So we celebrated Sankrathi ... quite elaborately if I may add so myself. I surprised myself with well made "Yellu" (a mixture of peanuts, jaggary / sugar pieces, dry coconut, sesame seeds and roasted chana dal) BP and I made "Sakkare Achchu" (moulded sugar candies) as well. This process of making sakkare achchu takes quite some effort and I was glad to have BP's help.
We had invited few guests home for Sankrathi lunch. (including this person :) ) I made the following items:
Cabbage curry
Carrot Kosambari
Tomato Saaru
Rice
Pongal
Ambode
Badam Halwa
Lemonade
The guests arrived around 12:45 and by then I had all the items ready ... and wanted to serve Ambode (chanadal vadas) piping hot. So I suggested that they play a board of carrom while I prepared ambode. Everyone had just warmed up playing 2 boards when lunch was ready and we all ate together. We chatted for a while and promptly got back to business ... aka playing carrom. I trust we started playing around 3:30 ... and continued playing till almost 7:00pm. My initial plan was to go and give Yellu to few friends and family with the girls around 5:00...but the guests were fully immersed in the game and I had no heart to ask them to leave. So while some left around 7:00 .. others continued till about 8:30. So I postponed the "Yellu distribution" to monday. In all it was quite a fun Sankrathi . Oh yes... in between carrom sessions, I managed to dress up the girls in their new clothes :)
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
Monday, January 16, 2012
Saturday, January 9, 2010
A decade already ...
Yes ... Jan 3rd, 2000 ... the day dawned bright and sunny and early. My dad and me were in the best of spirits ... my dad's excitement multiple times more than mine. It was 7:30am and we were already in bus ... our company bus. It was my first day in my first job. Dad came to see my office and make sure his daughter was safe and was going to grow professionally in a great environment.
The induction program had dignitaries come and boost our confidence ... these were people we had seen on TV ... read about them in newspapers ... so it felt just surreal to see them in person. We were in training for the next 3.5 months. That when I met one of my bestest friend.
I still think it was destiny ... since I was a very reserved person, when was very outgoing. I sat in the last row of seats in our induction and she sat in the first row ... we passed out attendance sheet and it happened that she handed out the attendance sheet to me which led us having successive Employee numbers ... in turn leading to sharing the same cube and ending doing the same project. During the training period, we had our own gang ... 4 young women and 4 guys .... the women called themselves the GG gang. Each one of us had a carefully chosen nick name ... after training we all got assigned to various client projects. As luck would have it 3 (including me) from the gang ended in the same project. One from the gang got his Visa and flew to US. The others continued to meet ... but not so often anymore. But the GG gang stuck.
And then I got married and moved to US ... but continued to work for the same company and kept in touch for sometime. But professional assignments and personality changes led to the gang slowly disintegrating. But I continued to be in touch with my miracle friend. Now she is the only one I am in touch with ...
Its been a decade of my professional life and its also been 10 years since I have found a great friend. Here is to many more years of professional success and even more years of friendship ! Cheers !
The induction program had dignitaries come and boost our confidence ... these were people we had seen on TV ... read about them in newspapers ... so it felt just surreal to see them in person. We were in training for the next 3.5 months. That when I met one of my bestest friend.
I still think it was destiny ... since I was a very reserved person, when was very outgoing. I sat in the last row of seats in our induction and she sat in the first row ... we passed out attendance sheet and it happened that she handed out the attendance sheet to me which led us having successive Employee numbers ... in turn leading to sharing the same cube and ending doing the same project. During the training period, we had our own gang ... 4 young women and 4 guys .... the women called themselves the GG gang. Each one of us had a carefully chosen nick name ... after training we all got assigned to various client projects. As luck would have it 3 (including me) from the gang ended in the same project. One from the gang got his Visa and flew to US. The others continued to meet ... but not so often anymore. But the GG gang stuck.
And then I got married and moved to US ... but continued to work for the same company and kept in touch for sometime. But professional assignments and personality changes led to the gang slowly disintegrating. But I continued to be in touch with my miracle friend. Now she is the only one I am in touch with ...
Its been a decade of my professional life and its also been 10 years since I have found a great friend. Here is to many more years of professional success and even more years of friendship ! Cheers !
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
In a dilemma ...
I had signed up to participate in a drama for a community event in december without reading the script. Big mistake ... the script is out and the drama is not remotely funny when it is supposed to be humorous.
The drama script is written by a friend's husband ... I desperately want to back out now unless the script changes. Can't make a fool of myself being part of this "Master piece" ... oh wait ... may be I won't be making myself a fool because there will be no one paying attention or even better no audience.
Do I risk offending the friend and speak the truth and back out OR should I come up with some stupid reason and back out?
The drama script is written by a friend's husband ... I desperately want to back out now unless the script changes. Can't make a fool of myself being part of this "Master piece" ... oh wait ... may be I won't be making myself a fool because there will be no one paying attention or even better no audience.
Do I risk offending the friend and speak the truth and back out OR should I come up with some stupid reason and back out?
Friday, September 18, 2009
Play date
Cantaloupe had a play date with friends from her new school on wednesday. I made few interesting observations:
My kid actually listened to what I said to her - there was a huge lawn in the complex and a fountain in the center. All kids love playing with sand and water ...thats a given. But this being a fountain put in for aesthetic purpose, all mommies didn't want their kids to play with it. While most moms struggled to contain their kids ... a simple "talk" was enough with my daughter.
She remembered to ASK : Once we went back to the host's apartment.... the kids attacked the cookies / sweets laid out on the table for them. Cantaloupe asked me if she could have one ... of course I said Yes ... but then she remembered the "No sweets after 6 on weekdays" made me really proud.
She was having a jolly good time when I reminded her that it was time to leave - she put in a small protest saying she wasn't done with her playing ... but gave in. There have been episodes in the past where she has negotiated about staying longer for more than 10 - 15mins. Not this time though :)
She Cleaned: Yes she did ... while other mommies just left with their kids. When I asked her to clean up, she pointed out that others had played but hadn't cleaned up. So I said, never mind what others do .. you do your part. She cleaned up some toys and I didn't insist on cleaning up everything. I had to be fair to her .. afterall I had seen her play with only a guitar and a truck most of the times. But nonetheless, she cleared some of the other toys as well.
She thanked the hostess, put on her shoes / socks and waved bye to her friends in the most dignified manner.
I couldn't possibly ask for a better behaviour :)
On a side note:
Mommy V commented that she is not used to wearing spaghetti tops but her son (5 yr old) may get curious when he sees others wearing it ... so in order to make it a norm, she was planning to start wearing them. - REALLY??
Mommy A1 said her 1.5 yr old son often twists / dislocated his hand bones (carpus ??) ... and she just twists it and brings it back to position. OUCH !
Mommy P said she goes to gym only to relax and re-energise herself. - WOW !
Mommy A2 said the kids bring out the inner devils in their moms - LOL !
Mommy C felt clean up after playing is part of play date and leaving the toys lying all over the place is not a good practice - THATS ME :))
Over all it was a nice time ... and I dont' mind doing this once in a while.
My kid actually listened to what I said to her - there was a huge lawn in the complex and a fountain in the center. All kids love playing with sand and water ...thats a given. But this being a fountain put in for aesthetic purpose, all mommies didn't want their kids to play with it. While most moms struggled to contain their kids ... a simple "talk" was enough with my daughter.
She remembered to ASK : Once we went back to the host's apartment.... the kids attacked the cookies / sweets laid out on the table for them. Cantaloupe asked me if she could have one ... of course I said Yes ... but then she remembered the "No sweets after 6 on weekdays" made me really proud.
She was having a jolly good time when I reminded her that it was time to leave - she put in a small protest saying she wasn't done with her playing ... but gave in. There have been episodes in the past where she has negotiated about staying longer for more than 10 - 15mins. Not this time though :)
She Cleaned: Yes she did ... while other mommies just left with their kids. When I asked her to clean up, she pointed out that others had played but hadn't cleaned up. So I said, never mind what others do .. you do your part. She cleaned up some toys and I didn't insist on cleaning up everything. I had to be fair to her .. afterall I had seen her play with only a guitar and a truck most of the times. But nonetheless, she cleared some of the other toys as well.
She thanked the hostess, put on her shoes / socks and waved bye to her friends in the most dignified manner.
I couldn't possibly ask for a better behaviour :)
On a side note:
Mommy V commented that she is not used to wearing spaghetti tops but her son (5 yr old) may get curious when he sees others wearing it ... so in order to make it a norm, she was planning to start wearing them. - REALLY??
Mommy A1 said her 1.5 yr old son often twists / dislocated his hand bones (carpus ??) ... and she just twists it and brings it back to position. OUCH !
Mommy P said she goes to gym only to relax and re-energise herself. - WOW !
Mommy A2 said the kids bring out the inner devils in their moms - LOL !
Mommy C felt clean up after playing is part of play date and leaving the toys lying all over the place is not a good practice - THATS ME :))
Over all it was a nice time ... and I dont' mind doing this once in a while.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
All in the name
Couple of weeks back I caught up with one of my good friends. She was planning her visit to India end of year for her Brother-In-Law’s wedding and was excited about the trip. She even shared with me the sarees / jewellery she planned for the wedding and the purchases she had planned for the wedding. She asked me for gift suggestions … games that could be played after / during the wedding etc etc … one thing for sure, she was certainly looking forward to this trip.
Over the weekend, I caught up with the same friend again and I could see a drop in her excitement. It did not take long before I found out the reason. Apparently her in-laws had taken the liberty of changing her last name to their family name and had it printed on the card. (The cards were not finalized …) What is strange is that both her in-laws are quite educated and do understand her preferences for her name. (There have been other instances where she has made it clear that she prefers her name a certain way) Another point that irks her is that her MIL, has not opted for the family name, she continues to keep her Sur name before marriage. When her MIL holds so much importance to her Sur name, why not give the same respect to my friend’s last name?
I can see my friend’s point here. I think the name change after marriage should be solely the individual’s decision. (may be the husband can pitch in … but wife should have the final say). I hold my name (Initial. First name, Sur name) in high regards. I have been known all my life before marriage by my name. My first or last name alone may not ring a bell to many … but together a lot of folks identify me and I like my name just the way it is. BP supported my decision wholeheartedly when I did not want to change my name after marriage. A lot of friends did change their name … most with their consent. My mom changed her name too, again her decision.
In the above friend’s case, she had decided to keep her name and her husband was just fine with it. Now, she is all excited about her BIL’s wedding, she has been upset over this name issue. When her husband pointed it out to his parents, they initially brushed it aside as being childish. Now they have settled down with just her first name being printed, while everyone else keeps their full name!!
Over the weekend, I caught up with the same friend again and I could see a drop in her excitement. It did not take long before I found out the reason. Apparently her in-laws had taken the liberty of changing her last name to their family name and had it printed on the card. (The cards were not finalized …) What is strange is that both her in-laws are quite educated and do understand her preferences for her name. (There have been other instances where she has made it clear that she prefers her name a certain way) Another point that irks her is that her MIL, has not opted for the family name, she continues to keep her Sur name before marriage. When her MIL holds so much importance to her Sur name, why not give the same respect to my friend’s last name?
I can see my friend’s point here. I think the name change after marriage should be solely the individual’s decision. (may be the husband can pitch in … but wife should have the final say). I hold my name (Initial. First name, Sur name) in high regards. I have been known all my life before marriage by my name. My first or last name alone may not ring a bell to many … but together a lot of folks identify me and I like my name just the way it is. BP supported my decision wholeheartedly when I did not want to change my name after marriage. A lot of friends did change their name … most with their consent. My mom changed her name too, again her decision.
In the above friend’s case, she had decided to keep her name and her husband was just fine with it. Now, she is all excited about her BIL’s wedding, she has been upset over this name issue. When her husband pointed it out to his parents, they initially brushed it aside as being childish. Now they have settled down with just her first name being printed, while everyone else keeps their full name!!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Congrats
One of our good friends had their second baby over weekend. A healthy baby girl ! Little one weighed over 8 pounds at birth. Congrats N and R !You guys are fabulous parents ... enjoy your little bundle of joy. I had been wanting to have these friends over for dinner at our place, before she gave birth ... but that had not been possible. I was waiting for her parents to come from India, so I could invite all of them over. Her parents were scheduled to come from India on the 9th. She was due to give birth on 25th June. BP and I had decided that this week, we would invite them. But before I could execute my plan, the little one decided to arrive. Infact that came as a surprise to me ... coz hers was a scheduled C-section. She had almost given up any hope on a Normal delivery. But "He" had a different idea. She started having contractions on saturday. When she went to the hospital, the doctor convinced them to go for Normal delivery. After about 6 hours of labor pain, the little was born ! My friend was discharged from the hospital the next day. According to her, the difference in her energy level when she delivered via C-section and this time is huge.
Anyways ... I am really very happy for you dear ... wishing your family all the very best !!Take care !
Anyways ... I am really very happy for you dear ... wishing your family all the very best !!Take care !
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