Buzz Buzz Buuzzee

So Diwali came and went thats it. P did indoor skydiving on Diwali. He had booked a spot and he had to use it before it expired and so on Diwali he went indoor skydiving. He had fun although a sore back ;) 

Friday religiously went to Children's museum, it was empty which was good and kids had a blast.

Saturday lunch and play date more fun.

At work a major news was passed on which didnt go well with most of us. So we have to see next developments. Went for lunch at Lemon Tree Burlington. Good food, smaller portions we are used to but good food ;)

Sunday recovery mode :-)

Weekend...

Temple, Chucky Cheese's and English Vinglish sums up the weekend. I expected the movie to be a bit more witty and humorous but it was a pretty ok/plain movie maybe worth a watch. Plus watched the Tamil version instead of Hindi so missed the spontaneity and had to wait for translation for some dialogues from P as there were no subtitles.. Next week is Thanksgiving already, wow!

Good news etc

My bestie had her baby today 10.11.12 at 33 weeks. So overjoyed and nervous until I talk to her hope she is recovering well. Its the joy of my bestest friend from school days entering the next phase in her life. She is so good with babies and loves them to bits and she will be such a great mother yay! I so wish we were closer in distance so I could hold him.....

In the Food department side...

Ate out way too much this week. 2 days in WI, then Diwali lunch with colleagues. Then Dinner with a friend. I got take out for folks at home and the portions were so much (yes Sichuan Gourmet) that ate leftovers next day too. I am done eating out for a while (hopefully ;)). Miss the home cooked meal now.

To WI and back

Had a productive work trip to Waupaca, WI. My only concern was getting stuck at airport due to unpredictable weather. I flew via Chicago the onward flight was delayed a little bit but still made it on time, was a good hour drive form there due to lousy weather. I got back really late last night around 2am as I chose to come home rather than take an early flight next day as I wanted to be home morning when kids wake up plus had an early training session, which I just made it, so luckily no weather issue delays. There was a fresh layer of snow I had to deal with on my car as I left the car at the airport and couldnt find closed parking previous day and had to leave it on the top open floor.

AG this mornign was excited with snow in accmulated in the balcony. AL narrated about her getting a boo boo and she falling in the parking lot (which happened a few weeks back). They dream so much I think nowadays the first thing they wake up is narrate stuff to me like it just happened. About some kid or animals or some fire trucks, fire alarms, boo-boos and so on. Simple dreams that they weave from the characters and situations occuring in their small but rapidly growing and pure world :-)

Elections 2012

Witnessing another round of elections here. This one's going to be so close as everyone says. Been following debates etc. I am in my mind favorable to Obama anyway. Saw a little bit of the debates on and off and saw Romney rise and stabilize definitely making this a race worth following. Romney outright did not impress anyone in the last round on foriegn affairs. Strangely in the local Senate elections we find Republican candidate much stronger. Strange cos we have been more pro democratic.Interesting days ahead on that front.

And finally the cold has hit us. Its pretty cold. Last night the heat didnt work. Didnt matter as much as it was still manageable. Now I can imagine WI will only be colder :-)

An extra hour

Felt the whole extra hour yesterday as the clocks turned back by 1 hour yesterday. Which also means it will dark when I leave work and get home :)

My blog and the trip

I have a blog like everyone else to express my thoughts, my opinions, my experiences and just rant. In general its a tough task to write in public as its open for misinterpretations. You dont know the tone and mood of the person writing it and it sometimes opens up can of worms especially when you have certain image already of the person in your head. This happens to everyone. I somehow do not like to write as much about the happy moments and close family and close friends as I am too scared I can get jinxed and fear of attracting negativity. That's just me. I kinda use the blog to vent and think out loud mostly. Probably that's why I dont generally publish my blog anywhere, if someone stumbles upon it well and good.

For example I realized that if someone read my blog its so easy to misinterpret like I don't understand or follow some Hindu traditions and customs. On the contrary it will be surprising to that I am more traditional than my own mother and husband. Yes there I say it out aloud ;) :-) What I jot down in my blog is some conflicts I experience in how people present certain customs and rituals to you and then they judge you on various grounds. To me I rather perform some ceremonies thoroughly whatever I can than incomplete and not have to worry about what people will think about you all the time. I can write a lot about it but the latter I strongly feel for, but I rest my case here. Not that its needs any explaining but as an example that's why we didn't even venture out for my Grandfather's and Mother in law's monthly ceremonies here in Boston area for lack of good infrastructure, reliable priest and inability to conduct the complete rituals start to finish. My Gfather's second anniversary one was a compromise but my Dad did it nevertheless that was his call.

With that its a reminder that in a month we have a trip to make back home for the annual ceremony as that is all we prioritized. Does time fly way too fast when you are in US than India? I always feel weekdays go by faster here ;) I am so nervous about this 3 day trip I am making sounds so not practical yet its all I can do! I just want to be there for every reason to be part of the rituals and bid P's mother adieu. I was talking to someone who was in same position as me and missed her Father in law's first annual ceremony she felt even bad when she heard I could go for 3 days, as she couldn't get vacation for a week. I asked her not to feel bad we all do our best and try and plan certain things happen for some it works out for others it dosent sometimes things dont go our way as much as we would like it to.

Another incident...

There was another death in my father's extended family. Very shocking. And yet another incident involving "he should have received treatement at the right time". Yes Uncle was in an emergency and there were no Doctors available for 24 hours as it was Navratri festival. Unfortunately it happened while they were on a holiday in the North East in India. And transportation was very tough, took 3 days to bring him back after he passed away, they still got Uncle back to home town for the last rites as thats where they are based out of.

As we were talking to my Dad's aunt and expressing condolences she was probably the strongest and brave spouse we have seen. Although a sudden death and she agreed she is still in shock. She says one of us had ot go. What were the chances that we would depart at the same time? Plus she said hindsight we will always feel so many things could have been done differently. We should not have gone on a vacation. What are the chances we wouldnt get a doctor to diagnose and provide treatment in time?? etc etc We have to accept and move on.  

I really admire her strength which I have seen in all women on my Ajji's side. Very strong, practical and vocal. Traditional yet practical is a great blend. I hope it rubs of to my girls.

Being fair

One of the challenges I have been concerned about facing is being able to treat both my children at par through actions in hearts they always will be but how to make sure actions also speak the same. There are days when one is more naughty than another and hence gets more timeouts or chided. One behaves much better and gets appreciated. Although it does not reflect anythign against the other one. Its important to acknowledge the other one too. I feel bad even though I sincerely know I  am not being biased. Through out our life we see teachers, relatives, friends, making such comments and comparing between 2 people whether students, friends, siblings,children or their spouses etc it does worry at times. Maybe I am thinking too much simply cos it pisses me off. :-)  

Rain forest cafe etc

We have always stopped by Rainforest cafe as kids love although scared of the animals crocodile and monkey etc. Finally took them for lunch and they loved it. They took a nice long nap in the car after that and we got home. They obviously didnt eat well but its ok we just wanted to give tem a break from the usual dal chawal. They loved the atmosphere. The lady serving us just got water first. Then AG just barely 2 1/2 started asking me, was the lady angry and not bringing food, just got us water. What happened? I was stunned. So easily a basic serving task also is scope for misinterpretation. Things you do and dont do are all so open to misinterpretation. I told her no, that's how it is. Water comes and food will follow. Lady is not angry. Although on hindsight should have gone further and explained kinda felt she is too young.

Stuff!

I was reading up something on etiquettes and saw quite a few articles on "guest etiquettes" i.e. how to behave well when you are guests in someone's home. I somehow couldnt find anything almost on how the Host is supposed to behave. And it got me thinking. Being a host is a big responsbility not everyone can carry it off, being warm, compassionate, making your guests comfortable with food and basics if you ever want them to visit again. Just saying....

P got the kids couple of soft toys a pony and a seal (we are pingu fans here) and kids loved it...I get home everyday and Mom has so many cute complaints about kids getting too naughty - loving it!

Been meaning to blog on Saanvi for a while. Didnt even know what to type. Its a gory thing which should never happen to anyone. RIP is all we can say. No one can take away their pain.
Read a lot of BS on this too unfortunately that I had to stop, people just made up stories without even knowing the facts, couple of articles on TOI were senseless pretty much. Then some people took it as an opportunity to slam US police for not doing their job. Weirdos! some of them who are stuckup in India and criticize everything US and want to show that their life is the best. It was also sad that most people did not want the person held responsible go back to India cos lack of trust in the system. Simply sidelining the main issue.

On another topic with kids asking us so many questions all the time of whats and whys, makes me realize how do kids always manage to ask the right questions. Something ever adults cannot. Sometimes we try asking the right questions on certain rituals or procedures for example people get offended. In India we have experienced mostly that priests, Doctors, or even some elders instead of accepting lack of knowledge or reasonably explaining things  they know, they get defensive and offended that we are challenging their authority and that we are this modern generation with no respect and feelings. And then you have a lot of them bombard you with personal and intrusive questions. How come the latter is more acceptable? 

Sychophancy

Stumbled upon this article I thought was somewhat well written. Sycophants who you meet in your daily life are hard to describe. Every opportunity is used for self-interest, flattery in public to gain position and recognition. Its contagious too, sycophancy only breeds more sycophancy.

This and That

So 'Sandy the storm' passed and it just gave us rain and winds here. But we realized later devastation was most in NY and NJ - coastal strip. Luckily we didnt have any power cuts.

So after working from home on Monday its BAU. P got back from Canada/Ottawa trip. It was uneventful dealing with US consulate - Thanks Goodness!

Ordered the same Sichuan stuff for lunch and turned out instead of Vege Chow Mein I just got veges :-( some error in processing my request. I survived Thanks to others who shared their food with me ;) Dan Dan noodles were too good!

Girls have inbuilt energizer batteries. I am convinced! They dont stop talking or jumping :-)