Talk about juggling-in an impulsive, self-congratulatory moment i wanna give myself an award for just keeping up!
ball # 1: My manager quit! yes-one day, she's the mentor i turn to for all crises situations and the next day she has upped and gone to save the world (read: joined a Bill Gates-Foundation funded non profit org) As someone aptly put it: instead of making money for Microsoft, she is going to help MS spend it. Cute, but a little sad. For me-that is. She was my favorite person in this place. The good news is that the spot for 'My favorite person in MS' is now open and up for grabs. So folks who work with me, BE NICE and you just might be a contender. Sarcasm apart, i am suddenly inundated with work, work and more work. And it doesnt look like the tsunami is gonna recede anytime soon. Am officially $%^&ed!
ball # 2: We just moved! Yep-we decided to get out of the tiny apartment we started our US-adventure in, and get a nicer, bigger one with an extra bedroom and more closet space (at last!)
Two blocks from the first place-we thought it would be a breeze. So much for gliding through the move- i still need to make trips back and forth to pick up little stuff that i thought would not amount to much work 'after the movers left'. Silly me. Let's just say i am better prepared for the next time we move (which i hope will not be for a while. My back needs a break from picking up boxes and labeling them, and my brain needs a break from figuring out where to put what). Also-for those who do not know this already:Extra closet space is a highly over-rated(if not non-existent) concept. There is no such thing as extra closet space. Period.
ball # 3: New furniture: even itty-bitty stuff like a floor cabinet for the bathroom is a pain you know where. And why? Coz here, you gotta assemble every darn thing yourself! Gosh-i miss the simplicity and the joy of India and its cheap labor economy. No wonder i see all these commercials for tools on the television. you soooo NEED THEM!! I had never heard of a Phillips Screw Driver before i realised i needed one to put together a seemingly innocuous, innocent-looking cabinet. Wait till i rant about kitchen carts that need wheels fixed to them..whatever!
ball #4: visitor season and related stress: its summer here, and what we call 'parents season' in Redmond. Everyone we know and their neighbors have parents visiting. So why should we get left behind? Because its summer, you see. The 3 months we get of sun at its best behavior: so the temperatures never really climb beyond 30 degrees C, but its all nice and warm and toasty till late in the night. You forget you gotta make dinner because there is light till nearly 10 in the night. Ah-the joys of long days, a veritable explosion of color and flavors in the produce department, farmers markets and Orange Creme Frappucinos at Starbucks.yummy! All this means you are under pressure to do all the summery stuff possible in a short window of time;you know that time is running out: so plan camping, get the place buffed and ready for parents, think up stuff for them to do for every weekend while they are here. Move over planning gurus, i am gonna take you head-on on this one!
ball # 5: Dinner. Yes-it's necessary. yes-it's a chore. No- i no longer enjoy stirring away in the kitchen after a long, mind-mumbing day at work and all i wanna do is curl up on the couch in front of the tv and eat cheese-smothered pizza. But we Indians (and our tummies) are just not programmed for an eat-out-everyday way of life, and however you sulk and grimace at the idea: the day feels right (most of the week anyway) only when you are sitting down with some nice hot dal or a quickly-put-together kadhai paneer with frozen chapatti (made-from-scratch chapatti is yet an unchartered territory for me. The best cooks have their limitations-so i am sure this beginner homecook is allowed hers!). So no matter how tired i am, i gotta cook dinner. Darn!!
well- do i need to go on or do you get the drift? Being a working homemaker away from good old India and its often-taken-for-granted conveniences is not easy. so all you women who are doing this every day without a murmur-i sympathise and i applaud your wonderful ball-juggling skills! It's no mean achievement, this!
Oh and if you also have a baby, i am officially bowing down in awe!
