2007 : The year that was

Recollection of the ups and downs of 2007 …

January:

• Cantaloupe gave her first stage performance. I directed a dance drama for kids. The kids were 6-8 yr old … so you can imagine the proud moment BP and I shared when our then 2.5yr old daughter matched steps (??) with the others on stage. Though she was not perfect with her steps and did her own things a couple of times during the show, I should not take away any credit from her for just giving a cute/ spirited performance and entertaining the crowd. By the way, she had put on the costume of a baby sparrow and looked adorable!!
• One of my close cousins got married (31st Jan) … the whole wedding arrangement was done by my parents. Both her parents work, and they conveniently passed the wedding responsibility to my parents. Now, let me reserve the details of the same for another post.
  

February:

• My parents finally were convinced to travel, and agreed to spend the summer with their only grand daughter “Cantaloupe”
• BP and I debated quite a bit about changing schools … Cantaloupe was going to day care till such time and we finally decided that she was ready for pre-school. And so we went to get the pre-school application, only to realize all slots were booked and we were waited listed. (wait number being 50, 150 in the two schools we enquired). Apparently the applications are given out the first week of Feb and seats get filled in 2-3 days!! We went there around 3rd week of feb and obviously were late!! Now we had already given the notice to her previous school about discontinuing during summer (she was going to spend time with my parents). Instead of running the risk of not getting into any of the school, we paid her day care and reserved the slot for September. They agreed to refund our money back anytime we decided not to come back to them. (of course they would hold $100 fine)
• One of my close uncles, (mama) surprised us with his decision to visit us this summer.

March:

• Mama’s visa application was rejected. (L) Researched a lot before applying for visa again. (they had already blocked their tickets and we had planned how we were going to spend the 30 days together)
• Work front, cleared an important exam which added value to my resume J (I studied for a test / exam after a gap of 7 yrs … so it was quite an experience).
• One of my dad’s good friends ended his life … shocking news to all of us!
• BP’s brother transferred all ancestral property to his name … BP was hurt not because he was not given his share, but because he was not even consulted / informed about it until all legal formalities were completed. But BP maintained his dignity and did not speak a word of displeasure… just congratulated his brother.

April:

• Mama’s visa was rejected again … parents arrived here much to the excitement of Cantaloupe. They bonded instantly. (in about 10 mins time … considering she was seeing them for the third time, first time at her birth, second for a short period of 5 days when she was a year old … I should think this was great!!)
• BP elected part of the committee of a local community club.
• Cantaloupe discontinued day care.

May:

• We visited Mount Shasta and Crater Lake. It took us exactly 15 mins to decide we were going to drive to these places and within the next 30mins, we were all set!! It was fun filled experience with my parents and sister’s family
• Sister graduated with Master’s degree… proud moment for me and my family… couldn’t help a tear escape!

June:

• Moved to an interesting project at work… commute of 1.5hrs each way!!
• Traveled on office work for the first time after Cantaloupe was born!! Though I missed family, especially Cantaloupe a lot, I must admit, I enjoyed the being alone and solely concentrating on work!

July:

• Thanks to my parents and sister, Cantaloupe’s birthday was celebrated in a most memorable way.
• Continued to hog on rare delicacies …. Thank you amma.

August:

• Parents and sister visited the East coast. For most part of the month, parents at my sister’s place.
• Cantaloupe got admission in the pre-school she was wait listed just 2 days prior to school resuming. Yipppee !!!
• The old school ate up their words and refused to refund back our money … a loss of $1000 dollars !! (We are still fighting the case to get back the money … though our chance looks slim ... verbal assurance is hard to prove)

September:

• We went camping in the wild with Cantaloupe and parents for the first time!! Sleeping in a tent on a star studded night, cooking with minimum provision, campfire, dip in the nearby lake … everything was just perfect.
• Jet skied for the first time … Cantaloupe did great as well!
• Parents went back to India. It was hard initially especially for Cantaloupe …
• First complaint about Cantaloupe from her school. (she had not completed her art work and had ignored her teacher’s instruction)
• Watched "Chak De India" with BP in theatre... the only movie watched by BP and I as a couple for the past 3 years. (we have watched 7 movies in theatre in the past 7 yrs of marriage)

October:

• Organized a sports day for the community club. The treasure hunt and donut eating competition were instant hits with the crowd. Cantaloupe won the 2nd prize in fruit eating competition.
• Cantaloupe got her first “Line Leader” tag for being the best kid in the class.
• BP extremely busy at work with some POC(working 15 – 16 hrs a day)
• One of my dodamma (dad's brother's wife) passed away after prolonged illness.

November:

• Spent our anniversary relaxing at a beach resort.
• First time thanks giving black Friday experience for BP … he was so excited to buy the flat screen monitor and GPS system for great deals. (not to mention, he had resisted these items for the past 8 months … he was thrilled to bits)
• Work: Project I am working on came to a halt all of a sudden … surprised all of us in the team.

December:

• Cantaloupe got her first pre-school report card ... considering her aggressive / mischievous self, it was shocking to see her score quite nice in 90% of the activities. (she has been asked to practice paper cutting … we are working on that during the break)
• BP takes a week’s break from work to spend time with his dear daughter!
• Missing sister since she is in India for a vacation. (we meet atleast once a week … so this is hard for both of us and Cantaloupe)
• Ramp down of team at work … size reduced from 40 to 10 … glad to be part of the remaining 10.
• Can’t wait for the new year!
  
  HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!
  

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!!

Weird me ... tag

Tag time again … this time Aryan’s mom has tagged me to reveal 7 random / weird things about myself.
Disclaimer: I am NOT a weirdo … pls don’t stop visiting my blog after reading about the weird me.
So here goes:

• I am a very emotional person … there are some “special” songs which remind me of some people dear to me. The moment I hear these songs, tears flow down my cheeks liberally … irrespective of the situation / mood I am in. Even before I realize it, I am already sobbing!!! Interestingly I come across as a very strong person in office!
• Growing up, I had this unique gift where in I subconsciously (during sleep) learnt stuff I intended to learn when being awake … it could be a memorizing a poem, my lines for a drama or points for a elocution / debate competition. I’d read through the script just a couple of times before going to bed and surprise … by dawn, it was all in my head!!!
• I never went to theatre to watch movie for a period of 10 long years … it all started with me trying to test my temptation from going to the theatre. We, as a family would go and watch movies in theatre quite often. It would usually be on a Saturday for the show at 8:30pm. The chosen day and time ensured we got family outing and did not have to compromise on our studies. One fine day, I decided not to go for no particular reason …. And ended up not going for the next 10 years. Never once did I miss the theatres. (in fact even now I am not very fond) But I continued to watch stuff on TV and was quite update on movies!!
• I have this habit of writing down multiplication tables in the reverse order all the way from 25 to 1. Whenever I find time, be it at a bus stop, doctors clinic or in the train / plane I start writing the multiplication tables.
• I have a clock system within my body … if I decide to get up at a certain time, even before the external alarm goes off, my body alarm wakes me up. The time setting can be anywhere from 5 mins to 5 hrs … it just works. This has helped me a lot … especially during my student days. I would decide to rest my body for 10mins and go for a nap and after 10mins felt very relaxed and refreshed.
• I wasn’t too fond of shopping growing up … in fact I can count on the times I went to shop. All my clothes were hand picked by my mother until I got married.
• I hate hate hate dressing up … I put on very minimal make up (lipstick and kajal is make up for me). I am glad BP hates make up just as much as I do. My mom and my sister are quite big on the make up and we have had several arguments on this topic!
  
  Now any one reading this is welcome to pick up the tag!!!

Introduction to Arithmetic

(Conversation between Cantaloupe and me... idea behind my conversation is to emphasise the concept of addition / subtraction).

Me: Cantaloupe ... how many of us are in this house now?
Cantaloupe (C) : One (pointing to herself), two (pointing to her dad), three (pointing to me)
Me: (satisfied with her answer) Good ! Now tell me, how many will be there if say your friend S came over to play with you?
C: (immediately) Four
Me: (Not bad ... she is quick ... and knows addition) Great ! Now tell me, if amma were to leave for work, how many would be left in the house ?
C : (instantly): Three
Me: (Beaming with pride with her daughter's subtraction skills) Thats correct ... now tell me, how many would be there in the house if appa left for work?
C: Three
Me: (instant reaction) No ... count again ....
C: Three .... because, if appa goes to work, you will be with us, taking care of us !!!
Me: (She is smarter than I think she is .... must really come up with better examples)