Stand by me!

This song can propel me into the past like nothing else can. I heard it today after so many years. It made me feel as warm today as it did many years ago. Attached to this song is the memory of the most romantic thing somebody ever did for me.

I was shopping at a book store many years back, and they had this song playing at the store. There is something so simple and timeless and soulful about these lyrics. I was singing along and told this guy (a colleague) with me, that this is one of my all time favorite songs.

The next day, as I was busy at work**, I was completely caught off guard with this song playing in the air. I just looked up and there he was, grinning from ear to ear.

Nothing much needed to be said. The fact that he rummaged through his entire collection to find the CD that held that song to play it the very next day, was enough for me.

**And if you are thinking, "Wow! That was some cool office!" You bet it was. But we normally never played stuff like that on regular working days. Saturdays were a different ball game altogether.

Pssst: And if you are thinking that the 'he' I am referring to is my husband, you are sooo off target!

Stand by me "Orginal"inclusiv with River Phoenix
Link: - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX--7gFHkU0

Weekend Woes

Yup, I allowed the husband to do it to me yet again! Now before your naughty minds start wandering, let me elaborate. You guys might remember the 'Mumbai trip' I went on last year. Just before the scars could heal (yeah, it takes me a bit of time!), my husband (a klutz, when it comes to travel) has gone ahead and done it again.

When my husband said that he has a long weekend coming up, and that maybe we should head to Vishakapatnam, it did not make me jump up for joy. In all fairness, I cannot say that my husband has ever taken me on a hassle free trip. Even the honeymoon trip to Vizag (don't rub your eyes, you really did read it correct. We went to Vizag for our honeymoon. By the time the festivities died down, we were seriously poor!), he manage to pull of his signature klutziness. He wanted to show me around. After I got dressed in a nice dress with white pants, he came up with a brilliant idea. 'Why don't we bike it out?' he asked. So we went and borrowed his brother's bike. And by them we reached home, I was wearing brown pants! It was covered in slush. I must have forgotten to mention the affinity my husband has for potholes. We might be on the left lane. But far ahead on the right if there is a pothole, we will surely go through it.

Anyways, getting back to our trip recently, till the day of our travel, the train reservations were not confirmed. It finally did come through though. I can never sleep on train/bus journeys. So I spent the next two days in a sleepy haze. Then it is time to get back. This time, our reservations did not come through. So we spent half a day hunting for something that will get us back. We had two cranky kids on our hands too. I thought we could fly back. But people, can you imagine how much I was expected to shell out for a half our flight. 40K!!! Does money grow on trees these days? My family can fly to Singapore and still have money left over for shopping, with 40K!!

So anyways, we chose the bus, for which we paid double the normal fare. Again, no sleep! The driver slam-braked the entire journey. I kept sliding down the reclining seat. The back hurts, legs are swollen, I tell you, it was pathetic. I wish I could have torched that bus! :D They don't make it for people.

I told myself that I will try and learn how the train system works, but I did not. I am just limping back to normalcy. I have begun to hate travelling, with a passion. The next time, my husband say the word, I am gonna bolt.

I hope you guys had a better weekend.

Weekends

There are so many post in draft stages. The thought flow broke with a few distractions and I never seemed to able to get back.

The weekends go by in a blur! My husband leaves no opportunity to rub it in my face as to how much I am missing out on in life. He woke up at 6 am and went to play football. Got back at around 9:15 only to have tea, read newspaper, bathe, and have breakfast. He headed out at ten to play badminton. As he reached the lift, he told me not to expect him back before 5 pm. Now is he lucky or what!!! I wanna go out and toss a ball, play badminton, go for a trek with my friends. Boo Hooo!! Where is all the fun in my life??

Neha keeps tossing some funny stuff my way. The other day this happened:

I was busy pottering around the house, vaguely aware that Neha is mumbling something. Did not pay too much attention really. Then she asks me, "Mamma, are we Indians?"

Me: "Yes, Dear. Of course we are." (wondering what this is gonna lead to)

Neha: "Then you are my sister?" (Shock and perplex written all across her face)

Me: (Equally puzzled) "Come on. You know I am your mother."

Neha: "But the Pledge** says that - All Indians are my brothers and sisters."

Then I did what my motherly instincts indicated that I do in such a situation. I rolled on the floor and laughed!!

That kid of mine really throws these googlies at me every once in a while.

** The Indian Pledge. She says the pledge during school assembly.

Have a nice day!!

Are we taking about the fairer sex??

I read this tag on Uma's page and it did not take me me more than a few minutes to attempt it. Yup, this tag was right up my alleyway. Though I was not tagged, I just could not resist listing at least ten things you have ever wanted or done which your gender is not supposed to.

1. At every store that has tools and tool kits, I am always checking if there is anything new that I can add to my collection.

2. My ultimate fascination with having my own house with a garage is to be able to saw wood and make furniture.

3. When my friends ask me what I want from the US, the unflinching reply always, is, a state-of-the art drill kit!!!!

4. I always hold lifts open for other people, even if they are men. It just happens very naturally.

5. If the fan, light etc at home conks off, I am the one who runs to the supply store and fix them if they are doable. I am always at hardware stores buying wires, adapters and such stuff. Otherwise, I stand around and instruct the handyman.

6. It is but natural in India, for anybody who comes home to install any equipment, to address the man of the house. If the guy has started off in my absence, I make him run me through the entire stuff just so I can troubleshoot. My husband is the last person who would be around when the equipment fails and is more often than not, the person who screws it up.

7. When I was working for a company overseeing its administrative and facilities management, if any equipment runs into trouble, I would be called to see what the fuss is about despite the fact that 99.99% of the employees were men.

8. When there is any ass to be kicked, and if the people wanting to kick ass knows me, they will rope me in to make it more effective. I always had to manage a lot of male subordinates at work, and getting them to do stuff is no mean task, and, believe me when I tell you, I can kick some mean ass!

9. My husband has never changed gas cylinders at home. I have to physically move and change it myself. I have lifted heavy boxes, fixed curtains, moved furniture, and set up an entire house in a day. My husband has left me with a house full of boxes only to return home to a fully set up home, with a warm meal, mind you!!!

10. There are too many things that I am doing now that does not leave me time to: learn to ride a motorbike, paint my own house, learn to use a drill kit, etc. I can sew, cook, clean and do all other such work that is supposedly feminine, but if given an option, I’d rather do work that gets my hands greasy.

11. If I could another point, it would be to be able to stand and pee!!! Ha ha ha!!!

I am not tagging anyone in particular but if anyone does feel like taking it up, please do so and drop me a comment so I can go read it.

Guys, please be patient with me. I have not left blogging altogether, I am just trying real hard to keep up. I will get back to regular blogging just as soon as I get my schedule in order.

Two weeks

Thank you all, my blog friends, for your wishes. You cannot imagine how overwhelming it was see all those comments wishing me luck.

Swaram's comment prompted me to write right way!!! :D

The month started on a very hectic note. I was suddenly propelled into so much at the same time. Not too distant in the past, I was hanging around for six years at home, waiting for friends/relatives to drop in. Almost like rain in a parched desert ( Yes. I love to entertain :D). Well, almost nobody did.

And now I took up work and there landed a friend with her two kids. As soon as I got wind of the jobs and knowing that I had to start right away, I called her to tell her that she should postpone her travel so that I could take stock of things first. She did not take it well (she normally can't handle disappointment). Actually, she took it rather badly. But I also told her that if she was still keen on coming, she just had to keep in mind that I was starting right away. Which meant that I would not be able to hang around as much. She was to stay at my place for 3 days.

Well, I don't think she got the drift. She suddenly did not have anything else to do for 3 days, so she expected me to take her shopping. Not a problem, I love shopping. She is not alien to this place. Day 1 was fine, but I thought she should have just carried on with her shopping without me on the subsequent days. The selfishness was kind of getting under my skin. I was a mental wreck. I was creating backlogs that I had no clue how I would be able to deal with. To add to that the physical exhaustion due to the heat and all that shopping, house chores etc was beginning to get to me.

The worse part was that when she confirmed that she was coming anyways, I went ahead and planned the meals (read - and bought groceries) for her visit. Me being a hardcore non veg, and husband a vegetarian, I look forward to people who have to put their canines and molars to better use!! But guess what?? She is a vegetarian on Thursday and Friday. And what was I supposed to do with all that meat. Suddenly a lot more confusion was thrown in (as though I did not have enough of it already).

To top it all, she had been suffering from a nagging cold. The cold bothered her and so did the heat. She would say she was ravenously hungry and eat like a bird. She would not tell me that she did not like a particular dish when I told her I was going to make it. For some reason she would tell me only after I made it. Lots of it. Then there were far too many things that they together as a family did not eat. If the son liked potato, the mother did not. If the mother liked eggs, the son did not. And then the daughter had a select few things that she ate. Can you imagine that I was cooking even at 11:30 pm??? Which person would feed their kid at that time?? Well, my friend from hell did!!! It began to get tiresome and I was like, "Leave already!!!!"

She finally did. I hated myself when I whoopied, but I just could not help it. You must be wondering that I must be so difficult to be with. Well, after careful thinking, I realised that I only saw her in her territory. This was the first time I saw her in mine. And boy, she is difficult to please! She really put my 'host' skills to test!

I ended up with tremendous backlogs at work, and I was racing against time to complete it. I hated being put in a position like this and was soooooooo angry. Only those who saw me knew what I was going through. I was tired to the bone. But I really wanted to keep that job. I love every bit of it.

My articles are being published. I have not gotten a single article so far for editing/corrections. Woooooooooo Hooooooooooo!!

The other job that I took up, requires physical exertion too. I am getting trained to teach yoga. I love it, people! But yes, right now, I am tired.

Working Woman

Now everybody who knows me, knows how eager I have been to get back to work; but on my own terms. I probably could not have talked more about anything else in the past three years. Prior to conceiving my daughter, I had worked with various corporates for about 10 years. I was surprised at the ease with which I fit into my role as a full-time parent. It shocked many of my co-workers, that I had taken a sabbatical. They laughed it off by saying that I would crawl back in 6 months time. Surprising, that 6 years later, I am still comfortable being just a mom. Ok, granted I had my moments when I wanted to kick the dusting cloth, laundry and cooking etc and just get back to work, but I stuck anyways.

With Neha hitting full-day school this year, I knew that my days in the sun were about to end. For my second innings, I wanted a job that I enjoyed. A job that did not demand endless meetings, crappy coffee, 24/7 dedication, being stuck in traffic, struggling to make it for PTA’s etc. I was so clear that I wanted to be there for my daughter when she gets back, hot fresh meals for the family, house in good order, etc (You see, the OCD is not likely to go away that soon). My husband thought that I was kidding myself and soon lost hope that I would ever get back to work.

As the days passed, even I thought I was kidding myself. But I relentlessly looked out anyways. But Wednesday’s classifieds kept calling out to me. I mostly give that section a miss because the kind of job that I am looking for, almost never gets featured there. But surprise of surprises, there it was. After the initial hesitation of ‘can I do it?, ‘Is it really worth it?, and stuff, I quickly send in my resume. In an hours time, I got a response! The liked my profile and wanted to meet me. The meeting went well, they asked me to send in a sample of my work. They liked that too. People, I am hired!!!! And I get to work from home!!! Granted that the pay is not the greatest, but I get to try my hand at something new. I walked away from that meeting with a full understanding that both parties are testing the waters. Which is good enough for me!!! This is going to be a good launch pad.

Before the above news could have come in, my friend just dropped in on Saturday morning. She is usually busy and normally never drops in and that too without calling. I knew then that this was something important. And it was. She wants to me join her in training. Again, totally do-able, and requires only 2 or three hours of my time, 5 days a week. Now, how awesome is that??!!! I am still pinching myself in disbelief.

Now you might all be itching to know what the two profiles are all about, I will let you know soon, Let me just start out and see how it goes. I am just happy with the opportunities and crossing my fingers, hoping that both will work out well.

I Know What I Did This Summer!

Neha and her friends at an Egyptian Resort

Woo hoo!!! Yet another long break!!! What prompted it on? Well, first it was the fact that I had not zeroed in on a school for my daughter. A lot of schools were done with their admission procedures. The school that I was aiming for were to start their admission process only in June and by then a lot of schools had already started their new session. Something just snapped in my head. I went totally bonkers. I could not believe that after carefully thinking this whole thing through, I had found myself in this situation. One of the popular schools around here started making me make a lot of trips there. I guess the guy was just waiting for me to get desperate enough and then he would have asked for money.

Then totally out of the blue this acquaintance calls me up for something and then casually mentions that she was struggling for her sons admissions. There was this new school that she was looking at, and wanted to just try checking with another school. I thwacked my head first (stupid that I was, because I had seen their pamphlet and not called them) and then called up that new school. Then before we knew it, we were happy with our choice and enrolled Neha right away!

Now that the school thing was out of the way, I thought that it was about time that I had Neha’s sleep patterns altered. She would refuse to sleep early and then get up just half hour before her school bus came. I was at my wits end. I told myself that I have just two months to do something about it, and the new academic year would mean longer hours. If she carried on the way she did, there would not be any time to eat breakfast. So, it was ass kicking time.

There were just too many things I had to get in order. All I knew was that : Neha had to sleep in her own bed, she had to sleep early, she had to get up early. Now came the execution of the near impossible. Those who personally know my daughter would understand my plight. She puts up a lot of resistance to discipline! So, I roped in my friends. I convinced them that they had to kick in an exercise regime for themselves. I then told them that this would be a nice way to get the kids up and about earlier. So I told them that I would take all the kids to the pool at 6 am, while they could walk. The pool was oh-so-empty at that time of the day and I would man these 4-6 kids in the pool. Then the rest was pretty easy. We were all charged for the day. We girls would all make breakfast, get even lunch out of the way (the husbands carry lunch to work), and the house would be all sorted out too. I had the other uphill task of cutting down Neha’s TV time. Vacations meant that she was spending a crazy amount of time in front of the idiot box. I would then coax Neha into playing or catching up on reading skills, etc. It being summer vacation and all, the kids deserved a few outings too.

In the middle of all this hullabaloo, the internet gave up. I was too pissed to call the phone guys up. It then dragged on for a bit. Then I once again had to change the wiring and stuff. I wanted wireless connectivity and there was a bit of trouble there too. I tell you, they have been testing my patience. The next time round, you can be sure that I will change the service provider.

So, my friends, it has been an eventful summer for me. What have you guys been up to?

Christmas and after

I just went through one of the busiest Christmas, ever!! There was just so much going on that I did not even have too much time to focus on the fact that I did not have internet. (Actually I did for a bit! I lashed about for quite a bit especially when I was running about organising the Christmas event) Yes. I organised a Christmas event for the complex. Well, I did not get to watch any of it, but everyone came around telling me what a great time they had and that was all I needed. I have this whole fixation about giving whatever I do, the personal touch. Even if I end up killing myself over it, it does have the ‘butterfly’ touch!!

We had a live Nativity scene, Carol singing, a play that I wrote which was a funny take on Noah’s plight as he was commissioned to build the ark. Then there were a couple of dances to popular Christmas songs, a Latin American dance. I ran about every evening to the venues which were assigned for rehearsals, making sure they stuck to the theme, helped with the costumes, picked up for stuff for Santa to give away, packed them into little bunches, Put up the tree for the complex. I did have help but the tiring part was finding help when I wanted it. I was mostly backstage, making sure everyone was ready for their act. It was exhausting, but fun. I was all over the place. Normally, we have the common set of faces who are participating in all the acts. But this time, I practically dragged kids out of their homes and assigned them to their programs. They were reluctant at first, but are beaming from ear to ear now!!

You thought I had enough of these kids?? Well, I thought so too! Then what was I thinking when I invited 14 of them over to my place for a Christmas party?? All that noise! I baked cakes, made sandwiches and some stuff which my daughter insisted that I make. I had asked all the parents ahead of time to send an appropriate gift (from Santa) for their kids. Placed all the stuff under the tree. You should have seen their faces as I called out their names. They were thrilled knowing that Santa got them just what they wanted. As an additional surprise, I handed them a bag of goodies, too! Yes, the butterfly touch! :D

We were to travel on Christmas and since all the agitation for a separate State is on, we cancelled our travel plans. We just called some people over (incidentally, they were not doing anything either) and we had an impromptu party. I was in a really joyful mood and threw myself into the kitchen to whip up some continental delicacies. French onion Soup, Garden salad with Olives and baby tomatoes, Baked vegetables in Spinach sauce, Chicken baked with macaroni and Black currant cheese cake added the very required festive touch. My guests were so happy to deviate from the traditional Indian menu that everything disappeared in no time, punctuated with praises.

Wow, I had some Christmas! Yeah, so what if I was cooking for most part of it. I made the most of the fact that I was not bed-ridden this year. I spent the last three Christmas’s in bed with some strange flu. 2009 was good to me.

I hope 2010 is as kind to me, if not better. I am hoping lady luck is setting better standards for herself. I wish you all a very wonderful 2010. May you all be blessed with good health, wealth, prosperity and happiness in the coming year. Happy New Year to all of you.

The week that was..

Well, I just thought I would quickly put up a post in case the questions start pouring in. I am packed and headed to Vizag. We have a new addition to the family. A baby girl. She has the chubbiest cheeks! So here we are are, heading off to see her and her elated parents. Too bad it is just for a day and half.

Yes, Neha did get her Silver medal.

It is beginning to get rather cold. My daughter and I are on medication to tackle the nagging cold and cough that we have managed to contract from some place. If I though traveling was a bad deal, I always get to travel with a cold/allergy. For some crazy reason, just before I travel I fall sick. Just as I get a headache immediately after I have purchased tickets to a movie!

My yoga classes that were a boon to me has been canceled for this month. And just as quickly as it could, the pain in the neck is back. If I am under stress, the neck begins to hurt like crazy! My husband and his crazy working hours are back to haunt me. He leaves at 7:30 in the morning to get back only at 2:30 am. Yes, the next day. As many as hours as it is! I am just scrambling into bed and then up early again to make sure he has breakfast and pack lunch too. The crazy hours are getting to me. Of course, since he moved to a new department that caters to the Middle East, we don't have the normal Saturday and Sunday for weekends. So where does that leave me? Yes, I am on my way to loonyville! And to make things worse, the husband has been handed a Blackberry. He is annoying me with it. So if I thought he was really not there at home, every waking moment is being hogged by the Blackberry (nuisance!).

We have to leave in a little while and I am just hoping that we don't have to chase the bus that takes us. Wish me luck!

On a good note, the mood of the festive season is already settling in and I am so looking forward to the joy that Christmas brings! I just cannot believe that a whole year has gone by.

So, till I get back, you guys have a great time and don't miss me too much!! :D

P.s: Reflections- If you were expecting another post, I am sorta kinda done with that tag. I promise to put it up when I get back. :D

Yipppeee!! Wooo Hooooooo!!!!

I am on such an emotional high, so I thought I will blog about it before it loses steam and of course the magic of the moment. For the first time, I organized an event. I stay in a building complex of about 300 flats. We have a very cosmopolitan, multi-lingual and vibrant crowd of people staying here. Not to mention, extremely talented people from all walks of life. Today, November 14th being Children’s Day, I was asked to co-ordinate and conduct the Children’s Day program.

I was terribly nervous because I was given only a day and half’s notice for putting things together. And me being me, I cannot rest easy organizing a poor show, but with so little time at hand, I was sure that it will turn out pathetic. I told myself to stop cribbing and had a go at it. I quickly put together a short quiz, decided on two games that can be pulled off with a large number of kids. The easiest to get away with is Musical Chairs but as we were about to announce it, I realized that the chairs were not available. So I quickly tweaked it to Four Corners! The kids enjoyed themselves thoroughly. I asked a friend of mine to emcee the event for me. When she dropped by my place this afternoon, she was still not too sure that it was a good idea. I had to really coax her, and now, she is grinning from ear to ear and has thanked me profusely for pushing her into it!!! :D

It was a runaway hit, guys!! It shaped up so well. My friend did a fabulous job with the emceeing. In the beginning, I was so disappointed that I did not even bother to dress up well. I just wanted to get the whole thing over with. Anyway, I had to just run around so I thought I was dressed just fine. And I did do a lot of running back and forth.

We had a celebrity for the Chief Guest, too. He has just sung a fabulous super hit song for a Tollywood (our local Hollywood!) movie. He sung and entertained the kids (and the bigger kids like me, too) and gave away prizes. All in all, it turned out to be a great event. The kids enjoyed themselves, danced and participated in huge numbers (and I was worried about a poor turnout). It was all very overwhelming. The compliments and praises have been pouring in. So many people, so many compliments, it felt really good. I missed my dear friends Uma (and her two beautiful girls) and Vaishali!! They would have been the happiest for me.

I am going to be grinning in my sleep.

For the past few days, my daughter has been struggling with a very complicated problem. She says that she has many friends and she was wondering which one of them she should marry. Today, she was totally in awe of Anuj (the Chief Guest). On the way back, she declared that she was going to marry him!!! :D My husband told her that he is already married. To which she had a response that has left us poor-witted parents wide-eyed !!!! The kids of today have it all sorted out!

Edited to add:

When we told Neha that the guys was already married, we (at least I) quite expected her to say: " That's OK! We can all be married!"

But her response was rather well thought out and came in a jiffy. She said:"Oh! When they grow old, sometimes the lady might die before he does. Then I will marry him!"

Can you beat that??!!!

You can imagine the shock on our faces!!