Soul-food: Gourmet or Otherwise

Pulling Up the Oldies Part 1: Circa 2000 or Thereabouts

2010-11-11T22:42:00.000-08:00

(this one is the first 'super-short' story i remember writing as an adult. And it's special for that reason-a little bit like first love you could say)

SOMEWHAT MAGICAL

He hated holding hands. Totally silly, he had always believed. He had never understood the funny connection it had with security, no matter how hard he tried.
As a kid, it had been his little sister, tagging along all the time (even when he had wanted to hang out with the other boys and throw stones at each other), holding on tightly to his hand as though her life would be in peril if she didn’t. His mom didn’t help the cause either, with those constant reminders of “ hold your sister’s hand and DON’T let go till you’re safely home.” Girlfriends hadn’t been any better. He remembered sitting in the car, one moonlit night in August. A normal 17 year old with normal needs- he was waiting for that ‘ first kiss’ -something to swagger about to his other not-so-lucky friends. But all he’d got (in the beginning) was a gentle sigh and a tight squeeze of the hand. It was supposed to be romantic, his sister’s verdict; but he refused to go with that.

That was 10 years ago. Now- he’d almost forgotten the feeling. He had gotten married to the only girl he fell hopelessly in love with. She was sensible enough to understand, and importantly, not complain about his ‘strange quirk’ as she called it. They’d gotten through three years of marriage with other displays of affection- and he was happy enough to live with those.

Today was going to be one of ‘those days’- a high point in his life, something special-that’s how it was supposed to be. He was happy, of course he was. But he didn’t exactly feel like doing a tap dance on the roads. As he wound his way through the milling crowd to ward no.10, he couldn’t help but wonder what his reaction was going to be.

It was pristine white everywhere-and somewhere in all that white, a pink bundle was kicking desperately, and screaming its lungs out. He reached the destined spot, and clumsily thrust out a hand- to feel, to touch….his creation. Something soft reached out, ever so slowly, towards his fingers. He followed the movement, suddenly fascinated by all that magic he was beginning to feel around him.

The pressure was….endearing, the only word he could think of, amidst all those tangled thoughts. And as he stood, looking over his baby, holding onto his index finger, as if for dear life-he fell in love for the second time in his life. And like before-it was forever.

The Month for Cheating On My Blog

2010-11-05T18:18:00.001-07:00

I am as big a fan of the library as anyone with a reading problem could possibly be. And by the way, by my reading problem, i mean an unrelenting desire to read as many books as i possibly can in this lifetime (a very positive problem i think! i even used to keep a list one time of what i read one year and underrated myself to silver star when compared to the list the year before)
When you have a wonderful problem like this, and you dont necessarily know where your permanent home is going to be (the problems of a globally nomadic generation seeking opportunities and adventure sometimes really far away from home shores)-buying books can be a tad impractical. Buying an iPad or a Kindle may solve the problem, one may say-but that bug has just not caught on with me(yet). I want my honest-to-goodness, smell-the-paper-and-watch-it-yellow experience of being curled up in bed with a real book. I like to put in bookmarks (sometimes improvised to include my phone, a hairband, a credit card bill), i love the feel of a well-bound hardcover-the sense of touch really makes the stories seem more real somehow.
So anyway, the whole point of the above is that i would not know what i'd do if the city i live in didnt have such a fabulous library system(thank you King County tax payers for supporting the libraries with your tax dollars!)
Last month, while placing holds for books online, i came across a small promotion box on the library site. It simply said " November is National Novel Writing Month" and redirected to www.nanowrimo.org.
A little voice is my head suddenly found itself after ages. A tiny little dream shook itself from its long snooze and opened its eyes wide. I remembered all over again my oft-dreamt dream of writing a book. A dream i never took seriously because i could never find enough inspiration (and the time)to sustain an entire book project.
But this campaign was so simple (and therefore not intimidating!) All it says is: write 1667 words every day for 30 days this month, immerse youself in 30 days and nights of literary abandon! How poetic! Of course what you'll write will seem cheesy at first, they say-but just get it out there, write out the words, dont worry about the quality, and something beautiful will emerge. If nothing, you'd have accomplished a body of work you call your own. And all it takes is baby steps every day. There are even NaNo stats that track for you your word rate, your current pace, whether you're ahead or behind schedule, the works. (my favorite resources are the pep talks from other published authors who'd started out with NaNoWriMo) If you write a validated novel of 50 thousand words at the end of the month, you get to be a winner. Last year, 165000 people participated, of which 30000 were winners 'entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever' -as per the website.
So i decided-i'll do this thing, i'll take the plunge. If only for my own reading pleasure (or displeasure) at the end of the month, but i would attempt to create a novel. A partner marketing manager by day, a writer by night. How wickedly good is this-the deliciousness of a dual life!! Silly jokes aside, this will be my little escape from the mundane. I have a meandering tale in mind, and it's cooking up on its own for now, directionless it seems but hopeful of finding an essence, a meaning. My plot is lame, my flow feels wrong, and yet- i feel right! I feel good and energized just to be taking this journey. Who knows, it may give me courage someday to write something i'd be proud of.
So this month, dear blog: i will be cheating on you. I'll be working away on my words per day and my imagination is running low. So this month, my posts will be some of my old work (which incidentally you cannot repurpose for the novel)- some short stories i wrote eons ago, almost from a different life it seems.(or at the least from a different decade)
I'll be back next month, a winner or not-but definitely the richer for it. Here's to words, all fifty thousand of them!

Orange Hues and Pumpkin Pie: Quintessentially Fall

2010-10-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

I wake up in the mornings to mostly gloomy skies these days but for one little bright spot..
Yes, it's fall and we'll see less and less of the sun now, but that one burst of red-orange-gold, however temporary, cheers my heart. It's what i have been opening my eyes to each morning this past fortnight: the tree right outside my bedroom window is aflame with the colors of fall.
Fall wreaths are starting to appear on doors, Starbucks has brought back it's Pumpkin Spice Latte, walking between buildings across the company campus during the day is like taking shelter under a canopy of orange and deep pinks, and with gorgeous gold underfoot.
Watching the season turn..It's a little bit like magic. Here today, gone tomorrow-and yet these breathtaking colors lift me up. They remind me that there is something to be joyful for, grateful for each day-if we look hard enough, if we care to notice. Yes, there is the cold, long winter ahead-but there will also be fireplaces aglow, warm, snuggly sweaters to pull on, the cheer of the holidays to indulge in and share..
My first brush with Thanksgiving in this country (rather, my first Thanksgiving ever) was 4 years ago, we were visting family down in San Francisco a week before. I remember the one highlight of our trip: a huge Pumpkin Pie from Whole Foods as dessert on our last night in town, no holds barred (translated as: topped with lots and lots of whipped cream).
Since then, i've kept up that bit of the tradition each year. The turkey-stuffing and mashed potato routine hasn't really caught up with us, but pumpkin pie is here to stay in my heart. Now and for later.
Maybe this year, i'll swap the store-bought with a home-made version!

Exhaling and the Happy Headache

2010-10-14T12:35:00.001-07:00

Dear Life: Thank you for the frenzied phases you sometimes love to shower upon us! While you are busy adding layer after layer of priorities and activities and things to check off, we are running around in our crazy human way- juggling, catching this and dropping that, fixing something here and then jumping off there. In all this happy (and something not) energy wave, there are times when we (figuratively speaking) forget to breathe! it's as though we are holding our breath constantly-waiting for that final climax scene in a movie.
So Dear Life-when we are finally done with all those layers, we allow ourselves, for one sweet moment, to EXHALE. at least till the next time the breathless, running-as-fast-as-i-can feeling comes back again.
A friend recently apologized for not keeping her promise to call me three weekends ago because she's 'losing her mind' with relatives and kids swarming in her house the last few weeks. I hope she gets to exhale soon!
Another friend recently moved to a new city, took a new job and is trying to ramp up on both at break neck speed. and yet another friend did all of that, plus bought a new house, a new puppy and her spouse is currently living in another country.
As for me: Ihave been on the verge of a big change and actively working towards it for a while now in parallel to everything else that i have on my plate, so now that all the actions that i needed to take are done, i can sit back and exhale, treat myself to quiet time till it all starts up again.

I cannot explain how good it feels to exhale. However transient this moment, it's magical: this sudden rush of relief, mixed with some satisfaction of having got through 'something'. however small or big it may be. I spent my evening having what i call a 'happy headache': all that energy suddenly whittling down to a moment of quiet is so drastic that it may leave you with a veritable headache, but its a happy one!

I have been reading this wonderful book called The Happiness Project, and the author talks about being happy in the context of " thinking about what feels good, what feels bad, what feels right, in an atmosphere of growth". How true! What would we be without the excitement in life that allows us to grow.

Dear Life- i know the next drama (a.k.a growth opportunity) isnt far away but till then-i am busy exhaling. And just being!

The silly things...

2010-10-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

A phrase i hadnt read, said or used in a long long time suddenly popped in my head today. Scatter-brained. (why do people not use this phrase anymore!)The context: two funny stories i heard from friends in the last couple of days about their absent-minded moments.
One of them was in such a rush to get ready for an evening out on the town one Friday night that while taking a shower, she forgot all about the conditioner she had put in her hair. Scrambling to get dressed and blow-dry her hair, she couldnt understand why it was taking all that time for the hair at the back of her head to dry, and then it dawned on her.
Another friend mentioned to me today the concept of 'pregnancy brain' or momnesia-apparently bouts of forgetfulness are really common when you are pregnant. She mentioned desperately searching for her cellphone in her purse while she was talking on that same phone. Another time, she found herself using the car keys to open the door to the house.
These stories made me think about all my scatter-brained moments in life-times when i have done or said silly things just because for a moment my brain was well-scattered. There was a time i tried to walk up an escalator that was coming down, i was in this tearing hurry to get to a store in the mall and couldnt figure out why i couldnt just get on. I cannot count the number of times i have shampooed my hair twice because i couldnt remember if i already did that once. I dont need to have the excuse of momnesia to justify how often i have looked for something all over while it's been sitting under my nose the whole time. And let's not even get me started on the times i cant remember if i already salted a dish while cooking.

It's so important to be able to laugh at yourself some days! just revel in that moment of silliness because you said or did something funny and completely bizarre, and use that to give yourself a mental break -if only for a brief second ,all the tasks ahead in that day can wait till your brain re-groups.
I am glad we human beings are scatter-brained creatures every now and then. Who can ever complain about the nuances of life that make you laugh, right?

Whoosh!

2010-10-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. i had a little bit of trouble finding my blog URL easily-i guess i hadn't visited it in a long time, so it wasnt showing in IE 9's new 'most visited sites' list. it's sad that i have been away from this lovely space i almost consider 'an escape from all other things real and mundane'-here was something that i loved doing, it wasnt a chore, and it didnt usually leave me annoyed or tired or indifferent(cant say the same about dishes or laundry or the relentless email in my life).
A year since i took a moment to breathe, gather my thoughts and sort them out into a string of words that i'd read again later and rediscover a part of me from the past. oh well, at least i am here again. And i promise to stop by often, if only to remind myself that there are things i love that deserve time and attention-and they go beyond the shopping sprees, the cooking whims and the travel bugs. Writing is one of them, de-cluttering my life is another-and i dont seem to do enough of both these days!
two things have been the highlight of my week and they deserve a mention in the context of this new resolve:
one: i turned a corner last week, coming off a phase of recklessness, exploration and eventually some attempts at self-discovery. what a fun ride! it can only get better from here, i hope:))
second: i realised this week that there are some human connections which are so simple, perhaps deep (time will tell) and perhaps not and yet they make for pleasant moments that you cannot help but feel good about.A little laughter and some soul-talk over a glass of wine between girls is one such experience that has got to be a universal mood-uplifter!

How Well Do You Know...

2009-06-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

So i am a facebook addict-most days, anyway. I am blown away by Web 2.0 and how it has changed the way we do business in many ways (have you noticed how many of your favorite brands, bakeries, sportsmen and celebrities are on Facebook and Twitter now? It's amazing!) With social networking sites becoming veritable universes for people to spend a good amount of their time (whether via a mobile or a PC) it is obvious that Facebook and other social networking sites create opportunities to entertain their growing fan base.
One particular avenue of entertainment is that whole slew of inane quizzes that you can take that 'help' answer questions such as " What Cocktail are you" (duh!), "What City Are you meant to live in?" (slightly useful) etc.
So on a particularly random evening when i was killing time on facebook, i stumbled upon a reverse-quiz: this quiz that YOU create for your friends to discover how well they really know you. So sure- i took a stab at it-put together a pretty lame quiz (with the help of suggested questions) that provide some insight into who i am (really?).

Turns out-people did really well on my quiz, even those who did not know me as well as say my best friends(i repeat the word ' lame' here). Some of them created their own quiz and subsequently, some of us (yes, including me) did not score too favorably on their friends' quizzes. I even know of a wife who scored a measly 30% on her husband's quiz. Ha!! Do i need to repeat a certain word again?

So i got thinking (and not merely to defend my bad scores)-can we really tell who is a good friend based on whether they know our favorite karaoke song, or what our nicknames were as kids? Does it matter if my best friend knows what my favorite colors are, or whether i prefer perfumes to shoes as gifts? (ok i agree- the last one might be a useful fact to know!)

Are these bits of trivia critical, especially in a day and age when our best buddies are globally dispersed across multiple cities, time zones and careers-and our conversations are more through these social networking technologies and email than through in-person tete-a-tetes?

So as our world and lives change, who should we still value as a good friend?
Someone who you can talk to, no matter how long its been since you last met, without having to wonder what to talk about? Or should it be someone who remembers what my favorite drink in college was? What about close friends that i made after i was out of college? Do they not qualify as good friends because they did not know which city i was born in or which is my favorite dessert even if we share values and opinions and have a whole bunch of memories to laugh over?

Facebook creates these quizzes as a way to have fun, spark new conversations, trigger new threads. And yes-these things are fun, including the fake banter and tantrums and declarations of 'Fraud' that they may spark off.

But fun apart-i realise that the friends i really care about are those that bother to stay aware of what's going on in my life, who can laugh with me about some silly gossip, who are there for me when i need to vent about something, with whom i can pick up from where i left off the last time we met, people i really look forward to seeing and talking with...isnt that what friendship is really about?

Dedicated to my girls-you know who you are! :)

Picking Favorites

2009-06-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

I noticed a trend in how i pick favorites when it comes to cities:those clusters of land and people, food and fashion, history and modernity, art and culture-each city has its unique share that goes on to define its personality (yes- i do believe that cities have personalities!)
I cant say i am a world traveler at all, but in the last couple of years were marked by a sudden spurt of traveling for me (a spurt that subsided when the economic crisis hit..lol!) and i do have some favorites by now.
So i got to thinking: what made a city tick for me? Was it the history and culture of a city that peeks out on every corner, in every other building or square? Or perhaps its the gastronomical delights that a city offers through a myriad range of cosy eateries, upscale restaurants and street-side cafes that dish out really good food? Could it be the glittering show-windows of high fashion and couture that make my spirits soar? Or could it be the vast range of neighborhoods each begging to be explored for its own merits? And then again-could it be the weather and the walkability factor of a city that i value most?

I realised that in some measure-all of these factors play it out for top score, with varying degrees of importance. and yet-the cities i have loved, adored and would move to in a heartbeat if i could were the ones that were hugely walkable, had fabulous food (i am sorry, but mediocre Indian and Chinese food of Seattle does not score high points for me!) and had huge doses of culture, history and a distinct sense of freedom and liberation that you can only identify as you get closer to the pulse of the city-the spirit that reveals itself more so in the side streets than it does in the oft-trodden touristy lanes.

So when i moved to a more interesting part of the city i live in-a neighborhood that has more for me to explore on foot (even though we have a 2 car garage for our ONE car to sprawl out comfortably in!), that is green every where i look, has a historic old town and wonderful neighborhood restaurants, supports local communities and farmers, and is so beautifully connected by public transport- my heart soared. This may not be New York or Rome or Mumbai or Paris-but yet, its home for now and it ends up meeting my hygeine factors without the price tag of New York or the langauge barrier of Paris or the sizzling heat of Mumbai (could not come up with anything not positive for Rome-that is one perfect city, eh!).

But the love for travel remains. As we put on our global marketing hats, it becomes all the more critical to understand how each individual market is unique, even if we may be selling a global product. There are some things you can learn best about a city's people by being one with them-even if it's just for a weekend or a work-related conference. So the next time you walk into a Starbucks in Amsterdam possibly asking for the same Pike Place brew that you get in Seattle, take time to notice the difference in your experience. Because there will be one!

Another ode to Bombay-just because...

2009-01-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

At a dinner party last night, i met someone who's been in Seattle for ten years or more(i dont know the exact time) bu from Bombay originally-and in due course of small talk, Bombay came up. Let's just say Bombay's been a pet topic for us here for a while now-what with Nov 26 and Slumdog Millionaire and the fact that the couple hosting the dinner were just back from Bombay after getting married there. For me, Bombay is a conversation piece in any world, at any time-simply because i love that city so much. And so it was a rude shock to hear a former Bombayite say " Yeah, everyone who goes on and on about Bombay-let's remind them of the traffic and the chaos. Let's keep them honest. They sometimes tend to get ahead of themselves" or something to that effect. The Bombayite in me was obviously not amused. It was almost offensive to me-given my current state of homesickness. And then i wondered-do i even have a right to defend that city anymore? I, who has not been there for over a year now, but still living in the image i have of the Bombay i knew as a care-free student, in love,and living it up in the city of dreams and freedom and rock music in bars. Am i all starry-eyed about Bombay because i am not physically there, and i do not know experience first-hand the traffic snarls, the daily grind, and the challenges of living in a city that is splitting at its seams?

A friend was recently telling me of how her parents recently visited her in Bombay, and she took them to her favorite haunts. I was saddened to find i barely recognized one or two from her list. It scares me sometimes-to lose touch with Bombay. I almost dread going back there sometime and finding that everything has changed. The places i loved are gone, replaced by spanking new haunts that arent yet familiar to me. I worry-am i clinging on to the ghost of the past, while i am increasingly growing distant (literally) from everything that city represents and means to me. Are my annual trips to New York in search of that 'near-Bombay' feeling a foolish attempt to hold on?

And then i remember-that Marine Drive is not going away in a hurry. That Bandstand will always have Bandra's diaspora walking their dogs or working off the stress in their lives as they run, that I'll always be able to go back to a well-loved campus in Andheri and drink nimboo pani and that Bombay will always be, if nothing else, a city that embraces. A city that keeps abuzz and makes everyone that comes along to its shores and stays awhile, its own. And so-sure, i'll have the 'return to culture' hiccups, but i'll soon get immersed in the Bombay-ness of it all, all over again. And stay in love. That is the hope.

On House Arrest: A week and Counting

2008-12-21T21:16:00.000-08:00

So it turns out i chose a really, really bad week to work from home. My harmless self-preservation directed attempt to stay warm at home attending 7 am live meetings instead of walking to work in below freezing weather all through last week came back and bit me!
Mid week when i was about ready to brace myself to get to the office (holiday season notwithstanding) just to get out we were hearing warnings about a bad snow storm creeping up on Seattle. Now it's important to understand-that unlike the northeast where snow is a given, mundane even-it gets elevated to 'elite' status here in the Northwest simply because we just dont know how to deal with it. The joy of a White Christmas aside, the hilly terrain and slopes all over our region makes driving with snow impossible around here unless you have a 4 wheel drive (which too isnt helping this year!) So when 7 inches of snow joins hands with below-freezing temperatures-the snow doesnt get even a chance to melt into puddly nothingness. Instead it freezes wickedly into ice (or worse-invisible 'black' ice on the roads that takes you for a scary spin with your tyres getting absolutely no traction however hard the DTC on your swanky car tries)and then-the storm dumps a fresh layer of snow on old ice for a perfect disaster waiting to happen.
Now i agree i am dripping with weatherman-speak, but i am fed up! Fed up of being cooped up at home with snow all and around, fed up of trying to make exotic food at home when all i am craving is a cocktail and crappy fries at my favorite watering hole. Fed up of being on house arrest watching tv, checking email (did i mention-with the whole company attempting to login from home, we had major issues getting Outlook access the first day the storm came), doing laundry and pacing up and down the length of my tiny apartment as the only alternative to the 30 minute walking i am used to most days.
It's Sunday evening-and i never thought i'd ever say this but- i am dying to go to work Monday morning. But by the looks of things-it's looking bleak. Sigh. Please go away snow and send us back the rain showers that we have learnt to live with. I want 'normal' back.

Switching Roles?

2008-11-12T16:47:00.000-08:00

There are days when I come home from work and find myself sitting around doing..absolutely nothing!
Not watching tv, not surfing, not cleaning, not even stirring from my position of stillness to pick up the phone ringing off its hook. No- I am just lying there sprawled on the couch, thinking nothing, feeling nothing -just frozen in a haze of the zero.
I wonder whether this is a bio-chemical reaction to exhaustion (not that I lift and carry heavy stones for a living!) when my brain cells churn to a slow halt, or purely a psychological house-keeping reaction. In any case, it’s a temporary system crash till my brain does an automatic re-start.
Which brings me to draw an obvious parallel between myself and my laptop-are we both similar in that we follow the code, open/close windows as directed, operate on a system based on pre-entered knowledge but occasionally give in to that momentary lapse of reason? Are human beings increasingly becoming machines, just when we are taking these grand steps towards making machines more human?
Cisco talks about ‘the human network’. There are smart washing machines that come with a hand-wash option and there are refrigerators that will eventually learn to place orders to the grocery store when they are running out of milk. Your car reminds you to put on your seat-belt the way your mom constantly reminded you to tie your shoe-lace and did not stop till you did. There are tools that tell you which way to turn to get to that steakhouse instead of the chemical reactions bubbling away in your brain-the reactions that build memory from images you’ve seen and thoughts you have unconsciously thought. There is even an ad that goes ‘When you turn on your car, does it return the favor’.
And then here we are-with our often-mechanical existence. We get up like clockwork every day, brush our teeth the exact same way each morning, reach out to turn on the shower with the exact same movements as the day before, taking precisely the same amount of time to get showered (except on days you are wearing a skirt and need to shave your legs of course!) and dressed. We flip through tv channels without really stopping to pause on any one; we no longer remember what encyclopedias were, unless you mean the Wikipedia sites that you browse every now and then.
So is life becoming a perpetual episode of ‘Trading spaces’ between us and the machines that we cannot live without now? Is there anything wrong with leaning towards a more efficient, system-driven (some may say lazier) way of life? Probably not-as long as we still remember to smell the roses as we turn into our driveways, to laugh at George Bush being mimicked, to get those warm fuzzies when we snuggle into our loved one’s arms and to cry over old, sappy movies when boy-met-girl.

The books that changed my life..

2008-04-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Books. An old love. Paperback or hard-cover, squeaky-clean from a bookstore or dog-earred from a thrift store- i love em all. From the time i first devoured an Enid Blyton (i believe it all started with Mr Noddy back then) to today's Ladies Detective Series, not too much has changed. As a kid I could stay curled up on bed forgetting homework and read a Five Find Outers mystery from start to finish. I still can sit for hours (when time permits) in a coffee shop reading a tome from cover to cover, but taking time to people-watch in between! So i got to thinking about all the books that made a difference to my life in one way or another. And from a whole sea of names, i came up with the following:

The Enchanted Wood series by Enid Blyton.
You gotta bow down and accept this woman as the demi-goddess of fairy tales . I mean-hello, i had myself dreaming about climbing the faraway tree and actually hoping (against hope) that it might really exist somewhere in a thick wood in England. What a magical time it was. My favorite bit about the book remains the Slippery Slip down the trunk of the tree. Wah twouldnt i give for a ride like that!

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
I read this book primarily to understand what the hype was all about (and yes there was a big noise about this one). I am glad i did. This book was my first experience with 'pretty words' and intense dramaticization that left you feeling like you just survived an earthquake. Since then- i have grown to like books in the same genre (Notes on a Scandal, On Beauty, Atonement, Amsterdam) but i will remember this one as the first. Oh-and did mention: talking about this book also got me through an interview to B-school. Pretty darn significant then!

Marley and Me: life and love with the world's worst dog by John Grogan
Put your hands together for Marley-coz you are going to love him (despite the fact that he could potentially swallow your gold chain or chow down your pay check). I have cried buckets at the end of this book, laughed till my sides hurt all the way through and essentially felt warm and fuzzy all over. And let's face it-you can't find a better companion than this lovable lab on a flight from the east coast to the west. I never travel long distance without this guy. and i am cheering for the movie whenever it comes.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mark Darcy. Mark Darcy. Mark Darcy. Enough said.
(P.S: And then Colin Firth came along and hit the ball out of the park. Even a feminist would melt)

The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
I admit-this one was a little eerie. But it got me through some lonely days (and even longer, lonelier nights) in a strange village in Rajasthan where i did not speak the local language, and was alone and miserable, working on a disconcerting, totally-out-of-my-comfort-zone (but in hindsight grounding and humbling) corporate social responsibility project as part of management training. And for that reason- it made this list. And yes-it had a whole dictionary full of pretty words. More intellectual gratification, eh?

Two Lipsticks and a Lover by Helena Frith Powell
A funny narrative of an English woman unraveling the mystery behing why French women can look unbelievably gorgeous in jeans and an old jumper-this book reaffirmed my faith in being lazy and still looking good. And that's the dream, isnt it? I think all vain women (which means ALL women really) who aspire to look and feel beautiful always need to read this one. It's not to be missed.

The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
This is a scary one. It makes you wonder-what if this were really possible? What must it feel like to live your life backwards? Well- you get to know up, close and personal with this one. It's an intense love story at heart really-but in the most unusual setting.And yes-it did get me hooked to reading life-spanners as i call them: books that take you through the entire life of a character. And there is something very final about these stories. There is nothing left to imagine-because there isnt an ever after at the end. But you still wonder -what if?
(Others in this type that i enjoyed: The Stone Dairies, Water for Elephants)

I am sure there are many more fictional worlds that i love or will love. but for now-these rule the roost. I'll come back in a few years and make an update:)

Some lessons learnt living the American dream

2008-04-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

-It does not take long for it to switch to a nightmare esp. when your laundry piles up, heating bills give you mini heart-attacks and the tax man comes and swoops away a good chunk of your bank account as end-of-year dues .
-As long as you don’t own a gas-guzzling SUV (or worse, a Hummer)-the big deal folks make about rising gas prices is just a case of over-blown hysteria.
-You can never go wrong with the following safe conversation topics: the weather, Monsoon Wedding (everyone and their next-door neighbors have watched it) and the current state of the economy.
-All bills get split. In the middle. There are never those uncomfortable moments at the end of a meal when everyone is wondering who will pay. Restaurants happily accept up to 6 credit cards sometimes!
-You always walk on the right side of the road. And you thank folks if they give you way. Otherwise you’re a boor having a bad day.
-Television here sucks. Most days anyway. Unless you enjoy hearing about how a lost cat made national news.
-If you do not like the weather here, wait ten minutes.
-The sales here are REAL sales. Not a gimmick to get rid of lousy stock that no one was buying anyway. Nor are they ‘marked-up mark-down’ events. It’s worth waiting for a sale here. They rock!
-When in doubt, stock up on frozen food. It can be a life-saver.
-The portion sizes in restaurants here are sometimes enough to feed a small country. You are NOT supposed to eat it all. That’s why they have ‘boxes’. Use them.
-Everyone travels on the few (and therefore highly revered) long weekends. Make travel plans way in advance, unless you have too much of the green stuff to throw around.
-Indian grocery stores always play songs from an era you probably never saw/care to remember. Be prepared for painful songs from forgettable movies. It’s just how things work.
-A parantha here is just a nan masquerading under a new name. Grin and bear it.
-It's easy to forget that you have neighbors. If you see them once in the course of your stay, its probably enough.

The Mumbai I love..

2008-01-22T20:14:00.000-08:00

A very special wedding took me to Mumbai a couple of months back. After the onslaught of Delhi's dreadfully cold winter, the muggy warmth of Mumbai's November felt like a soothing balm for my miserable throat and my aching soul. And the rush i felt just being surrounded by the buzzing, throbbing, vivacious pulse of the city that stirs me like no other...it was a moment i still linger over.
Playing proxy sister to my best friend as she totteringly/drunkenly/bravely/magnificently orchestrated a culturally-explosive wedding (her own!)..being a very thrilled side-kick entrusted with flower trays and gift responsibilities, 'stealing and then haggling over the price of the groom's n shoes' (as is customary in Indian weddings) and desperately struggling to avoid tripping over my saree hem -all this was perhaps just what i needed to break away. And if that was not enough-i had a day to spare to go soak up the city that made me who i am today.
Of course-being away for too long means starting over in some valuable lessons that Mumbai teaches you almost instantly. Like prepping to get off at your station well in time when traveling in the local trains. A lesson my husband had conveniently forgotten which left me looking around for him all over Bandra station's platform after safely getting off the Ladies compartment. Of course-he called me ten minutes later to sheepishly admit he'd reached Andheri (a few miles down)instead!
But these hilarious hiccups apart, steering through the city is like a walk in the rain for me-romantic, exhilarating, liberating as always. Maybe i wont feel the same way if i woke up every day to battle the engulfing traffic and the daily struggles..but till that time, Mumbai is always going to give me a head-rush.
So whether its shopping for soapstone carvings at Dhoop in Khar or having nimboo pani at my alma mater's Bistro, flipping through magazines at Just Around the Corner while waiting for a perfect sandwich or simply cruising across Marine Drive in the quintessentially battered cab..the simplest things here make me feel that i am home, i am happy and i am in love..forever.

P.S: Did i mention that Mumbai has a Hard Rock Cafe now. Another reason for me (a self-confessed HRC fan) to love it some more! And did i mention that Seattle (the birth place of grunge music) DOES NOT have one. Irony, irony..

Confessions of a homesick cynic

2008-01-20T21:32:00.000-08:00

When you're homesick, nothing else matters. The jingle of bells, holiday feasts, pinch me-am-i-dreaming sales or waking up on Christmas morning to a snow-kissed vista from your tiny porch..they all melt away into a "so what" blur. Because all you really want after a trip back home is to be back there again. Not the long immigration lines at your port-of-entry, not the disciplined clean roads with sane traffic and the thin crust pizzas dripping with melty mozzarella...
instead you're almost aching for the chaos you encounter while looking for parking in super-crazy Gurgaon, the bhel puri tossed up with hands and ingredients that are decidedly suspect, waking up to lazy mornings with mumma-ki-chai and paneer-ka- parantha.
Sure-a white christmas in normally snow-free seattle was pretty. And yes- i did the shopper in me proud with post-christmas extravagances. But for nearly a month after that sojourn home i was questioning why i am here in the first place. Who cares about having Banana Republic at easy access (ok-i'll take that back-i do care about that!)..somedays i just miss the familiarity of home.
Now that the bout of homesickness is beginning to wane-i am slowly slipping into a dreadful routine again. I'll even concede that i enjoy American politics and find myself comparing it to the boring "pull-my-hair-out" frustrating version back home and wondering why the Gujarat elections didnt capture my interest as much as the Obama-Clinton rivalry.
But when all is said and done-the samosas here suck. Family is as far away from Seattle as it is from sunny California. And even though calls to India are super-cheap, its never going to be the same as dropping in to a friend's place for chai and a chat.
A little shout-out to home, because i miss it so..

A Distracted Take on Ads

2007-11-12T22:27:00.000-08:00

The hardest thing to do on a cold winter (alrite-it's still fall, but i reserve the right to crib about the cold!) night when you're curled up in a Downy-smelling comforter on a 500-threadcount sheet is-getting out of that cocoon of sheer warmth and toasty comfort. And why? To wash your face of course!
Yeah yeah-call me a stickler for skincare rules-but no matter how much of an 'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah' moment it might be-i take a deep breath and step out.

Somewhere-a skincare giant caught onto the sheer frustration involved in this exercise for the finicky women across the nation. and they came up with an adline that said 'Bored? Go wash your face!' When i first saw that ad-it instantly registered somewhere in my brain. A promise to take away the 'BORING' from this chore? A foamy, frothy, effervescent experience that i won't get over two days later? You mean i can actually make my routine-bound life happening by using this 'magical' product? Ok-you've got my attention!

Unfortunately, before the brand could even register, the spot was over and there were dogs running across the screen of my television scampering to get to their bowl of Pedigree doggy-chow. Oh well-maybe next time i'll concentrate some more..

And that really is the story with most advertisements these days. The only ones that stick are the ones you hate (try googling for an ad called' Headon-Apply Directly to the forehead' and if it doesnt drive you crazy-come back and post me a comment! Yet it's supposed one of the most effective ad campaigns with some serious brand recall). The ones that glide past your conscience like a momentarily 'interesting' piece of trivia are the 'pretty pictures' and the 'gooey chocolate brownies' that never seem to come back to you when you're strolling down the frozen-foods aisle.
Maybe that's why its important to use jingles that have your brand name muscially trilling through the entire eye-ball moment (remember Utterly Butterly Delicious-Amul!). Or maybe this is all baloney coming from someone who has a mild attention disorder.

The fact remains: i really havent gotten down to buying that facewash yet. Though i really want to. I just cant remember which one to buy when i go to a pharmacy. (Help me out marketers-put out some in-store eye-candy that might just remind me of the ad!) Are there more such 'scatter brained potential consumers' you just lost out on?

As for me: i am back to the 'moment of truth': its time for shuteye but...i gotta wash my face first. How boring!

For a Song..

2007-08-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

I am gonna be honest about this however blasphemous it sounds – I had not really heard Pink Floyd till a dear friend of mine recorded me a tape that had 3 masterpieces in it (am coming to those in just a bit!). This was when I was in my first year at college-and the only other Pink Floyd song I had heard till then was ‘Brick in the Wall’-for obvious reasons ( Any self-respecting high school kid has felt an adrenaline rush watching the video of that one!)
One of my best friends from school and the rest of the guy-gang I spent my growing up years with, just went on and on about the album covers and ‘Coming Back to Life’ and the guitaring genius of this Brit band. As for the ‘Gilmour Vs Waters’ argument, I was positively sick of hearing it go on without having an opinion. So I was pleased to finally get a tape that captured the best of Floyd, amongst others.
I have to admit: I have not looked back since. If there ever was a song that captures yearning and heartache and all things you feel after you’re 2 LIIT’s down- it’s Coming Back to Life. No matter what, you can always relate with being one of ‘two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl’ (coz life is like that). And as for being ‘comfortably numb’: don’t we wish we could be that way in the middle of a horrible Monday morning! I have lost count of the number of times we requested for one or all of these at the places where we hung out regularly and because we were recognized as good customers –duly indulged.
Since that first taste of Floyd magic-I have had some wonderful times in the company of these songs. On Wednesday night Happy hours during B-school, at fashionably hip rock bars in Delhi and Mumbai, and lately-on Friday nightcaps of wine with trusty old You Tube.
This is not to say that I lean heavily towards intense, heart-wrenching rock. I remember hanging out of a hostel window late night with 2 of my favorite people in the world and singing ‘I want to Break Free’ specifically directed to our poor watchman who probably thought we were insane. That was one of the high points of my B-school education and I have an irresistible urge to giggle just thinking about it! I have driven my guy insane with my continuous need to hear Shakira’s ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ . I’ve dragged him back into a pub just coz I heard ‘Crazy in Love’ as we were leaving. i owe a thank you to yet another close friend and her brother for introducing me to the sheer thrill of ‘Gasolina’s brand of Spanish rap. And how do I explain why my head starts bobbing from left to right when I hear ‘Lemon Tree’ or I start to smile when the video of ‘Bad Day’ comes on.

So there it is-the truth about music and some songs in particular. They have a treasure-chest of memories residing in them, they can stir up your soul or be the perfect pick-me-ups after a bad day. They remind you of people, they possess a therapeutic quality that works better than aspirin some days. Or they just bring you up on your 2 left feet and get you in a happy place instantly. How awesome is that?!!

Sandwiches at Churchgate..

2007-07-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

I have this rather wasted habit of collecting recipe books. It's a thing i have had ever since i first watched a TV show called Daawat hosted by an energetic sardarji called Jiggs Kalra. These were days when we had no cable, and good old Doordarshan was a prime source of entertainment. I recall vaguely these lazy-afternoon shows hosted by Mr Kalra preparing way too elaborate dishes directed at bored housewives and one bright-eyed little girl-me! So anyway-i guess watching fancy food being made has been an old hobby that developed first into 'cutting out recipes' from glossy Sunday papers and blossomed into purchasing even-glossier recipe books (most of which are best just admired from a respectable distance. I mean- how in heaven's name will i find truffle butterin my humble little local grocery store?!).
So it was one such recipe book that brought back memories of Bombay and its generously-buttered potato sandwiches, stepping down from your building in the afternoon for a quick fix of 'aloo slice' from the corner-side sandwich wallah..what bliss that was! It does not take much to get me all sentimental and dreamy-eyed when it comes to Mumbai. So this little blast from the past is no exception. One sappy love song goes " when i fall in love, it will be forever..." and i am guessing that rings true for me and Bombay. In more ways than one!

So i thought it's only fair that i share this lovely little recipe from a book called 'Vegetarian Sandwiches' by Paulette Mitchell. An interesting take on the good old Mumbaiya-sandwich and aptly called EAST INDIAN TEA SANDWICHES. Enjoy!

The Cilantro-Peanut Spread is a zesty complement to the cooling flavors of the cucumber and potato in the filling for these out-of-the-ordinary sandwiches. For more intensity, add an extra Thai chili pepper; for a less assertive flavor, substitute a jalapeno or serrano.

Sandwich Spread

¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 Thai chili pepper, coarsely chopped (seeds included)
¼ cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
Dash of salt, or to taste

Sandwich Filling

1 red boiling potato
Dash of salt

Bread

4 slices of white potato bread, crusts removed

To complete the recipe

Four ¼-inch-thick tomato slices
Dash of freshly ground pepper
Dash of salt
½ cucumber, peeled and diagonally cut into eight ½-inch-thick slices
Two 1/8 inch-thick red onion slices

To make the sandwich spread, process all of the ingredients in a food processor until the peanuts are finely chopped but not puréed. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

To make the filling, cover the potato with water in a small saucepan; add a dash of salt. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until the potato is fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water, then drain again. (Or cook the potato in the microwave.) Allow the potato to cool, then cut into about eight ¼-inch-thick slices.

To prepare the bread, lightly toast the bread slices. Spread ¼ of the peanut spread on each bread slice.

To assemble each sandwich, top the spread on 1 bread slice with half of the potato and tomato slices; sprinkle with pepper and salt. Then add a layer each of cucumber and onion slices. Close the sandwich with another bread slice, spread side down, and slice it diagonally twice to form 4 triangles.

Advance preparation
This spread will keep for up to 2 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. Assemble the sandwiches up to 1 hour before serving; if held longer, the toasted bread will soften.

P.S: for more interesting sandwich recipes, consider buying this book! It's pretty darn awesome and very creative. It shakes the assumption that poor vegetarian souls cannot expect much more than a 'garden veggie' option in sandwiches. To whet your appetite, consider: "Grilled cheese and avocado sandwiches". Yummy!

All these balls in the air..

2007-06-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

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!

Bitten by the bug..

2007-05-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

I need to be more specific here. What kind of bug is it this time?

The 'love' bug: naah, that happened almost 5 years ago. And it continues to bite..sigh. You're kinda stuck for life with this one-for most folks anyway! Expect (and hope for) an overstay:)

The 'movie' bug: this one's a regular visitor. Has free will. Expect hectic activity in the summer.

The 'travel' bug: high-maintainence dude, this one. Needs you to be well-prepared. Expect severe 'bank balance' damage. And potential finger damage (with all the camera clicking).

The 'system' bug: unpredictable. Will crash in on you in the middle of a Live Meeting with ten people queued up to see your slides. Expect embarrassment and a sheepish retreat to 'please use the attachment in the mail instead'.

Finally, the 'trash' bug: attacks most on long boring weekdays and results in super-nonsensical, directionless meanderings. Expect brickbats in the 'Comments' section of your blog.

Bugger!

Somewhere in the world..

2007-05-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

She walked around the house picking up the socks scrunched up into a ball, the Coke can emptied to the last drop, the newspaper rolled up to whack a fly, the dirty dishes wistfully holding on to traces of a red sauce.

She stood still for a moment, waiting for the thud of footsteps on the staircase outside. None yet..

Back to business then. The cat was out exploring. The kitty litter needed to be cleared. The plants hadnt seen water for a week-she should do that now, she thought. Thirsty tendrils yearning for life...they were helpless in their pots, stuck out in the balcony. She knew the feeling..

Something snapped. A twig on the tree outside? The elastic on the laundry bag? Her patience? All of them perhaps..

The footsteps-at last! She reached for the front door and threw it open...

For all the ‘Jack and Norma’s of the World..

2007-05-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Last night, I found myself howling all through the second half of an episode of The Wonder Years. It was the one about Jack and Norma-who are not just Kevin’s parents, but two people who still love each other and miss each other when they are apart. Two people who get through little hiccups like a broken stove and their oldest child demanding cash for a yoga mat. Two people who make you realize that love not just survives but grows with time, through the haze of providing for your family and getting caught in the banal everyday of things.
It gives you goose bumps- that kiss at the end of the episode. In black-and-white or color, it does not matter. Go look it up on YouTube if you have a chance. It reminds you that our parents are not just ‘Mom-and-Dad’ –a package deal we have been taking for granted ever since we first howled to be changed out of our diapers, but two individuals that had a life of their own before we came along and ate up all their time.

Me versus The Routine

2007-04-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Crawling out of bed in the morning, just about. Yawning at 3 pm at work and reaching out for more caffeine. Impatiently switching channels between American Idol and the NBA play-offs. Furiously chopping onions for a north indian take on sambhar. Sorting laundry and wishing it could do that on its own. Walking down the grocery aisles for atleast half an hour each week and still forgetting to bring something. Having a bad hair-day and trying to make my peace with it. Phew! All these tiny little struggles of life..miniscule, boring even. And yet they make up almost the whole of the weekday fabric. Five-sevenths of our life trapped into a gnawing, all-encompassing, necessary but ever so slightly tiresome routine.
Should i rebel? Aah-i try that, every once in a while. But the routine, so well -practised at the art of sneaking back, wins. A whole lot of times.
Should i sigh and face facts? Hmm..not fun.
Should i continue to grapple, and be happy with the occasional victories? Yes. And live for the weekends:)

Where have all the movies gone?

2007-03-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

I love going to the movies! A year back, i used to watch atleast one, if not more every weekend. Oh-the joys of settling into plush PVR chairs with nachos and a Diet Pepsi, giving in to cinematic excellence (or BS, and there can be plenty of that!) from home and beyond. It was such a great way to tune out of the weekday mania and consuming empty calories believing they dont't count coz "ur supposed to munch" in a movie hall..
Now suddenly- i am lucky if i get one half-decent movie once in a fortnight. Forget being choosy-i would be willing to watch anything that meets the basic definition of "entertaining". Am not asking for "Oscar-nomination" quality, just simple movie magic. Even of the tending-to-inferior sort.
And yet- i have limited choices.
WHERE are all the movies? Is it lean-season for Holly/Bolly/whatever wood that there are no nice releases queued up till later in the summer?
Why are there only "Namaste London"s and "Premonition" types doing the rounds?
So i have watched 300 (and loved it), sat through Eklavya (and tolerated it), covered this year's Oscar nominees one way or another. Now what? I give in to a dull, movie-less routine till Ocean's 13 premiers in June. Check the sad website of the lone Hindi movie cinema hall in Seattle for anything, anything worth spending $9 on. Nada.
I am forced to spend my weekends in other , more expensive ways-shopping.
So please-all you movie-makers, for the sake of my depleting bank account-do something!!

10 Things i wanna do before i am 30..

2007-03-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

Was watching this particular FRIENDS episode (for the 50th time, atleast!) with flashbacks to everybody's 30th birthday and how Phoebe wanted to hop on a balloon for a mile before she turned 30. And here i am, thinking aloud on what i wanna check off my list of "To-dos" by the time i reach the three-oh mark.

-Practice my broken Spanish in Spain
-Make the perfect cheesecake
-Win something/anything in Tambola ( i NEVER win!)
-Be part of a grape-crushing, wine-making process
-Learn to swim
-Eat pizza in the oldest pizzeria in the US
-Watch Bono live in concert
-Drive a sports car with the top down
-Take a cruise
-Get a doggie

Time starts now...

That 'first' paycheck

2007-02-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

Am i lucky or what? I have had the opportunity to have two "first paychecks" in my life so far, and thats good news. I'll get to that soon enough, but before that, let me explain what i mean.
I first starting working (as in, really working working-not including the piddly summer jobs during college or even a summer internship) fresh off the B-school boat about three years back. And boy-did it feel good getting that first paycheck credited to a brand new salary account! I remember feeling empowered akin to how women probably felt when they first got the right to vote. I also remember going on a major binge spree.
Soon enough, the salary at the end of the month became as routine as the job. When you're cringing under targets and numbers and month-end madness in a sales world, you almost forget that month ends could also be good.
So all that was before my wonderful little sabbatical. Forced though it may have been, what with the sudden change of geographies, it was just that-wonderful.Seven months of sheer bliss and lethargy, sleeping till late and not hating sundays for being a few hours before the "monday". But they were also seven months of "no salary of my own". While i did not miss the cash, i did miss that "feeling empowered" bit.
Which is why i spent last weekend spending/planning to spend my second "first paycheck".
Though not technically the first, it feels like one. I feel like i am back in business! Sure, there are no more sleep-in-till-late weekday mornings, but its awesome being re-employed again:-)

I think breaks between work are just great. Its something i would wanna do every few years-just to catch my breath between the unescapable work blues, to rediscover old loves, and yes-to feel awesome about "first" paychecks all over again!

Wedding season blues

2007-02-08T18:48:00.000-08:00

Atleast 4 of my gang of gal-pals will cease to be single by end of April this year. And i am going to miss all those weddings (to be accurate, as of date i have already missed two).
It sucks.
-to not see these otherwise ditzy, adorably crazy women transform into blushing brides, dolled up to enter a brand new phase of their lives
-to not be able to give my recently acquired collection of sarees an opportunity to glitter and get some fresh (or airconditioned,depending on the venue)air and fish for compliments:-p
-to settle for photographs when i'd rather have been there and relive my own wedding moments
-to miss all the yummy, shaadi ka khaana and an overflowing supply of snacks on trays carried by red-uniformed servers
-to not be around for last-minute shopping sprees, soothing frayed nerves and dealing with cases of pre-wedding jitters
-to make do with online-purchased gifts than choosing something 'absolutely perfect' for these women who i have grown up with, cried with, laughed with, shared a million memories with...

i dont care that i am repeating-but it truly sucks big-time!

So while i get email and phone updates of the shopping, the mehendi raat, the bachelorette party plans and the make-up artists, i sulk in my corner of the world and wonder why the US, for all its other advantages, could not have been closer home, closer to things that mean so much..

The thing with Spanish verbs..

2007-01-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

Recently, i have taken to relearning the lovely language of Spain (and Mexico, most of Latin America and huge chunks of the US), trying to pick up where i left off almost 5 years back. And it aint easy doing this by yourself.
I started with an e-book from the library, and what a pleasure it was to be able to know individual nouns and questions words and everything else they could possibly teach you in a 3 hour session.
Essentially-nothing much.
So while i could perhaps tell you the spanish for bread, butter and cheese, i still had little to no clue about sentences. most importantly, the verbs. Those teeny tiny words that bring action into your statement. Essentially, without the verb, you're nowhere.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
they sure are the toughest things to get in your head, especially when the teaching method is an english-to-spanish website for conjugating verbs.
After sufficient mugging up, i can now effectively say " i go, you go, she goes" and "i see, you see, he sees" but thats where it ends.
I am a sucker for perfection, and even though i am not even close to being in the vicinity of perfect, i have not given up yet.
Next on agenda: the past tense. Wish me la suerte. I sure need it!

A homecoming of sorts

2007-01-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

The West Coast and its laid-back way of life is all very well, and i am not gonna deny i love the clean streets, the well-behaved traffic and the easygoing folk here. But being in New York, felt like being home. The jaywalking, the honking-forever cabbies, the bumpy subrides, the spirit of being alive and screaming it to the world, till late into the wee hours of the morning..that felt like Mumbai to me. Of course, Mumbai is not technically home, but it feels like. Which is why a trip to New York made me feel rejuvenated, as though i had been lovingly fed by my mother till i refused to eat anymore.

To make this experience more surreal, i was in the Big Apple during Christmas. And was it magical! Who would have thought window displays could be as lavish, as grand, and as creatively intricate as those of Macys, Saks and Lord & Taylor? Sure, i cant afford to buy the one fragrance i liked in Saks, aggressively offered to me on a strip. But that did not stop me from hoping that i could someday dish out 500 dollars for about 10 drops of that heaven. Sure, Bloomingdales clothes were extravagantly priced, and i wondered how Rachel and Monica had the Big Brown Bag always displayed in their kitchen when they barely made money! But thats the whole deal with New York. It embraces one and all. From food on carts to swish fondue places, from Park Avenue apartments to the hostels in Queens, from the straight-out-of-Europe of Little Italy to the colors and affordability of China Town-this city has something for everyone, in a vibrant, sparkling sense that overwhelms a first-time visitor.

As a tourist, you have your hands (and itinieries)full with the long list of must-see attractions. But as just an explorer, you have tonnes to do too. Spend a day with a picnic basket in Central Park, feed the ducks and watch kids learn how to ride a bike. Browse through the art galleries of Little Italy and satisfy the artistic soul in you. Go have the Frrozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity Cafe on Spring Street after popping into Bloomingdales across the road. Look up the winners of the Vendy Awards ( an award that recognizes the best steet food in the city)and discover why New Yorkers love these guys and their carts. And just be swept up by the surging crowds at Times Square while you watch the billboards. I could go on and on here....

I know people who did not like New York when they visited, and it beats me why. I could keep exploring the place and not have enough! Its love alright, why else am i itching to be back there soon, soak it up some more, and start longing all over again.

Oh, i forgot-the Broadway Hard Rock Cafe is the best one i've seen so far. Does that count??!

You've Got Mail

2006-10-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Every day, atleast half a pound of trash comes in the mail. This includes mailers advertising shinier teeth, a quick and easy solution to mold in your bathroom, car washes and efficient carpet cleaning services. It also includes discount coupons (Get $2 off a Loreal Excellence Creme Hair Color, $3 off on Covergirl Make up and so on) and lots of other signs of a booming consumer market. My immediate reaction was to draw comparions with 'back home'(this has become an oft-used, abused, misued phrase for me).This did not happen on a weekly basis and in such quantities as this in India(if it did, we all sure would have made some money happily selling it to the cycle-riding kabadi).In addition to mailers, a lot of bills come in too , and these i disdainfully keep aside for the husband's attention. But this week i caught a glimpse of something that did interest me. Finally.
My add-on credit card had arrived. YAY!!(little jig around the living room ,followed by a quick phone call to the husband sharing the good news) Finally, i need not worry about carrying enough quarters, 5-dollar bills and the rest of the dollar currency community everytime i step out to get a coffee, groceries or a Victoria's Secret ridiculously expensive bra.

The problem with being new to this country and not having a job is that as an individual, you are not earning, not borrowing, and therefore do not have the all-important credit score (without which, pls forget about getting a loan at decent rates of interest, and unfortunately for me, a credit card). So till the time my job turns up and the green guys start to come in, i will have to be appeased with an add-on card. This for an ex-Area Sales Manager for the largest city of the third-largest credit card in India. Ironic, but there it is.

Coming back to the mailbox. Normally, i send all the mailers straight to the dumpster in the Recyclable Newspaper and Other Paper Inserts section. But on some days, when the book i would at that time be reading pulls a "come back at a later time" on me (and that happens often, especially with the larger volumes that might be award-winning stuff alrite, but are sure muscle-building and mind-numbing too!), i flip through them nonchalantly, not expecting to find a deal of my interest. Most gorcery stores offer great discounts on pet food, sirloin steak and other beefy meats, lately large buttery turkeys, Halloween candles and Trick-or Treat knick-knacks. All of them fail to make my cut.
If i am lucky, i manage to spy a good deal on Diet Coke cans, seedless raisins, Maybelline lipsticks and maybe cereal. But the joy stops there.
Despite their uselessness (mostly) for me, i appreciate the basic concept of these large, colorful , recycled paper mailers. They do indeed make their customer think about dropping in, offering great discounts as they do on what are critical ingredients of a happy American household.And they have contributed to my growing knowledge of the zillion kinds of luncheon meat, muffin mixes and the rest of the aisles.So even though i continue to carry them out in heaps every week to the corner dumpster, i have started respecting them by giving them a once-over. Its all about 'getting the right deals' here.And i shall continue to search...

When it rains..

2006-10-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

Its not even November yet,but my thick sweaters r out of their dark corners in the closet, the fahreinheits threaten to breach the sub-50 mark, the heater is happily buzzing itself on the path to high electricity bills, and getting out of bed (at any hour of the day) is a struggle..sigh.
this happens when it rains. Did i mention that my coffee intake doubled ever since those miserable drops started their dreary business? From one tall Latte a day (Starbucks cutely came out with two seasonal favorites:Pumpkin Spice and Maple Latte-dont try de-fattening them by choosing low-fat or skipping the divine whipped cream,its just not worth it) i have graduated to two, sometimes three if the opportunity permits. And that is saying a lot for someone who is not a crazy coffee person. For so long, coffee had been just 'a thing to do' while hanging out with friends,boyfriend, a book..now,its a necessity to chase away my rainy-day blues. and the microwave version at home just does not measure up.
This being my first ever exposure to Seattle's famous overcast weather, and given my penchant for cribbing rather easily-i am surprised to find that i am not miserable. Not yet anyway. Is that the Starbucks magic brewing?Or the fall colors of gold, yellow and burnt orange that simply take your breath away everytime? Or the newness of the experience? Or all of the above?
I enjoy rhetorical questions. They leave enough food for thought, pardon the cliche.
And this brings me to my current favorite recipe for cookies. I call them Drops of Heaven (inspired by Monica's candy in FRIENDS? Maybe.)
Here it is, in an unconventional format.

To indulge yourself in about 18 cookies at a time ( i never make more than 20, there is only so much can consume in two days, unless u enjoy freezing. I don't.)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Tear up some foil and cover the cookie sheet, spray on the cooking spray (to make sure ur cookies slide off like kids on the park slide) and ignore sheet for the next 15 minutes.
Take a tablespoon and a half of unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl, throw in the following:
a) a tablespoon and a teaspoon each of peanut butter and non fat sour cream (or the regular, depending on ur current position on fat intake)
b) a quarter of a cup of brown sugar (white would do too, i guess. But stick with brown.)
Give it some wrist action till its smooth and dances about on the rounded bit of your mixing spoon. Add half of a medium egg (beat it lightly before u do, isnt it funny that we beat eggs all the time, are they that naughty?Bad joke. Ignore.). Stir up some more.
In another bowl (i dont particularly enjoy cookies that require more than one bowl, clean ups get so bugging then, but this cookie deserves spesh treatment) mix a third of a cup each of all-purpose flour and regular atta (whole wheat flour, for the uninitiated), a pinch of salt and 1/3 tsp of baking soda. (at this point, i will mention that ever since baking mania overtook me, i happily purchased those cute teaspoon-tablespoon clusters that do all the halving, thirding, blah blah for u). Add these dry guys to our creamy mess, throw in a handful of raisins and semi-sweet chocolate chips (do we find these in India? i hope we do, i dont want my baking to stop once i return to home turf). Your cookie dough will be somewhere between dry and liquidy. Use a spoon to drop 'bits of heaven' onto the cookie sheet. Space them out, though these guys dont expand like my waistline, they pretty much behave themselves in the oven.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, check after 10 mins if they are golden brown and firm. If yes, pull the sheet right out with your cute oven mitt (they have these cute Fall print ones all over lately), else bake a couple minutes more.
Watch out for the temptation to flick ur finger over the melting chocolate chips, they will be generously spilling all over the place. If you dont mind burning your finger, go ahead.
Let the cookies cool and then...indulge!

Now for the best news of all: these little things are super-duper low in calories, my recipe source suggested about 56 calories per cookie, but i tweaked the ingredients a bit, so my guess would be close to 50. This is why i dont feel guilty having three of these (thats what it will take to reach the level of a normal store-bought cookie, though i love those too!).
For those who dont care for the C word (like my husband), ignore the above gyaan and give your coffee a partner.

Enough said. Am back to my Latte. And it continues to rain...