Kim's third birthday party is over today. Even though her birthday is tomorrow, we had the party - may be I should call it a get together - today itself as it is convenient to everyone and that too a lunch as we needed some breather to get ourselves go to work on Monday.
When we decided on lunch, we had no idea how tough it would be to come up with a menu that can be classified as lunch but also is palatable to the children. Thali and Sadya and sappadu were out straight away because of the number of kids. After a few discussions and checking out various options, finally we ended up with mom-made curd rice, cook-made fried rice, sambhar vada and mini jaangiri from A2B (adyar ananda bhavan), cup pizza from niligiris/masala bread, rose milk, eggless minnie mouse cake from cake walk and potato chips from hot chips.. As it sounds it was hell a lot of food that was around and we felt that it kind of satisfied everybody.
Bro made the invite this time as well with the limerick by Mallu and was appreciated by all. We had mentioned in the invite that people can start coming from 12 onwards, but were still blowing balloons when the first kid and family came in. Luckily they were one of those pretty cool sort of people and so we could make them join in the prep activities...
Since there were only few kids who could understand any of the games, the 5 minute musical chair with laptop's volume for music and 4 kids was not a big hit. I decided against conducting one more game. We cut the cake, had food and I had lots of fun especially because somehow I was not too tensed about anything - may be growing up does that to you ;). Kim is the only one who was dull from the moment the whole thing started till the time we came back home. She was alright before and after!
Several good things - we got some oppurtunity to meet our friends, relatives and the neighbours and socialise a little bit, had fun in the process of planning and shopping (ofcourse the wallet got a lot lighter!!!!), and cleaned up the house - because of the party.
At this point if you ask me will you have a celebration next year for Kim's birthday, my answer would be NO... Ask my aching limbs :)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
I never thought other than the birthdays and anniversary, I will have another significant date in June that I will remember for sometime to come!
Mallu landed in Bangalore from New Jersey on 12th June morning. On 15th (Monday), I went to office asusual, I got delayed for lunch because of some training and I was going to my seat when that call came. The lady on the other side introduced herself as Dr. Rani and asked if Mallu landed by the Air France flight 192 that landed on Friday early in the morning. I said yes. She said that two of the passengers who travelled with him has got detected with Swine flu (H1N1 Virus). She was asking me if he has any symptoms of flu. I confirmed that he did not have any. She told me that the incubation period for this is 10 days and hence we need to get back to her the moment we feel that he has got any signs of a flu! The call was made to me as Rajesh's phone got lost in the taxi from airport.
I being the so calm and composed (?!!) person, started worrying and almost broke down thinking about the consequences if Kim has caught it and about the kids we played with during our niece's birthday party. From then on till his test result was found to be negative on Wednesday night 8 pm, it was one hell of a feeling! I was told by my boss to go home immediately and work from home until Mallu is tested.
On Tuesday after the medical officers gave us a letter, we went to RGICD(Rajiv Gandhi Institue for Chest diseases) and were there till 6 pm for getting the tests done. There were people who were tested positive and who came for getting themselves tested. We had taken Kimaya as the medical officers asked us to get tested as well (both myself and Kimaya had viral fever just then and were left still with cold and cough). After going there we realised that it is a hospital treating all kinds of things like SARS, TB and air born diseases and I was more worried now about Kim than before! A throat swab was taken for Mallu and the docs told us that it will be sent to Pune that night and we were to call them on Wednesday to get to know the result.
I was praying to all Gods that I know and Mallu was quarantined at home. Finally after the agonizing wait, at 8 pm we got to know that he had not contracted H1N1 and both of us were sighing with relief!
In the process what we got to know is this
- H1N1 is like any other viral fever. You get all symptoms - fever, running nose, cough, headache like a normal viral fever
- Like any other virus this also doesnot have any cure
- It is feared because it is highly contagious and people who have to be really careful are the elders, kids below 5 years and the ones who have got respiratory problem as it leads to other complications that can be fatal.
- basic precautions like closing your mouth while coughing and washing your hands as required will prevent it from spreading.
Mallu landed in Bangalore from New Jersey on 12th June morning. On 15th (Monday), I went to office asusual, I got delayed for lunch because of some training and I was going to my seat when that call came. The lady on the other side introduced herself as Dr. Rani and asked if Mallu landed by the Air France flight 192 that landed on Friday early in the morning. I said yes. She said that two of the passengers who travelled with him has got detected with Swine flu (H1N1 Virus). She was asking me if he has any symptoms of flu. I confirmed that he did not have any. She told me that the incubation period for this is 10 days and hence we need to get back to her the moment we feel that he has got any signs of a flu! The call was made to me as Rajesh's phone got lost in the taxi from airport.
I being the so calm and composed (?!!) person, started worrying and almost broke down thinking about the consequences if Kim has caught it and about the kids we played with during our niece's birthday party. From then on till his test result was found to be negative on Wednesday night 8 pm, it was one hell of a feeling! I was told by my boss to go home immediately and work from home until Mallu is tested.
On Tuesday after the medical officers gave us a letter, we went to RGICD(Rajiv Gandhi Institue for Chest diseases) and were there till 6 pm for getting the tests done. There were people who were tested positive and who came for getting themselves tested. We had taken Kimaya as the medical officers asked us to get tested as well (both myself and Kimaya had viral fever just then and were left still with cold and cough). After going there we realised that it is a hospital treating all kinds of things like SARS, TB and air born diseases and I was more worried now about Kim than before! A throat swab was taken for Mallu and the docs told us that it will be sent to Pune that night and we were to call them on Wednesday to get to know the result.
I was praying to all Gods that I know and Mallu was quarantined at home. Finally after the agonizing wait, at 8 pm we got to know that he had not contracted H1N1 and both of us were sighing with relief!
In the process what we got to know is this
- H1N1 is like any other viral fever. You get all symptoms - fever, running nose, cough, headache like a normal viral fever
- Like any other virus this also doesnot have any cure
- It is feared because it is highly contagious and people who have to be really careful are the elders, kids below 5 years and the ones who have got respiratory problem as it leads to other complications that can be fatal.
- basic precautions like closing your mouth while coughing and washing your hands as required will prevent it from spreading.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
June 11th
It is our sixth anniversary. All along, I should be truthful to say that it has not been an easy journey. It has been filled with ups and downs, love and hate, happiness and sadness but the final feeling that remains is contentment and happiness of the life that we have shared. I thank god for giving me such a life partner, a friend who I can share anything with and pray to him that he blesses us with many more such years...
It is our sixth anniversary. All along, I should be truthful to say that it has not been an easy journey. It has been filled with ups and downs, love and hate, happiness and sadness but the final feeling that remains is contentment and happiness of the life that we have shared. I thank god for giving me such a life partner, a friend who I can share anything with and pray to him that he blesses us with many more such years...
Thursday, May 07, 2009
A Girl has a different life before marriage - friends, family, hobbies etc., etc., From birth till she is married, she leads a different life.
When she get married, atleast in south India, she is strongly advised that she should adjust to everything at her in-laws place. She starts considering his family and friends as hers (dont know whether they think the same in most cases :)). When she is adjusting to all these, a few months, is gone without spending much time with her family and friends. Slowly months become years. First the parents push their children for marriage and then start with the gyan about why kids should be had at the right time etc., etc., and feel so happy and thrilled when they have one. (Again I dont know if the couple feels the same way). After that it is child, husband and the family. And then there is work also to add to the fun.
If it is love marriage, then the years that she has spent going around with the guy is again a period that eats up into the relationship that she would have had with friends. When things happen - marriage, kid, promotions - for a period till the novelty wears off, it is great life. Then suddenly the mid-life crisis starts - what is happening in life, why am I unable to connect with people I used to connect earlier, Is this kind of living the purpose of my life, always stressed and irritated etc., etc., There are some who kind of find the threads back and start living happily. There are some who divert themselves into something more constructive and learn to live the new life. There are some who become unhappy and create a unhappy family.
Some suggestions:
Keep in touch with your friends. Find new friends whom you can relate to and share your thoughts.
Re-kindle the love for the hobbies that you had - be it music, movies, singing, dancing whatever
Take care of your health, eat healthy, do some exercise regularly. If that fails, it adds to the frustration
Control your temper. There are times when a small mole becomes a mountain without anyones interference because of the words used to hurt the other party. It is better it is avoided.
Finally, it is easy to be happy. Just take a few baby steps with out getting into why-should-I-do- why-cant-he-do-the-same game.
After writing this, I did a google search and this is what I found about mid-life crisis!!!!
When she get married, atleast in south India, she is strongly advised that she should adjust to everything at her in-laws place. She starts considering his family and friends as hers (dont know whether they think the same in most cases :)). When she is adjusting to all these, a few months, is gone without spending much time with her family and friends. Slowly months become years. First the parents push their children for marriage and then start with the gyan about why kids should be had at the right time etc., etc., and feel so happy and thrilled when they have one. (Again I dont know if the couple feels the same way). After that it is child, husband and the family. And then there is work also to add to the fun.
If it is love marriage, then the years that she has spent going around with the guy is again a period that eats up into the relationship that she would have had with friends. When things happen - marriage, kid, promotions - for a period till the novelty wears off, it is great life. Then suddenly the mid-life crisis starts - what is happening in life, why am I unable to connect with people I used to connect earlier, Is this kind of living the purpose of my life, always stressed and irritated etc., etc., There are some who kind of find the threads back and start living happily. There are some who divert themselves into something more constructive and learn to live the new life. There are some who become unhappy and create a unhappy family.
Some suggestions:
Keep in touch with your friends. Find new friends whom you can relate to and share your thoughts.
Re-kindle the love for the hobbies that you had - be it music, movies, singing, dancing whatever
Take care of your health, eat healthy, do some exercise regularly. If that fails, it adds to the frustration
Control your temper. There are times when a small mole becomes a mountain without anyones interference because of the words used to hurt the other party. It is better it is avoided.
Finally, it is easy to be happy. Just take a few baby steps with out getting into why-should-I-do- why-cant-he-do-the-same game.
After writing this, I did a google search and this is what I found about mid-life crisis!!!!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Finally I've acted like a responsible indian citizen and I've voted. The want has always been there, but becuase of moving from one state to another for the last 14-15 years I could never vote.
This time we diligently filled up the voter id forms (thanks to the apartment association for co ordinating), missed the first few dates for collecting the id, went on the extended end date (will we ever change?!!!), collected our id cards as the first step.
Last two days spent some time on finding out the candidates (of various parts of bangalore. I should say that it was really tough to figure out which constituency we belonged from the net!) and reading their manifestos.
Went to the booth in the evening as we had to attend a close relatives wedding in the morning. Slightly irritating bit was with your voters id, they could not trace you in the list. They spent some 30 mts shuffling through some 'n' lists to say that we need to go and check out with the next set of guys whether their list had our name! Finally we could find someone we know who kind of recommended for us and also for the congress candidate in the process :) in the next stall and those guys found out our numbers and gave the slips with the serial number and part number. Lesson learnt - it is not alone your id that is important, but also the part number and serial number.
Went inside the hall, got the ink on my index for the first time in my life, did the deed and was all smiles when I came out.
This time we diligently filled up the voter id forms (thanks to the apartment association for co ordinating), missed the first few dates for collecting the id, went on the extended end date (will we ever change?!!!), collected our id cards as the first step.
Last two days spent some time on finding out the candidates (of various parts of bangalore. I should say that it was really tough to figure out which constituency we belonged from the net!) and reading their manifestos.
Went to the booth in the evening as we had to attend a close relatives wedding in the morning. Slightly irritating bit was with your voters id, they could not trace you in the list. They spent some 30 mts shuffling through some 'n' lists to say that we need to go and check out with the next set of guys whether their list had our name! Finally we could find someone we know who kind of recommended for us and also for the congress candidate in the process :) in the next stall and those guys found out our numbers and gave the slips with the serial number and part number. Lesson learnt - it is not alone your id that is important, but also the part number and serial number.
Went inside the hall, got the ink on my index for the first time in my life, did the deed and was all smiles when I came out.
Monday, March 30, 2009
It was another day of general chat during lunch and this is what I've found out. Based on the number of people who participated in the conversation and number of people I can generalise - but to be politically right ;)- I will say that this is what most women do these days:
We take the help that our husbands do to keep us happy for 'granted' big time!
Then we get upset if someday he forgets to do it or relax as he sees no necessity for that task on a holiday or weekend.
Feeling is more of self pity that you have to do what you have to do while he is whiling away his time than he has not done what he normally does!
We expect that if we dont put our shoes in the rack properly, he should do it without pointing out the mistake but at the same time we cant stop ourselves from being angry, upset, use a very unpleasant tone to point it out and on top of it all expect that he should not get angry when he leaves his used clothes on the bed!
Be very patient with any kind of people at office and come and outburst at home and shout at the kid and the husband!
So what am I saying? Is it our own doing that we have so much stress at home and office? May be... think about it. A little easy going attitude and a little respect for the dear ones can go a long way.
We take the help that our husbands do to keep us happy for 'granted' big time!
Then we get upset if someday he forgets to do it or relax as he sees no necessity for that task on a holiday or weekend.
Feeling is more of self pity that you have to do what you have to do while he is whiling away his time than he has not done what he normally does!
We expect that if we dont put our shoes in the rack properly, he should do it without pointing out the mistake but at the same time we cant stop ourselves from being angry, upset, use a very unpleasant tone to point it out and on top of it all expect that he should not get angry when he leaves his used clothes on the bed!
Be very patient with any kind of people at office and come and outburst at home and shout at the kid and the husband!
So what am I saying? Is it our own doing that we have so much stress at home and office? May be... think about it. A little easy going attitude and a little respect for the dear ones can go a long way.
Monday, February 23, 2009
A R Rahman has done it. Being the first tamilian to get the honours! OSCARS for the best score and best song 'JAI-HO'.
We salute you Sir! You have done the nation proud and the entire Tamilnadu happy.
I dont know how much I like Jai-ho over many other great pieces like 'Chinna Chinna aasai, vande mataram, Vennilive vennilave, ennavale, en swasakatre and many other super melodies.
What I heard recently in the theater that gave me goose pimples is our national anthem by ARR - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftD3gDA-5S0
8th March 2009:
Genuine mistake - Not mentioning about Mr. Resul Pookkutty who got the Oscars for Sound editing - one that has happened to entire asia in 80 years. Hats off Sir.
We salute you Sir! You have done the nation proud and the entire Tamilnadu happy.
I dont know how much I like Jai-ho over many other great pieces like 'Chinna Chinna aasai, vande mataram, Vennilive vennilave, ennavale, en swasakatre and many other super melodies.
What I heard recently in the theater that gave me goose pimples is our national anthem by ARR - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftD3gDA-5S0
8th March 2009:
Genuine mistake - Not mentioning about Mr. Resul Pookkutty who got the Oscars for Sound editing - one that has happened to entire asia in 80 years. Hats off Sir.
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