General updates

Recap of events in the Cantaloupe household over the past few days:

• My project ended as predicted on 13th Feb. Had been to the office to return my laptop / badge and clean up my desk. (there was absolutely no items to clean up ... my desk was just ready to be occupied!! Wish my house was as clean ... sigh!) Felt strange going to office after almost 4 months ... yes, had been working from home. The commute of 1.5hrs each way was costing a lot of precious time of mine and I had decided to work from home. Thankfully no one seem to complain ... of course they wouldn't ... I worked sincerely ! Three hours that was gained by "No commute" proved precious. I could not ensure Cantaloupe had the breakfast and was dressed just the way I wanted her to be for her school. It also meant that I could complete all the dinner prep work before Cantaloupe was home ... resulting in uninterrupted time with her till BP took in charge.

I was a busy bee when I was working and looked forward for a long weekend or a family outing. Strangely I am home now looking for my next client assignment, and it feels I have all the time in the world. I just cannot sit home like this ... I hope I start working soon.

• My sister started her first job ... we surprised her with a cake and gift the night before she started work ... she was touched!
• Finally watched Taare Zameen Par ... liked the movie ... but somehow with all the talk about the movie, my expectation were sky high and I felt the movie did not live upto my expectation. Had I gone without pre-notions, I would have definitely enjoyed it better I guess. Cantaloupe watched starting parts of the movie (I am sorry dear for putting you through this) and she was so involved and touched. A cheerful little girl suddenly looked quiet and pityful around the time Ishaan was sent to boarding. (of course she understood the movie in parts ... ) She could not stand the separation of the child from his parents. She started crying uncontrollably and just wanted the movie (torture for her) to stop. BP tried his best to cheer her up ... but no luck. Finally I told her that Ishaan would go back to his parents and that he was there at the boarding to collect his prize for his drawing. As you would imagine, we watched the second half of the movie in parts ... since we had to take care of Cantaloupe. But she was only satisfied when Ishaan was given his prize at the end of the movie. I just cannot believe my little girl has grown so fast !!!
• Now that I am home, I have been preparing delicacies almost everyday!! Cantaloupe is more than happy to have them :) As always BP never says anything ... this man has never complained or appreciated food. He only cannot tolerate spicy food ... so as long as the food is not extra spicy, he just treats food the same. No complaints ... no appreciation.... hmm... is that good??? I don't know.
• Dad is thoroughly enjoying his work. He is so happy and satisfied with the responsibilities he has got upon his return to work after retirement. Its not everyday we see, a person getting the same responsibililties and powers he enjoyed before retirement, after returning back. (and mind you, he took a break of over a year, before he was requested to join back. I am glad he visited us during his break and spent the summer with us)
• Congratulations to all expecting moms in the blog world... summer promises to be a baby season !

Moi Memoir

Noon has tagged me … I must thank her for this. I usually do not read my posts … once they are written, they are done. But Noon’s tag led me to go back the memory lane which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The tag says:

"Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given (family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like). Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better."

Family: Here is the post on how me and Cantaloupe spent our time when my parents visited us last year.

Friends: One of my good friends had a baby last year. Here is the post: I am ashamed to admit that I have not met these friends in a long time … though we have been in touch over the phone. Reminds me, her mom will be leaving in 2 weeks, should plan to meet her soon.

Myself: I crossed my fingers and hoped people did not stop visiting my blog after reading this post of mine.

My love: I write very little about BP and my relation … Cantaloupe gets all the attention. But I did write sometime back about how BP and I found each other. This post really really makes me nostalgic.

Anything I like: Here are more details about myself.

I would love to hear from Pixie, Aryan’s Mom, Poppins, Kodi’s mom and Cee Kay.

Fresh Start - Project and Presentation

The past 2 days have been quite eventful.

29th Jan 2008:
The morning was nothing but ordinary. The usual rush to get Cantaloupe and BP ready (yes, a constant reminder of time is required for him as well. If not reminded he gets engrossed in his morning mail routine). Once they left, the office work was as usual as well. Later that evening, I was busy playing with Cantaloupe … our usual routine every evening. I heard my cell phone ring. I usually ignore phone calls when I am playing with Cantaloupe. It’s the only time during weekdays that I get with Cantaloupe and I want to give her undivided attention. I ignored the cell phone. Immediately I heard the home phone ring and it was from my office. I couldn’t ignore this one… so picked up. I was informed that our project was put on hold and all of us were released from the project … What ??? I gasped … after all the hard work we had put on this project for the past 8 months, this was too sudden a decision. I thanked the person who had informed me about it without any delay. Now my project hunt will have to begin all over again … its not something I enjoy! But somehow, I am more relaxed than other times I have been in the same situation.

Later the same evening, Cantaloupe and BP went to home depot to buy new light fixtures to the guest room. They came back after what seemed like eternity to me (even 10min past dinner time seems eternity to me) BP calmly disclosed the reason for their delay … “Our car was hit by another car” … BP was coming back from home depot, and had reached our apartment complex when he saw a car in reverse speeding towards him. BP sensed danger and stopped moving any further and just waited. The speeding car ended up hitting the side of our car. Then the insurance exchange formality and other discussions were completed… hence the delay.

Past dinner, BP was setting the bed and Cantaloupe was ready for her bedtime story when the door bell rang. An odd time for anyone to come home. We were pleasantly to find my sister and BIL … She told us that job hunt had come to an end and she had got her first job!!! A huge moment of joy for her and for us!! She had been longing to earn ever since I can think of her … she got married within 2 months of her Engineering and had to locate to the US. At that time, she had 2 options: Study further or Start job hunt. Though her heart was to start job hunt, she convinced herself that higher studies was a better option and that would open better job opportunities as well. Besides the job market was not very encouraging. Anyways, now she has found a job and will be starting next week!! A huge treat pending from her side now J

That was 29th Jan.

As mentioned earlier, Cantaloupe’s school had “It’s a small World” day yesterday. I was nervous about the presentation I had volunteered for. Thanks to some of the tips from blogging friends, I found my way. I took print out of various pictures, including the Tiger (to represent the National Animal of India), Camel (as I talked about Thar Desert), Peacock (National Bird), Taj Mahal, House Boats, Palaces, Himalayas etc. I took colorful pictures of Holi and Diwali as well.

I started the presentation by saying “Hi” to them, the Indian style … “Namaste” … the kids repeated my act and said “Namaste”. Their involvement during the entire presentation was great … they listed to what I had to say and looked at all the colorful pictures I had taken along with curiosity. I made the presentation a lot interactive by asking them questions frequently which they enthusiastically answered. For Eg: When I asked, do you like going on Vacation? They happily nodded and said they went only with their family. So, that set the context for me to tell the vacation spots in India like Taj Mahal. Similarly I asked them the festivals they celebrated and gradually introduced them to Holi. They were delighted to see all the colors … I don’t think a lot of kids in the US have seen farmers in their fields. Agriculture being an important occupation in India, I showed them green fields with farmers working hard. They loved the greenery. One of the kids had a question for me “Aren’t there frogs amidst the fields?” (he saw small streams of water in the fields which explains his question). I was dressed in a bright purple Salwar Kameez, complete with Bindi, bangles. I made Cantaloupe wear some bangles as well and dressed her in an Indian outfit. Cantaloupe’s bangles were a hit among her friends … they loved the jingling sounds. I had also prepared an Indian flag and had cut out Indian map.

Overall the presentation went smoothly and I was glad the kids were paying attention and were involved during the entire presentation. Later that night I asked Cantaloupe, what amma taught her at school … she said, “Namaste, Tiger, Peacock, Desert, Palace, Holi, Diwali and House Boat” … not bad, something has registered in her mind … thought this satisfied mother.

Its a small world

Cantaloupe's pre-school is celebrating "Its a small world" day on wednesday. The past few days, the teachers have been discussing about the cultures followed in different countries around the world.
On wednesday, the school requested few parents to volunteer and talk to the kids about their home country. I signed up hoping I'd be able to work on something over the weekend ... as predictable I could not get anything done.

Request creative people out there to give me ideas on what approach I should take to talk about India. I understand some props / pictures will draw the attention of pre-schoolers. I am running out of ideas ... plz ... plz help me

Event planning

Just as I had noted in the 2007 annual updates, BP was chosen as the committee member of a local club here. The initial few days saw no bounds to his enthusiam and thoughts. He had so much energy and ideas ... but there was a problem in store. Over the next few weeks, he realised that implementation of the ideas was not as easy. Firstly due to lack of time because of commitment at work / family, but most importantly because of lack of support from other members. Obviously other members had their own priorities. Soon, I took over a lot of responsibilities from BP. Thankfully I had my sister's support. (well, she had similar responsibilities shifted from her husband who happened to be part of the committee as well).
Now, most planning / implementation of the club activities are handled by me and my sister. To be honest, it is stressful with a full time job, house chores and a toddler at home. But I continue to work for the committee for several reasons. I don't want to let down BP's committee ... I'd not be happy if BP is responsible (even though partly) for not contributing to the continuation of a committee which was formed with lot of effort and hope to socialise. And to be honest, I enjoy organising parties, events, programs etc ... only I wish that was the only thing I was required to focus on.
We have so far organised a camping trip and one sports day. The next event is scheduled first week of february. This time again, I have been scambling some time to plan for the event. So far, I have been able to come up with a drama script (sis has been of great support), have come up with food menu, have decided on a game show (the details are yet to be sketched out), narrowed the theme for the drawing competition for the kids (I should not take credit for this one, the theme came from one of the passive members of the committee). The prizes have been purchased ... the event hall booked.

I am just hoping that everything will fall in place for the event ... just praying !!

Happy Sankranthi

Happy Sankranthi / Pongal to one and all !!

Reasoning ....

Its been a while since I last posted … reasons …

· Major cleaning / organization sessions took place in our house past 2 weeks. We got rid of a lot of stuff, donated some and re-arranged others. Spent quite some amount on the storage boxes … but end result is satisfying. Our closets look so organized that even BP is making a conscious effort to maintain it.
· Shopping: Went with the intent of buying some storage boxes … but couldn’t control the year end deals and ended up buying quite some. Afterall I was getting rid of a lot of clothes, so needed some new !! Bought a super cool griddle … dosa making is a piece of cake now … even so because BP loves spreading the batter and making it on the new griddle. The exciting part is we can make multiple dosas at the same time with little or no oil and they turn out perfect, crispy and large enough !! Why didn’t I buy this one earlier???
· We all had a cold / cough suffering days … so were not in the best of health.
· Cantaloupe was home (winter break) and kept us on our toes almost 15 – 16 hrs a day! BP and I were home too … so it was fun family time.
· Sister is back from India … which means I snacking on all the goodies almost anytime in the day. The weather has been on the cold side, so those Chakkalis and Kodbales and Chuda taste extra special. (even more so since they are home made). Tasted “Dharwad Peda” after almost 4 yrs and it was divine!!
· Scripting for a play to be performed in our local community club. Planning has been slow for the event … hopefully things will fall in place quickly. Feb 2nd is fast approaching.

Now there you go … I have all valid reasons for not blogging!!!