Alvida, sayonara, goodbye, au revoir, tata!!!

In a few hours I will be taking off... Bye Bye USA! =( Vanakkam Chennai! =)

What do I feel?

My last night in the US... mixed feelings completely!!!! :(

3 days and counting..

Now that the D-day is so close, I'm actually beginning to feel the emotions.. It is scaring the heck out of me.. 3 days to go!!! :(

Tick Tock.. the clock is ticking away!

When I first came to the US, I vowed to myself I was going back in exactly a year and a half! Yes, I just came here to study, have fun, learn something new, party it up and go back home!! And then I realized life was good here..I studied hard, partied harder, interned, worked, bought my first car.. It was all too good to be true! I've been dilly dallying about this for a long time now and I finally made the decision. I'm going back home! Sounds strange to me.. I mean, sure I'm excited and everything.. After all, I'm going back to where I lived for over 21 years! How could I even have second thoughts about it right?It has been very very hard making this decision.. I know I tried my real best, I gave it my everything. I know I did! It's just hard times here for everyone.. Hopefully, I've made the right choice.. After all, nothing can be too bad when you have someone cooking, cleaning and taking care of you right? :P The familia is super duper excited and cant sit still for a moment now! Gosh, how typical of my parents!! They definitely havent made this any easier for me.. There has been a lot of pressure from their side.. No, not for me to come back home but just to make a decision! And that was my exact problem.. I did not know what I wanted!! I havent been home in over two years and I really needed to be home this winter... Somehow, it seemed like a fish without water! That is how close I am to them!! I made this decision for a number of reasons... I'm only hoping things go smoothly once I go back. I feel like I need a break from this craziness.. Things have been happening too fast this last few months and I feel like I have lost complete control over my life for some reason. Car, Cell phone, utilities, insurance, car loans, apartment lease, work place pressure, family pressure, my friends from back home(who keep asking when I'm coming back).. no things have been rough this year end.. Hopefully, things slow down once I go back...For now, I just want to take one day at a time, if that is not too much to ask for! One thing's for sure.. Salvation Army is going to have a very Merry Christmas!There is so much to give away.. Gosh, when I think of all that packing that needs to be done, my heads spins!! And then there is my new shopping list.. things to be taken back to India! Sometimes, I think I am so messed up.. I mean do I ever get tired of shopping?!? Am I the Indian Rebecca Bloomwood? :( I cannot believe in two weeks at this time I will be sitting in my own cozy room....and that thought does make me smile! Question is where do I go from there? Only time can tell.....14 days to go!!

I swear this is what it said to me!

Dear Aishwerya,
Have you been working yourself too hard and denying yourself many of the pleasures that you would like to have? Is there a new pair of shoes that has been calling out to you from a store window but that you just cant seem to allow yourself? Indulge yourself today, dear Aishwerya! You wont regret it! It's important not to confuse the price and the value of something -- think about it!

PS You've gotta love the iPhone horoscopes right? :P

Let the craziness begin!

Weekend off - Springfield--catching up with my old roomies--girly times--showing off each other's clothes--modeling--shopping at Gordman's for last minute bling, shoes et al--Cashew Chicken at Dragon Inn--Banana-Strawberry-Avacado-Oatmeal facials by Ms. E--hair straightening,curling n blah--picking eye shadows, gloss for the night--arguments over color choices--yelling across from one room to the other--feels like a wedding house! Could it get any crazier? =)

? I dont really have a title to this one!

I know I'm probably the most sappy person out there. I cry for every small thing - I cry in movies, I bawl my eyes out when I read books and I cry for others! But I never knew that a small piece of paper could affect me so much! Yesterday at work, I saw the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It was the first time I was seeing something like that. I was at work and my colleague walked into my office. She handed me a small piece of paper. It was a picture and it was all dark and hazy. I could not make head or tail out of it! I looked up with a blank expression.
ME: "What is this suppossed to be?"
S: "OMG, I dont believe you! Look closely at the center. Can you make out a shape"?
ME: After a long pause " OMG OMG OMG"!!! It's the first picture of your baby!!!! "
S: "OMG OMG OMG.. YESSS!! "

Believe me, I could NOT tell what it was. She is only 9 weeks pregnant and so it was really teeny weeny. But trust me, once I looked really close at it, I could make out a small shape kind of like a peanut. You couldn't really tell! But it was the first time I saw an actual picture. It was beautiful! So tiny that it scared me. Seemed so vulnerable! I looked at her and I told I couldn't believe this tiny little thing was INSIDE her at that moment!! She cried.. there were tears coming out of my eyes too! The feeling was magical :)

The month that was!

Technically, this post should be posted next week when the month is over, but I figured I'd go ahead and do this while I've got nothing to do!

Awesomest thing that happened this month : Got to watch Surya on big screen!! Woot! Woot! He was eye candy! But the less I talk about the movie, the better! :P

Other small but nice things that made me feel good this month:
--Fall Colors! Its freakin BEAUTIFUL!! I open my windows to see different colored trees! Bliss!
-- Got to smell the new fragrance thats out at Bath n Body Works - "Twilight Woods"! OMG! Its awesome!! Cant wait to get paid and go raid the store!
--Made Mutter Paneer and came out tasting "quite nice"..
--talking to my grandparents.. always makes me feel good!!
--Had a weekend off after a longg, longg time..which meant..
-- I Went to Springfield and spent a weekend catching up with old buddies! Good times!!
--We can dress up for Halloween at work!! Ya-hoo! :)
--Reading Calvin n Hobbes at the library! =)
--Having "G" and "K" over at KC at the beginning of the month.. it always feels good to see family!
--Oh did I mention watching Surya on big screen? ;)

What really sucked though was.....
--The end of summer!! I swear I'm not looking forward to an extreme KC winter!
--Missing Thata's 80th! :(
--Being all alone on Diwali! I swear I'm not trying to gain self-pity or anything, but it is the worst time to be alone!! When the rest of the world is celebrating! Even the Obamas made it festive! :P --And of course there were several Diwali functions happening and I couldn't go for a single event! Boo-Hoo!!
--Having a $10 off coupon to shop at DSW Shoes and not being able to buy boots(that I've be dying to buy!) coz of uncertain future after Dec! I mean, I definitely don't need to be walking in boots in Chennai right? :(

To be updated by the end of the month......

Jeez, I'm so lucky!

Just when I had made full plans to go have fun during Diwali, my store manager puts up this notice which says "no requests off granted during the weekend of 17th/18th"... Oh, just my luck aint it?!? I even planned on the kurti that I was going to wear that night!! Suckss!!!! I just hate it! Maybe I should call in sick! Or better still, say I'm dead!
PS. Happy budday Sne.. and to Mosh on the 6th.. Enjoy ur days! :)

My fave season is here!!

I have this weekend off after a long, long time.. My first since June! And it was extra special..coz G and K(my uncles) from India visited me in K.C! It was their first ever visit here and I wanted it to be super special! K arrived in his usual pair of shorts and was freezing his a$$ off! They loved my apt, we walked around, took pics and drove through Downtown KC, which turned out to be quite a long drive, thanks to my extremely poor directions! ;) "G" just kept clicking pics in his awesome cam! We ate, walked, took funny pics(esp of "K") and chilled..Basically, had a good time. You know, it felt soo good to have family visit me again. A lot of my friends envy me because I get to see family so often. Well, I do agree that I'm one of those fortunate ones.. What they dont understand is that, its kinda harder when you see family often.. Makes me all the more homesick, if you know what I mean! Dont get me wrong.. I'm not complaining one bit.. Like I said, it was awesome having them over and roaming through the Zona Rosa with people I know and love instead of just by myself.. Of course, the downside of it is they brought me goodies from back home and now I just can't seem to control myself from gorging on all that yum stuff! SIGH! Such is the unfairness of life...Navrathri is over and Diwali is around the corner.. the ISA is planning a big event and I really want to go.. Its something I am really looking forward to! Its been fairly busy at work.. I'm liking it.. Just not sure what the future holds for me at TRU.. Lets wait and watch.. I'm feeling pensive coz the uncles just left and the apartment is quiet again.. Its about 8:15 pm on a Saturday night..not to mention a cold, dreary night and I am by myself... Gonna just curl up and drink up some hot chocolate maybe! But hey.. guess what? Its Fall.. my absolute fave time of year.. Happy October :)

Blah..

I've noticed that talking to certain people can make me feel pretty lousy no matter what a great mood I've been in before that!! Urghhh!! I need to stop talking to these morons...!! With my mood swings these days, they better watch out! :P

Two months and still going strong!

My paparazzi update for the month: "M" is getting married!!! You know we've been besties since high school. The last person who I thought would have an "arranged marriage" would be her. I was surprised(pleasant, I promise). She is moving to Singapore for good. Hey at least that's still closer home! But I am really really thrilled for her. After all the crap she went throught(ya I know half of those were brought onto herself!) but she does deserve someone nice. He is supposed to be eye candy as well! ;) Ummm.. I better not say anything until I actually see pics.. =)
Anyway, I cannot believe it has been more than two months since I moved here! I've just been swamped with work especially since I work a lot of evenings and weekends!! I get a day off during the week(I might as well not get it!). This week though after a loonggg time I am off two days in a row and of course I am making a trip to S-town. I just HAVE to! I figured it would do me some good to see familiar faces instead of being stuck by myself. But I do loveee my job! I am soo glad that I chose HR. Imagine, I get to make or break a person's career. I love it when people call me and follow up a thousand times on their application and resume. I love it when people are so respectful and try to be on their best behavior when I call them on the phone to come in for an interview. I love it when they show up all nervous for an interview and look at me like I'm Frankenstein! I just love all the hype they give me. I feel powerful! :P
Hmmm..what else? Oh ya, I became a member of the KC library and I'm super glad I did! They have a great collection of fiction, mags, DVD's and the likes. I just got a nice haul this week... I dont know why but each time I read the Kite Runner, I cry myself hoarse!! I mean its such a beautiful book, so beautifully written!! Oh and I was skimming through the kids section(looking for HP you know!) and they were out of them(but of course!). So anyway, I had a sudden urge to read an Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl and couldn't find either of them. When I asked a lady that worked there, she blanked out completely. 1. She had no idea who either of them were. 2. She was irritating me by having me spell their names(for some reason she was convinced I was asking for "Anna Burton"!) After 20 min I gave up! I felt she was insulting them!! I mean, really woman? Jeez, my 3 year old cousin knows how to spell Enid Blyton. God save this country!! :P

=(

All I wanna do right now is to book a one-way ticket to Chennai and never come back to this land again!! Am I asking for too much?!? I miss home, my parents, family!! =(

Mera Bharat Mahan!!!

I was hanging out with a good African friend of mine last night and we were talking in general about similarities between our cultures. When I was in school at MSU, the African Students United(ASU)and the Indian Students Association(ISA) were two of the strongest student organizations(in terms of number of members) in the entire campus. However, towards the end of my school term, the ISA was not active at all due to a lot of issues,politics and all that blah!! On the contrary, the ASU was in full form and their "African Night" was a big hit! I was telling him about how a lot of us worked hard to make the ISA active and running and how we faced so many issues/politics from Board members. He just laughed and said "You guys may be active/inactive, but when it comes to cultural or sporting events, you guys always come on top!!" I was so surprised to hear him say that.. but when I thought about it, he was exactly right! The Banquet in 2008 was a big success even though the ISA was not even in place. The entire student group came out to cheer(even the docs were there!) and I realized that I even had fun working with people I loathed!! The strangest of relationships grew stronger while we worked on the dances!! I guess the point is that when it comes to cultural extravaganza, there's just no beating the Indians!! I just laughed and told my friend.. "You are soooo right" :)

This, that or BOTH?!?!?

Living so close to a mall is never a good thing! More so if you don't have room mates to watch movies with or if u work crazy hours and just want to go someplace to destress!! The Zona Rosa Mall close to ma home(1.5 miles to be exact!) is the place I chill at! This weekend I made up my mind to splurge on some goood perfume. I'm derilously in love with these two at the moment! Gonna be real tough to decide between the two! :) HELP!!

How do I manage to hurt people like this when I dont intend doing it at all?? I think thats my specialty area when it comes to relationships!! :-( I hate breakups!! I truly do!!! :-(

Saying bye to my home of 3 yrs!!

I was taking a walk with a good friend of mine last night and we were reminscing about our 3 years in Springfield as grad students!! All I can say is that I've had a fantastic time here - Springfield has taught me to lead a life on my own, got my first ever job, my first ever pay check. Being a grad student sucked in its own way but I've definitely had my share of fun here. I think Springfield has a certain charm that a lot of bigger cities may/may not have. I truly hate moving from here. I've done my share of being grumpy this week. I hate saying bye to the people I love....I went out for lunch/dinner with all my favorite people this week and each time I felt that pain of separation. Of course, the good thing is that I'm going to be only a few hours away from all these people - I hate to say this..but it feels like I'm leaving home all over again... I have the same feeling that I had when I left India three years ago... Same mixed emotions of excitement, apprehension, nervousness, new found freedom(coz I'm gonna be living all by myself!!), and a host of other emotions I cant even pen down!
Here's to "Springfield mania" - walks at the Jordan Valley Park, midnight curly fry snacks at Hardees on Elm St, Cashew Chicken at Dragon Inn, shopping @ the Battlefield Mall, Wal Mart trips to S.Campbell, living a grand life on the 17th floor in Sunvilla Towers, being a poor grad student, ISA meetings/fights/politics(!), dancing and partying it up at Icon(yup..thats where it started) and Zan, to our own dance parties, movies at the Hollywood Theatre, host families, long drives to Branson, Banquets and more dancing, after parties, sneaking into the pool after hours and getting away with it and burning the midnight oil as a grad student!!
Cheers to you Springfield --- Dang, I will miss this place :(

KC it is!

I am officially employed!! :P With Babies R Us in Kansas City, MO!! Which means I am moving to a new place soon!! I'm so excited!!! Imagine, I get to work in a fun place like Babies R Us and I get paid to do it!! Haha! I am having a really busy time hunting for apartments in KC. What would we do without google maps? Right? I am having fun checking out all the apartments close to my work place - Fortunately for me the store is situated in a posh residential area and there are a number of apartments close by.. The challenge is to choose one that is affordable, convenient and safe. Il keep you posted.... But I am ecstatic! Feels like all that waiting is paying off. Watch out KC....here I come!!!! :P

Happy 25th!!

Hi Appa and Amma,
Here's wishing you both a fantabulous "25th wedding anniversary"!! I know the entire family is getting together this weekend and I will miss being a part of it! My heart is there with you guys.. Have a drink from my side you two!! And yes, I hope you enjoy listening to my surprise message!

Love you two sooooo much!! And Congratulations on putting up with each other this long :)

And I'm hooked!!

Im in my "honeymoon period" right now and Im making the most of all the free time that I have.. Who knows, I may never get this again!! I have been reading "A Dog's Life" which is a story about a stray dog who tells us his story.. Its been pretty interesting so far.. I am able to relate to it more so because of Gunner... Anyway, last night I met a teenage girl who had come with her family for dinner and she was reading the"Twilight". Now, I've seen the movie a couple of times and I liked it.. a lot! I mean it was obvious why the movie created such hype especially among teenage girls considering what eye candy Robert Pattinson(Edward Cullen) was. I myself had a good time ogling him on screen :) I borrowed the book from her and I finished it in about 5 hours! I loved it! There was an overdose of romance in it. I loved the way Stephanie has brought out the chemistry between Edward and Bella. I mean theirs was the usual "love-hate" relationship complete with fights, arguments, physical attraction, mutual admiration, crush-turned-into-LOVE!! In short, it reminded me of a Bollywood movie, minus the song-and-dance sequence! I cannot wait to read the next books in the series.. And yes, I recommend you read the book.. :) On that note, I decided to put up my "Twilight" theme party pictures.

ATL-STL update!

Hellooooo... Im back in good ol' Springfield!! My break was simply awesommeeee!!
ATL: My first destination was Atlanta, GA. Even though I've been there a couple of times before, I was really excited going back.. Somehow it reminds me of home.. Not to mention the delicious Tam-Brahm food I stuffed my face with! SIGH! My aunt is such a great cook.. Each day she prepared a dish of my choice such as Avial, Molagootal, kootu etc etc etc.. I realized how tasty vegetarian home made food can taste! Seriously, once I get a job and move into my own apartment, I'm calling her and asking her recipes! Anyway, Day 2 my uncles arrived!! It was sooo great to see them! I have the greatest uncles in the world... They are so fun loving, carefree and hilarious!! We went a little sight seeing such as the CNN Center, Coke Factory etc.. Of course, they are such shoppers so a stop at Kohl's, Wal Mart, Target was mandatory. I now know where I get this passion to shop.. runs in my family.. We also went to one of my favorite stores "ToysRUs" :) I bought a BenTon toy for my cousin whose birthday was coming up!!

The rest of the days just flew by.. we did a lot of walking, riverwalks, eating, shopping, eating, watching movies and more eating!! lol.. I watched a horror movie called 13B starring Madhavan(he's still eye candy!).. Was spooky to me.. you know me.. I get scared for the slightest of things.. but seriously, this movie scared the crap outta me. I couldn't sleep for two nights!! :(

Before we knew it, it was time for them to leave...They were flying to Baltimore and I was leaving to come back to St. Louis..

STL: I love STL!! I don't know why.. There is something about this place that makes me feel good!! There's always things to do.. its gives a big city feel yet there are places that make you feel at peace.. I met with all my friends there and most importantly was good to spend time with my significant other! ;) I had another friend from school who was home for the summer.. So we went together to Grant's Farm on Day 1.. It was a huge expanse of land filled with greenery all around.. Breathtakingly beautiful! I fed the goats, clicked pics, ate Dippin Dots(yummy!), and watched an elephant show.. The next day she and her friend were going to the STL Zoo and I said I would tag along..That night we met a couple of friends for dinner at an Indian Restaurant(but of course, any trip to STL is not complete without eating at a desi place!)..

Day 2: Zoo STL is a heavenly place... loved seeing all the animals lazing around in the sun.. The reptile place was awesome.. They had so many different species that it was unbelievable.. unfortunately a lot of animals were lazy because of the heat and they were just sitting in their dens without much activity!! So I barely got some interesting pics.. Nevertheless, a visit to that place keeps me happy!! That night a bunch of my Monsanto friends showed up at home and we ate dinner and watched "Andaaz Apna Apna".. What a riot that movie is! Some of them even knew the dialogues by heart!! And of course for old times sake, we played some Taboo, made a lot of noise much to the annoyance of our neighbors..!

Day 3: I had promised a couple of guys I would meet them for lunch that afternoon at one of my most favorite restaurants in STL called Stir Crazy!! Its a novel place.. you get to pick rice/noodles, meat of your choice and mix n match your own veggies(even things like ginger, chillies etc), sauces(teriyaki+schezwan being my fave!) and then the chef prepares it right there.. Whether it tastes "out of the world" or "god-awful" depends on your creativity! Fortunately for me though whatever I tried till now has tasted excellent!! After lunch I went back home and watched a movie called "Provoked" starring Aishwarya Rai. I was soo disturbed after watching it particularly because its a true story based on a Punjabi woman.. I was shocked to learn that it is widely prevalent abroad.. A lot of parents back in India think that it is ultra cool to marry off their daughters to NRI guys who earn in dollars/pounds.. Little do they realize that more than 60% of these guys have no respect for women, treat them like slaves and have illicit relationships with "goris"..The movie disturbed me a lot since Im the type that gets involved in it too much..

Anyway that was the last day of my vacay.. Couldn't believe that a whole week had gone by so quickly.. I had a fun fun break and I was fully charged up!! It felt great to be back in good ol' SGF.. I've missed this place :)

Rant!!

I woke up this morning with a "not-so-happy" text message from my Uncle in India. He said that my grandma had a fall and had fractured her hip bone!! I called my Dad immediately and he said that she was going to be fine.. It was just a minor hair line fracture.. I was relieved.
But this got me thinking.. I mean, when I first knew about it, I had this feeling of helplessness.. there was nothing I could do... I love my grandparents from both sides and I still have all four of them alive and kicking.. :-)
Coming back to how I felt... If I was at home, I would have rushed to see her and spent the day entertaining her and making sure she was feeling better and loved.. Sure, my cousins are all back home. But the feeling I had is sort of hard to explain.. It was a feeling of helplessness, misery, and homesickness sort of combined together!! I started thinking to myself if my decision to stay here for a while was a good one... Staying away from home, especially someone sooo attached to family is extremely tough!! In a strange way, I felt guilty about being so far away from her when she needed me.. She has done so much for me in my life and all the money that I eventually earn here will never be able to compensate her love for me!!
Sorry for getting all mushy there... but it got me thinking...
I know that once I get busy with other things, this incident will pass by... but I am just doing what Im best at.."ranting"... :-)
On another note, am leaving to Atlanta and St. Louis this weekend!! U know, I simply CANNOT wait to leave this place.. Am soo bored of being here without taking a break! Could do with some good family time... The folks from home are bringing back some goodies for me too :-) Cant wait to lay my hands on them!! I would love to visit the STL Zoo.. I absolutely love it!! Only thing is, I might have to do it all by myself.. I dont care though! I think its one of the best Zoo's in the country! Will write a whole separate post on that.
Tomorrow's graduation at MSU.. Cant believe that its been a year since a couple of my good friends graduated and left Springfield.. Man, talk about time flying!! I am excited to wear my new top.. which..ummm.. I bought at the mall last night and for which I still haven't forgiven myself! :-( Its sooo hard! I think I've been good these four months and I really deserved to get one!! Will put up some pics of it.. Happy Friday!! :)

Vah Vah!!

Bored?? I found this really interesting cooking website on youtube. He is called the "Vah Chef" and he is plain awesome!! I mean, the way he cooks and dramatises the whole thing is hilarious.. Its a riot watching him.. I especially like his "Sambar" recipe.. Do check him out at http://www.vahchef.com/
I shared this with some of my male friends and as expected they ripped him apart! They find him so stupid and fake! Well, I do agree that he has a fake, wannabe American accent... "Welcome to Vah Re Vah DAAT CAAM(dot com)".. "The sambar is so AATHENTIC.. lol.. He is funny to watch!! :-)) However, he makes the entire show lively, does a great job with all his recipes.. and the best thing is he gives small tips in between the show, which I find extremely helpful!
His tagline is to inspire others to cook and I am positive he does a great job living upto it! Whenever I see him cook, I want to try out the recipe.. and that is a BIG DEAL to a lazy bum like me!! Especially cooking!!

Even if you are not gonna cook, watch him to kill time and laugh!! :-)
Bon Appetit!!

Chachu and Me

Happy Birthday to u.. Happy Birthday to you.. Happiee Buddayyy Chachuuuuu naaa.. Happieee Budday tooo UUUUUUUU!!! :-))

April 30th 2002 - Trivandrum, Kerala : Chachu aka Sachin came out screaming into this world!!

May 29th 2002 - Chennai, Tamil Nadu: The first time I laid my eyes on this precious bundle of joy... He was 30 days old!! His mom brought him home from Kerala and they moved opposite our house.. Little did I know that it was gonna change my life forever!! He wore a small white piece of cloth and diapers of course.. He was chubby, extremely fair(a very Mallu trait, that is!), wore a small gold chain, and had no teeth!! It was love at first sight for me... :)

2002 - 2003 - Chennai, Tamil Nadu : I started seeing him almost everyday when I got back from college... He always had a blank expression when I carried him and kept him on my lap.. just kept looking at me.. slowly I tried to take him home for Appa and Amma to see.. He was calm when he was with me.. The minute he looked at Appa he'd start bawling.. I mean, he was LOUD! Quickly, I'd take him back home.. that happened for about two weeks.. things changed eventually... a month later, he hated going to his house!!

2003 - 2005 - Chennai, Tamil Nadu : Best times of our lives!! I mean, it was magical!! Chachu and I became inseparable!! He'd go wherever I go.. except to my classes of course.. Thatha nicknamed us "Mary and the little lamb"... and Chachu of course loved all the attention from my grand parents, aunts, cousins, parents, friends(the girls, of course!)... He soon became a part of my family.. He was at all family events, weddings, birthdays.. He stayed with me till 9pm.. We ate breakfast and dinner together.. lunch was together over the weekends..

A conversation at Chinmaya Vidyalaya(Chachu's school) between the Principal and him, when he was there for his "admission interview"

Principal: "Sachin, how many sisters/brothers do you have" ?
Chachu: Two...
Anju(his Mom) completely perplexed!?!?!
Chachu(continues).. "Devi Chechi and Aishu Chechi" ***

Me thinking to myself... AWWWWWWWW!! :-))))

Another conversation between the two of us at home on a boring Saturday afternoon.. He was 4 years old then!!
Chachu: "Aishu Chechi, I'm sooo bored here!! "
Me: " I know da.. me too"
Chachu: "Come lets go to Coffee day"!
Me: "Whaa-ttt" ?? lol..

August 2006 - Chennai, Tamil Nadu: I try telling the little one that Im about to leave.. to UMM-REECA(in his baby language!).. He hates that place.. He understands that Im about to leave and would not be back to be with him for a long, long time...... He always tries and avoids that conversation.... even when I try and talk about it, he changes the topic..

Aug 10th 2006 - Chennai, Tamil Nadu: The day Im leaving home... I packed up all my stuff, got all my documents ready to leave home to go the airport.. Fortunately for both of us, he was asleep.. I still remember kissing him on his forehead... just crying sooo much.... that relationship we shared was/IS soooooooo special... I wanna cherish it forever!

April 30th 2009 - Me in Springfield, Missouri and Chachu in Trivandrum, Kerala : He's moved to Kerala now, for good.. family situation not very favorable in Chennai.. Anyway, I called and spoke with him for a good one hour on the phone.. He's still the same... Its soo strange how some things never change... He still fights with Devi(his elder sister) and tries to grab the phone to talk to me, chats endlessly about cars(his latest fave being Audi), still asks me to come and spend time with him in Kerala.. still wants to fight with my Mom(over chocolates!), still makes me tell him funny stories... and laughs in his cutest, funniest way, still loves me and misses me!!! He's the younger brother that I never had!! :-)

Chachu baby.... I love and I miss you.. I know am gonna see you really really soon!!!! Hope you have a truly fantastic birthday!!! :-)

*** - Chechi is Malayalam for elder sistah!!

Hello good lookin!

Dont you just love my blog's new look? I mean its puurr-feect!
I love the new look... the pic just brightens it up soooo much!! Il let it stay this way....till I find somethin else to play around with.. :-)
Until then, stay warm!

The Big "24"!

SIGH!! I cannot believe that its almost here... tomorrow at this time, I would have turned 24!! WOW! I came here when I was 21 and to think that this is the third year in a row that I have spent here.... As usual, I am expecting my entire family to call me...Here's some stuff that happens each year..
Appa/Amma will call me tonight.. Appa will also follow up with an email in the likes of.. "Aishu, Sorry we are not there with you but our thoughts/wishes/blessings are with you only.. ".. Awww.. that will touch my heart! Wait, thats not the worst... . Then my grand parents will call me and say things like "Aishu, not a single day passes by when we dont think of you/wish you were here with us... "... AWWWWW!!

Just shows that even when am not with my family, they have this knack of making me feel super duper special and pamper me in the most "awesomest" way! :-)

Wonder what this year has in store for me... Being 24 is nothing special.. like turning 13/21/25..
Here's hoping that the year ahead has a lot of good surprises in store for me.... here's my wish list for now... (to be updated frequently)..

1. Get a cool JOB - meaning, get a job that pays!! ha ha... I have a lot of plans once I get a job.. and I hope this month is nice to me...
2. Go home for Christmas break... I feel like I haven't been home in forever.. actually its gonna be two years soon!! :-( I hope to visit this year end and see Appa/Amma/Thata/Thati/Amma/Thata, all my Chitappas/Chittis/cousins/Anju/Chachu/Devi/ my lo-www-iingg friends and so many others who can mean sooo much to me...
3. Volunteering with some orgn locally.. ok..so I keep hearing my friend talk about her experience working with an orgn that houses adolescent boys and how their life is sooooo hellish sometimes.. I'd love to actually be a part of it and witness it myself and see how I handle situations like that.. hmmm.. lets see if it happens..
4. TRAVEL!! YES!! Apart from going home, I'd like to visit some place nice within the US.. I really really wanna visit LA.. heard a lot about it and would love to go there sometime this year...
5. SHOP till I drop! Yes.. these months have been sooo hard with me not being able to buy anything that I crave for... this is my first birthday where I haven't bought an outfit for myself.. pretty S-A-D!

Tonight, Keith and Becky are taking me out to dinner... Not sure where we are going but I am pretty kicked about it.. Planning to wear a knee length green/black skirt with a light green top, some pretty earrings and some light make up.. Dressing up basically!!

Soooo anyway, here's to turning 24... Dressing up, Cake, Candies, Flowers, Gifts, nonstop phone calls starting at 12 AM, food, drinks n Feelin SPECIAL!! :-)

Mantra fo '09!!

I got an email from a good friend of mine titled "Handbook 2009"

Normally, I just breeze through/ignore/sometimes when I'm in a real foul mood, just SHIFT+DEL these without even opening them!!! However, with yours truly having nothing much to do, I continued reading it.. The content of the email was really simple... no flowery language, no cheesy pictures around or not even a mention of "forward this to 20million ppl in an hour".. and all that blah..

There were five categories and each one had a list of do's/dont's to be happy :)
Here it is:

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes’ walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't overdo. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.


Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

I especially liked #11 and #12- maybe coz its relevant to what I was thinking prior to receiving this list... I had a marathon phone conversation with a good friend of mine, who is "happily settled"... I envied her for having a "to-die-for" job(Yes, complete with H1B sponsorship!), living in a beautiful city(Ok Ok.. I know Springfield is a city too!), a nice car(hmmmm.. I think I own the better one though ;), a steady boyfriend(No Comments on that one!!... the guy is too serious for my liking), and overall a great life that others can be envious of!! SIGH! Grow up Aishu.... :-(

I guess I just need to remind myself of
#17 - Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need (Really?!?!?!)

I've decided to tape this up in my room.. read it once every morning coz these days I seem to find the need to remind myself of my existence!!
Cheers to Viju Etta for sending this to me!

HOLA

Cómo estás? No prizes for guessing who's learning Spanish!! ME! ME! ME!!
Felt like learning a new language.. thought Spanish might be a good option especially since I know French so well...

Soooo....... wish me luck in this new venture of mine.. Will keep u posted on my progress(or lack of it!)

Till then, Buenas Tardes! :)

Thanksgiving!

We are into the month of April now - suppossedly Spring time in the US. Tonight, the weather was miserable. :( I mean it was freezing temperature, with sleet and snow showers!! How wicked!

As I stepped outside to take the dogs for their nightly "pee-time", a chillingly cold gust of wind hit my face! I couldn't breathe for that one second!! It was as cold as winter gets!

I quickly take the dogs back into the house... Ahhh... that first second of "warmth" that you get from the heater feels sooo heavenly... That one second outside in the cold, made me a little pensive.. I thought of people who are out there without a roof under their heads..without warm clothes or even socks on... YES! There are tons of homeless people in the US.. ! How horrible to be out there stranded in the streets without any warmth? Grrr.... I shudder to even think about it!!

I am thankful... extremely thankful to GOD who is out there protecting me... I mean, not having a job seems like such a small, teeny weeny problem compared to not having basic necessities.. :(
I have wonderful people surrounding my life.. my awesome family who keep me going, my wonderful friends, without whom I'd be dead by now and just random people who have come into my life and made such a difference!

Imagine.. this family I live with, know me for about two years and they have been so kind to let me live here.. God bless the Haseltines!

Thanks God for being there and for looking out for me... I do feel blessed tonight!! :)

Funny!

This was a funny incident that happened not so long ago.. It was a regular evening and I was cooking dinner at the Haseltine house.. Olive and Gunner were being their usual cute selves(they are the Haseltine dogs, btw!) The son-in-law had come and we were all chatting him up when he suddenly noticed Olive shivering underneath the table... I mean she was SHAKING in fright!! Becky and I freaked out! More so, because she had been sick the previous week and we had to take to the vet and he had given her medications.. And here she was shivering profusely..

We bent down to her and tried to hold her.. her body was vibrating wildly and we did not know what to do!! I panicked.. Suddenly, the son in law smiled...

"Oh, its the pressure cooker that is scaring the crap outta her"....!!! :)
Indeed it was!! She kept looking at it so fearfully and gave me these scared looks that told me.. " Oh watch out, its a monster that's coming to get me"!!

PRICELESS! I bent down to her and put her away in another room while I turned off the heat in the cooker and put it away before I brought her out...
Poor lil Olive.. thought I should write this down! Funny incident, indeed!!

25 Random Things About MOI!!

Soooo.. last night a good friend of mine got me addicted to this latest game on Facebook where you write 25 random things about yourself... I had loads of fun doing it..You should try it!! :-)

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it is because I want to know more about you. To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on you profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type 25 random things, tag 25 people (in right corner of app) then click publish.

1.I have always been utterly and completely spoilt – parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors and even friends!! I still love getting lots n lots of attention and I am almost 24!

2. I love being with people and I guess it was no surprise to my family that I wanted to get into a profession like Human Resources...I hope to be a succesful in HR..someday... :)

3.I am fiercely patriotic about my country (India)... I love everything that it has to offer... its unique culture(s), languages, FOOD (!), clothes and people.... I want to be able to offer a lot to it in return and be a good citizen!

4.I have a lot of nicknames: “Aishu” at home/family; “Ash” to most of my friends; “Aish” to a few select uncles of mine; "Isu" to my maid, Nirmala; “Aishy” to Esther; and "BLONDIE" to a select few here at Springfield (There I admitted it!!)

5.I am very forgiving!! I can never hold grudges against people... I believe in giving people as many chances as possible. I rarely get mad at people... from what I remember, it’s been about three or four times that I have really lost my temper!!

6.I love luxuries!! Spas, Scented Candles, I Phones, travelling to exotic places, Swanky Cars, Flat Screen TV's... the list goes on...

7.I absolutely love dogs and babies.... and I dream of having LOTS of them in the future! LOL..

8.I am super duper stubborn... Its my way or the highway!! ha ha..

9.I have a crazy addiction to Bath & Body Works – I somehow feel I have all their fragrances memorized, if that makes any sense!! But seriously, I always have a lotion, body splash and a lip balm from their store in my bag!! PS: Wild Honeysuckle is my all time favorite!

10.I adore French – I took classes at Alliance Francaise in India and I can speak, write and read French fluently.... My dream is to visit the Louvre, the Champs Elysees, L’ Arc de Triomphe and take a romantic walk by the river Seine!

11.I recently took to blogging and find it a great way to vent out my feelings. If you’re interested, let me know... I will send you the link!

12.I am absolutely crazy about Sachin Tendulkar and A R Rahman... For the illiterate, Sachin is the most celebrated Indian Cricketer and Rahman is a super talented, awesome Indian Music Director.. Google 'em!!

13.My biggest fear is death of my loved ones... I fear it so much because I have never experienced it... All the ones that I love are still a part of my life and I guess I would want them to be that way!!

14.I am quite religious. I pray twice a day and I still chant a few prayers that my Mom taught me as a kid!!

15.I am a trained Carnatic music singer (Carnatic Music is a form of Indian Classical Music, popular in South India). I took classes in music for about six years and learnt Western Dance simultaneously for about two years!! I love to sing AND dance!!

16.I love trance... gives me a real high!!

17.I love the beach... My home town Chennai has some of the most awesome beaches and I used to live there most of the weekends!! I miss being by the sea so much!!

18. My comfort food is French Fries from McD’s!

19. I am quite a traveller.. I have visited all the Northern, Southern, Western States of India.. Have seen parts of East India.. not fully though!! I have also travelled to Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and of course quite a few States in the US. Europe would be the ultimate destination! SIGH!

20.I still love watching cartoons and reading Enid Blyton books!! Potter rules too!!

21.I am extremely emotional... every decision of mine is made through my heart and not my head! I cry a lot even in movies that aren’t all that sad.... I just cry very easily!

22.I am totally addicted to Facebook!!

23.I am a HUGS person.... I crave for big bear hugs from all the ones I love!!

24.I hate it when people litter the place..no seriously! I was born on Earth Day, duh! :P

25.I am a very passionate person.... I believe in Sean Jean's saying " Life without passion is unforgivable" !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANJU!

May this year be awesome for you and may all your dreams come true!! I wished we were still together in Chennai... Oh well, I will see you sometime really soon!!

Love you loads and loads!!
Aishu

Too much BAGGAGE!

I found that my bag had become unusually heavy this week and hence decided to clean it out a little bit. I pulled my handbag open and this is what I find :
- The latest book that I am reading – Q &A by Vikas Swarup (thanks to all that Slumdog hype!)
- A bunch of empty CD’s(they have been there for the past two months when I promised a friend to make a couple of Indian songs CD’s)
- My super heavy wallet(No No... not heavy with $$$, but mostly pics of Appa, Amma, my closest friends, Express Card, Macy’s Card, Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Wal Mart card, Delta Frequent flyer card, SHRM Member card, Master Cuts card, my school id, Gap gift card, my driver’s license, my fitness class pass)
- My I Phone 3G gift card! (Cannot wait to get my hands on that new phone!!)
- About 20 greeting cards that I got for my graduation!!
- My phone charger
- My car keys
- The new hair brush that I got last week
- A whole bunch of bills that I just wanna hurl out of the window!!
- My compact
- 2 shades of lipstick
- my favorite pink Sephora lipgloss
- kajal(which is something that I cannot live without!!)
- My awesomely fragrant “Warm Vanilla Sugar” hand lotion from Bath & Body Works
- Two new, unused body sprays – Dancing Waters and Cherry Blossom from B&B Works
- Mine and Esther’s flash drives
- An almost finished packet of Stride Chewing Gum
- Two black hair scrunchies
- My graduation photo that just arrived from the mail! J
- A light green top (I always carry an extra top with me if I anticipate long days!)
- A bunch of Kleenex
- Three packets of Car Gels that Tanu and I picked at the mall last nite!!
- My graduation hand book that has my name highlighted!!
- The latest addition: My new COACH change wallet in pink! LOVEE IT!
- My blue camera ( I love taking random pics... of myself and my wonderfully goofy friends!)
- My VAIO charger
- A blue scarf that I always carry thanks to the unpredictable Missouri weather!!
- Two different flavors of Chapstick
- A pair of black, super warm gloves
- My going away present that I got from my internship!!
Phew.... no wonder my shoulders hurt!! Talk about carrying excess baggage!!

Trying Times!

Off late, I've been kinda moody, snappy and not in the best of my moods! I'm usually sunny natured... always smiling and having fun... I realized that I am going through some of the most trying times of my life..
It seems so weird that I slogged my @$$ off to get my MBA... slogged my butt off to find an internship... and now I am trying super duper hard to get a freakin' job!!!
Being in the US doesn't help right now I guess.. with all this economy talk.. i've been tellin my cousins they might be better off staying in India or trying newer places in Europe or Aussie land!! US is defo. not the place to be in!! A common quote that I keep hearing from my seniors..
"Apply for at least 20 companies/jobs a day and you might hear back from a couple at the end of 2/3 months".... It takes around 30-40 min to complete a job application online.. and then they have all that EEO/AA stuff to answer.. technical problems.. Now we're talking around 1 hour for each application!! SIGH!
The moment I hate the most.... when I get an email saying " We have reviewed ur application..blah blah blah.. your skills are extremely impressive but we selected another candidate..blah blah blah... YA RIGHT!!
I guess everyone of us go through this phase at some point in life.... It lasts for a month for some and 8 months for a few others.... I only hope I get over this phase.. this horrid, "feeling- low", "no work-means-no-money" phase that I am going thru right now...
I miss my wonderful family so much.....my ever-encouraging DADDY, my ever-smiling MOMMY and my wonderful grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts....................Oh I miss them like never before!!
On that note, I dedicate a song to myself : Survivor by Beyonce! :-)
Latta!
ME!