US ones, the Crunchwrap Supreme has potatoes in it, service is super fast, there is the same concept of unlimited, choose your own drink (except here, someone waits at the machine and fills it for you!) and every single Border's sauce brought back the memories of Mad-town. Awesome! ;)

We went there twice in a week and for now my nostalgia craving is satiated. Till the next time it comes back, that is :)

Medici - A restaurant review

Today we finally went to Medici. We always saw this place on our umpteen trips around 100ft road but never went in because Subhash thought its name was too much like medicine (what a reason?!)

Today we wanted to have dinner out and wanted to try something new (after feeling yesterday that we aren't exploring enough). So I read up reviews for Medici on Burrp and decided to try it.

No regrets at all.

The folks on Burrp said that the bread basket was awesome. And so it was. I have never had a better bread basket in any restaurants I have dined at, any place in the world (including ones in Europe, yeah). It was an assortment of warm, fluffy and delightful breads with olive oil+vinegar served without asking for it (that is a new for Bangalore restaurants, I always have to ask for Olive oil and Vinegar with bread here).

We then had the Caesar salad. Awesome again. My Litchee cream drink was simply superb.

The Ravioli and Pizza were passable stuff, nothing to rave about, but certainly better than average. 

The waiters were very friendly and helpful. We initially sat at an inner table and then requested to be moved towards the towering glass wall so that the son could look at cars as much as he wanted and this was a blessing. He let us have our meal in peace since he was too busy watching cars and bikes on the road. Then one of the staff asked us if he could play with him and we agreed and the poor guy carried the son around the place till we finished dinner. Quiet peaceful meal. Awesomeness!

Planning to make this place our newest default. So long Zen!! ;)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

16 months!

Perhaps his quietest month birthday. I am just glad that he has been doing ok for the first time in 3-4 days without throwing up or having diarrhea. Wanted to give him a break from the daycare so for the next two days, back to our pre-daycare routine. Me goes in the morning to work, comes back before lunch and then Subhash leaves. Hoping that with one week away from daycare, his virus will be completely cured and he will be ready to go back. One of his daycare teachers called today to find out how he was, I told her he is getting better. She was a little worried about him since she saw him throwing up on Monday. How sweet!

Incidentally today is the day I went into a corporate office to work for the first time. 8 years ago. I started out without knowing how it would turn out and with no set plans. I just needed a job which would pay. Luckily it worked out well so far and 8 years by, I am still hanging in there without much to complain about and actually enjoying it :) I do have some lucky stars to thank I guess :)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The endless phase of sickness

So the son is sick. He has been having varying problems since a month. First, in our Hyd trip for the Christmas break, he went on a finger-licking rampage and got himself diarrhea. Which resulted in a bad, bad case of nappy rash, which moved on to thrush, which didn't get cured till we we were a week back in Bangalore. Then Subhash had to leave for the UK for a week from 8th, and I fell sick, the first two days. Then he picked up towards the end of the week, and it made me feel like I was going through the worst week in my life. Ever. Nights would be a nightmare, spent in praying that the son doesn't throw up or have diarrhea or develop temperature. Somehow I revived him with some feeds happening at 1 AM in the night etc. He seemed fine about a day after Subhash was back and so we sent him back to the daycare, and then he was fine that week, and this weekend again, it started. The vicious cycle of throwing up and diarrhea and it goes on and on. Friday I stayed home. Monday he threw up in the daycare so I got him home early, took him to his regular doc and he said it is a viral attack and we just need to wait it out to get cured. Yesterday Subhash and I were both home.Today is luckily an off in India. Tomorrow I have to go to work, and I have no idea what to do. He doesn't seem to be getting any better. He has lost a KG (which, as a % of 12KG is a lot!) and I have no idea how to go about making him regain that weight given that he doesn't retain even 30% of what he eats because of this sickness.

We try to be cheerful, I try to focus on other things, but underneath it all, it is very depressing. I feel so sorry for him that he has to go through all of this at such a young age :(

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Pampering engineers

I was taking an after lunch stroll with one of my colleagues who happens to be this great admin. And she now has to take on additional responsibilities for an entire floor. So I was telling her, that might be a lot of work and she said, it really depends on how pampered the engineers are. If the manager pampers them, then they think they can get anything. Anything they wish for is a command and they begin to think that they can wish for anything. So I was a little curious. I asked her how one can tell if engineers are pampered or not. I never had any requests from my engineers (except for once, when one of them asked if she can have a Mac), so I didn't really know if I was the pampering type. So she said, well, if your team can be handled by any manager, then it means they haven't been pampered. But if the team feels that ohh, that manager is gone and now it is not so nice anymore, then it means they have been pampered.

Well..hmm? ;)

Monday, January 03, 2011

Food training

So I have resolved for 2011 to be a better mom at training the son to eat on his own and giving him more variety and nutrition in food.

Towards working on that goal, this morning I gave him his Graduates snack stars (Gerber) and he did pick them up in his hands but he threw all of them down. So I tried once more and this time I ate one and showed him what to do. After I did that he actually picked up one from my hand and guess what, he put it straight in my mouth!!

Whatever!?

Looks like he thinks I am in need of some training :))

2011

Time for re-cap. In the past few years, 2010 I would say, has been the most average. With each year beating the earlier one in terms of the goodies it delivered, 2010 was the one "break".

But 2010 had a lot of stuff I should be thankful for. Stuff that is not hits-you-in-the face sort of ecstatic but the more tenacious, steady sort of good. It afforded me the flexible opportunity to work from home while caring for an infant. This I think should be the highlight and I do have a few people to thank for it. It brought a much needed change at work as well. It saw the son going to daycare. It saw him turn a year old. And many more such "quiet" happy things, compared to the noisy and more visible goodies given out by 2004, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 :)

Lots of bad times too. Lots of relationship adjustments. Lots of coming to terms. Lots of tough decisions. Hopefully I have emerged more patient, more understanding, less uptight and more tolerant/allowing. Let's see.

Couple of ongoing resolutions to keep - be a more patient mom and get into a better shape (physically) than I am in right now :)  Second part is on good track already. I am almost back to pre-pregnancy weight (sparing a few hundred grams maybe) and people have visibly started noticing this. Fitness levels are back to a high and life feels good :)

Here is wishing everyone a Happy 2011.