Yes, the end product will be wonderful, a new fresh apartment, clean closets, slowly unpacking of all belongings... and the new views, new wonder.. And the new lease on a new apartment! But the process.. The process itself is handful, painful and long!
We are back in the market for an apartment, long story short.. The condo we live in got sold (yes, at a decent price..in this market!) and now months before our lease is up..we are looking for a new place to call home. Yes, yes.. we have heard it before, we should consider buying a place, but its just not the right time for us. It just not, we rather rent! It’s easier-(or so I think!)
So back to the process, first looking at the 'unsafe' Craigslist, the other realtor websites, talk to annoying agents, who really don’t care about what you need, what you want; for them, its the short forms they live by: 2BD/2BT +Den/THOUSE, W/D, PRK etc. With no due offense of course, it is there livelihood, and they do spend a lot of time on the net and on the road meeting annoying people like me who will pretty much say a Yay or a Nay in the first five minutes! And for these five minutes, it’s a couple of hours for them! So their arrogance is justified (Well to some extent).
But for us, the bargainers.. Looking for a good deal, a good place, a beautiful view with parking of course! And yes ensuring we stick to the budget!
After this comes, looking at pictures, which mind you will leave a big impression in your decision process, The pics have to be in the best light, best view, hiding the sore points.. and making it look ready! After you see hundreds of these, comes the actual appointment. OMG! You take papers and papers of notes when you go see the place.. and make notes, in case your better half is not with you, and if it fits the checklist! The haggle for a price! Thankfully, I let my better half take care of that! I just cant do it.
It comes with its fair share of heartbreak! You find the perfect place, in budget, everyone loves it.. and bam! The owner changed his mind, someone offered a better price for that condo, and worst of all, you sat on it just for one night, while you discussed with family while laying the furniture plan in your mind!! It's gone! And there is nothing you can do!
Hello, its not Fun! Yes, in my free time(!) I love to check out interiors of other model homes, cookie cutter houses, flipping through interior magazines, eyeing those contemporary pads, which is defi classy but by no means will make you feel happy about placing a drink without a coaster on the 3000$ coffee table!
But the mind frame is different, its leisure, its my detox, its me saying, oh thats nice, that's chic, that's blah blah. Its just different when you are under the gun.
Right now, i am doing all of the above with only one intent: Which next place will be my home! Yes, historically, I have had house warming for every place we have lived in…come on its still home. Right now it’s like a race against time; I want to get it done with! Settle in, before pool season starts, before family gets here. . and basically i want to do it sooner so its OFF our heads!
Man, so much pressure for just renting! Thankfully my darling hubby is being super cool about it, and letting me vent off on him, so i don’t scream my head off to the next agent i speak about a "PRFCT COND TWHOUSE!!"
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Battle of your will and weather!
Don’t know why or how, but i am sure its true for most, well at least its true for me...how you feel on any given day, what you do or where you go.. to some extent is governed by the weather. There are other factors of course, but i would say 30-40% of one's mood is weather related.
Have you ever had the feeling, when the sun is bright and high, slight breeze in the air, middle of the day, you would want to kick back and relax at home with a book! Probably no, however if the weather was a bit cooler, with rainy clouds and cold breeze, that’s exactly what you want to do, may be with a hot coffee!
Have you thought of making hot samosas or pakoras when its 80 F outside.. Mostly no... unless of course you are in India...then you really dont care what the weather is.. all you want to do in the 25 day vacation is eat food.. roadside, home made, fancy restaurant...its vacation you don’t really care!
However you are in US.. and its that warm, i think a cool lemonade or a chilled beer would be more of your preference with some yummy fruits and cold salad..
I am trying to keep this general, it doesn’t matter what your palate is.. you may be a teetotaler or a martini lover.. you may be food health nut or a "food = grease" person… What you eat, what you like and what your mood is somewhat controlled by the weather!
It was Saturday and we were window shopping on magnificent mile on a perfect sunny Chicago afternoon, when SD said- "Life is good, but i don’t want weather to control when i can or cannot go out, or do something or eat something." It got me thinking, does it really control that much?
And yes i am biased, we are now coming out of a 6 month hiatus of being stuck indoors due to winter.... and any temperature over 50F, we scrounge to make sure we are outside and work towards getting enough sun soaked in our skins.. and V to feel the fresh breeze on her face! But to think, even back in DC or CA, weather did to some extent tell me what i "felt".
There is a warm sunny ray seeping through my office window, i peek outside.. and yes i have carried my "dubba"...but then just the concept of eating out at a bistro under the sun, will make me pick up the phone to call one of my sun deprived colleagues and say... "What’s POA for lunch.. Lets go outside.. “And the home packed food.. well it can wait!
On the other end, no home packed food, its cold and dreary outside.. and the options are cafeteria salad or one of the zillion places in the city for a decent lunch, I will, with a heavy foot, go grab the boring stale salad from the cafeteria.. I justify, It's not worth getting the jacket, the umbrella out for 'just a lunch'.
The weather just controlled what i eat, where i went.. and in effect is controlling my mood!
I am one of those.. who when feeling the blues..... will make sure is dressed up even for a casual coffee.. the process of spending the time to get ready.. and the final product in the mirror chases my blues away. But the weather influence.. well i never did spend time thinking about it! And now i am, hard and long.
How much will i let outside influence's govern my decision... in this case.. A Lot! And one of my favorite quotes from Matrix "~ Everything begins with choice.~ Morpheus" is to some extent thrown out the window...since i cannot battle the weather, i have to succumb and plan/do/eat/feel what some extent what the weather tells me.. I have no Choice!
Have you ever had the feeling, when the sun is bright and high, slight breeze in the air, middle of the day, you would want to kick back and relax at home with a book! Probably no, however if the weather was a bit cooler, with rainy clouds and cold breeze, that’s exactly what you want to do, may be with a hot coffee!
Have you thought of making hot samosas or pakoras when its 80 F outside.. Mostly no... unless of course you are in India...then you really dont care what the weather is.. all you want to do in the 25 day vacation is eat food.. roadside, home made, fancy restaurant...its vacation you don’t really care!
However you are in US.. and its that warm, i think a cool lemonade or a chilled beer would be more of your preference with some yummy fruits and cold salad..
I am trying to keep this general, it doesn’t matter what your palate is.. you may be a teetotaler or a martini lover.. you may be food health nut or a "food = grease" person… What you eat, what you like and what your mood is somewhat controlled by the weather!
It was Saturday and we were window shopping on magnificent mile on a perfect sunny Chicago afternoon, when SD said- "Life is good, but i don’t want weather to control when i can or cannot go out, or do something or eat something." It got me thinking, does it really control that much?
And yes i am biased, we are now coming out of a 6 month hiatus of being stuck indoors due to winter.... and any temperature over 50F, we scrounge to make sure we are outside and work towards getting enough sun soaked in our skins.. and V to feel the fresh breeze on her face! But to think, even back in DC or CA, weather did to some extent tell me what i "felt".
There is a warm sunny ray seeping through my office window, i peek outside.. and yes i have carried my "dubba"...but then just the concept of eating out at a bistro under the sun, will make me pick up the phone to call one of my sun deprived colleagues and say... "What’s POA for lunch.. Lets go outside.. “And the home packed food.. well it can wait!
On the other end, no home packed food, its cold and dreary outside.. and the options are cafeteria salad or one of the zillion places in the city for a decent lunch, I will, with a heavy foot, go grab the boring stale salad from the cafeteria.. I justify, It's not worth getting the jacket, the umbrella out for 'just a lunch'.
The weather just controlled what i eat, where i went.. and in effect is controlling my mood!
I am one of those.. who when feeling the blues..... will make sure is dressed up even for a casual coffee.. the process of spending the time to get ready.. and the final product in the mirror chases my blues away. But the weather influence.. well i never did spend time thinking about it! And now i am, hard and long.
How much will i let outside influence's govern my decision... in this case.. A Lot! And one of my favorite quotes from Matrix "~ Everything begins with choice.~ Morpheus" is to some extent thrown out the window...since i cannot battle the weather, i have to succumb and plan/do/eat/feel what some extent what the weather tells me.. I have no Choice!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Mystery of the missing time!
An hour with less than 60 minutes….. No i am serious, i am pretty convinced that Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. is an hour composed of 30-40 minutes... instead of the 60 minutes like other hours! I still don’t have an explanation for the remainder time! But I will find out.. that’s my new research project, “Mystery of the missing time!”
Seriously, i am pretty sure of it. If it was not this, then i have no other explanation of why EVERY morning, we are struggling to get out of the house "on-time" which ideally should be 7:30 but if we are out the door at "7:55 a.m." it is an achievement.
And yes, i follow all the rules of working mothers- "the evening before planning": Prepare lunch for the day, pack all non-perishable stuff for V's day care, get clothes ready, have the namesake B-fast raw materials ready.. blah blah blah! All of this one, the night before.... including the shower to save those precious morning minutes.. We do it all (or so i think) including checking the alarm... to ensure it goes off at 6:45 a.m.
But still, like a really sad repetitive soap opera, SD and I struggle to get out the door "on time". And then after dropping V, before reaching my office, in the car we analyze what made us late today! And then we decide on a mitigation approach, so it does not repeat itself.. We do this almost everyday!
Morning is this rush time in our household.. dont cross our paths, You may just get knocked down! Like clockwork V gets up at 6:30ish.. and is more than happy to come to our bed from her crib.. and play with her dad and me! I push myself out of bed, and then 'get to work'! ---
Packing V's lunch, getting our lunch out of fridge and packing our dubba with the fruit/snack/cereal bar, getting the OJ, putting the toast (not everyday.. since we generally don’t have that luxury as well). Getting V's fresh food ready is the only kitchen work i do have. I mean, for us last nights left over's taste even better ;-) but for V, we prefer making her food fresh in the morning… its very basic stuff anyways! Like her fav. "DKP", boiled veggies (Yes, time saving M-wave comes to rescue!) sautéing the paneer cubes... and basic stuff like that.!. And yes, most of the raw materials have been prepared the night before!
During this time, SD gets ready and then gets V ready... and then he giver her B-fast on her high chair.... while i dash to get ready myself... trust me, its comical..
This race against the clock does get to you... sometimes one of us will blow off some steam! But of course, never on V.... she is a good bachaa, and she will rarely create a fuss in the morning.. she is just very happy to eat her breakfast and laugh at us when we run around like headless chicken!
Every morning in the power hour, i look at the clock, minutes are gone.. just gone! It was 7:10 and then the next time i check, its 7:25.. phew.... and it kind of re-affirms my thoughts that morning power hour is just 30-40 minutes!
I know it should not be that difficult...but still, once again, today, we have decided, lets be firm.. lets just get up, get ready and get out.. it would be perfect, if it were not for the power hour being shorter than other hours!
For us and the betterhood of mankind, I have to solve the “Mystery of the missing time!”
:-D
Seriously, i am pretty sure of it. If it was not this, then i have no other explanation of why EVERY morning, we are struggling to get out of the house "on-time" which ideally should be 7:30 but if we are out the door at "7:55 a.m." it is an achievement.
And yes, i follow all the rules of working mothers- "the evening before planning": Prepare lunch for the day, pack all non-perishable stuff for V's day care, get clothes ready, have the namesake B-fast raw materials ready.. blah blah blah! All of this one, the night before.... including the shower to save those precious morning minutes.. We do it all (or so i think) including checking the alarm... to ensure it goes off at 6:45 a.m.
But still, like a really sad repetitive soap opera, SD and I struggle to get out the door "on time". And then after dropping V, before reaching my office, in the car we analyze what made us late today! And then we decide on a mitigation approach, so it does not repeat itself.. We do this almost everyday!
Morning is this rush time in our household.. dont cross our paths, You may just get knocked down! Like clockwork V gets up at 6:30ish.. and is more than happy to come to our bed from her crib.. and play with her dad and me! I push myself out of bed, and then 'get to work'! ---
Packing V's lunch, getting our lunch out of fridge and packing our dubba with the fruit/snack/cereal bar, getting the OJ, putting the toast (not everyday.. since we generally don’t have that luxury as well). Getting V's fresh food ready is the only kitchen work i do have. I mean, for us last nights left over's taste even better ;-) but for V, we prefer making her food fresh in the morning… its very basic stuff anyways! Like her fav. "DKP", boiled veggies (Yes, time saving M-wave comes to rescue!) sautéing the paneer cubes... and basic stuff like that.!. And yes, most of the raw materials have been prepared the night before!
During this time, SD gets ready and then gets V ready... and then he giver her B-fast on her high chair.... while i dash to get ready myself... trust me, its comical..
This race against the clock does get to you... sometimes one of us will blow off some steam! But of course, never on V.... she is a good bachaa, and she will rarely create a fuss in the morning.. she is just very happy to eat her breakfast and laugh at us when we run around like headless chicken!
Every morning in the power hour, i look at the clock, minutes are gone.. just gone! It was 7:10 and then the next time i check, its 7:25.. phew.... and it kind of re-affirms my thoughts that morning power hour is just 30-40 minutes!
I know it should not be that difficult...but still, once again, today, we have decided, lets be firm.. lets just get up, get ready and get out.. it would be perfect, if it were not for the power hour being shorter than other hours!
For us and the betterhood of mankind, I have to solve the “Mystery of the missing time!”
:-D
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Windy City.. phooooooosh
So its been a year since our family moved to the Windy City. Smile. The year has been very nice, besides V turning one, both our parents and family's visiting, exploring the city, both loving our new jobs and our parenthood...A good work life balance for me; and for him if you call coming home at midnight to leave the next morning at 7am a good balance, then ok, good balance for him (Yes, i am being sarcastic). Having said that, it’s actually ok, i mean he did like his work in DC as well, but i think a tiny baby and flying out to some city for five days of a week, not fun! Midnight schedules are better [at least for V and me ;-)]
We both love this city. I mean the charm of living in the midst of all the hustle bustle of Chicago downtown. SD always says, in US this is one of the few city’s where you can actually live and love in ‘downtown’. And hence he insisted on moving to the city, even if he has to drive to work, an hour one way everyday!
But for us, just grabbing V's stroller and walking down a mile to the Pier or the Magnificent mile.. is amazing. Being able to hear the cheers of the Bears game in Soldier field, listening to the historic Obama speech right in our bedroom (not TV! we live 1/2 a block to the Grant park), watching the weekly summer fireworks from our building roof top.. i mean its amazing. The food, don’t even let me start.. OMG!! Is yummy! and you can tell by looking at our most recent pictures... calories have to go somewhere you know! And to top it all, again for me, having my work and V's day care within a 2 mile radius.. its simply amazing.
So the catch, how do i say this, hmm, well windy city is a bit too windy! :-( I mean come on, it’s almost April and it just snowed this weekend! Yes, before moving all our friends and the weather channels told us...this city is brutally cold in winter.. but man... what i didn’t expect is the length of the winter. Seriously! From Chicago standards, i would say its cold when the weather is 32F or below! So it’s been this way since November! Yes, we did have the last two weeks of amazing spring weather (45-55F), but winter.. Damn. its back with the snow this Sunday.
And it’s not fun when my brother and sis-in law in San Diego say its only 65F there but they could manage some BBQ and beach stuff in the cold weather! Fuming!
I can honestly deal with the 30 below zero with wind chill making it feel like 50 below, simple, churn up the heater in my living room and staying home! And if its a weekday, dressing all of us up in countless number of layers and parking my car as close to office doorstep as feasible! And to be honest it may be a couple of weeks that it happens, and you dress appropriately for winter. And if you live in Chicago, you know already, there is not much outdoor stuff you can do in winter.. so have your friends number on speed dial!
But, what i really don’t like is the after effect. All of us have fallen sick once in this winter pretty badly, to the point that my brother was visiting only for a week, and he could barely get out of bed the entire week! But V, i think her case of sniffles have been on since November. There may be a couple of days in a month that she doesn't have a runny nose or a cough, then its back. I think we have kind of accepted that as a part of her. (Sob sob, sniff sniff). She is fine, i mean doing all the stuff kids her age do even with the runny nose and smiling through it all...... The doctors... all say only one thing, its the weather, and it will be fine, all kids have it in their first winter... she will be better by next winter.
Well, honest to god, i hope that’s true! We really do!
I mean we both really love living here, though we miss our friends back in DC and neighboring Philly and NYC like crazy! But this city is great, work wise, family life wise and SD wise. He is enjoying his work a lot. In addition all our friends here are amazing, and it’s awesome to gather up with them and enjoy the snowy nights laid back in some one's living room. I know V ponders, “Last night when i peeped out of my bedroom, the road was grey and the building was red... why is everything white this morning?" There is this question in her eyes and confusion in her face!
I know spring will come and summer will come..and V will enjoy the endless Chicago festivals, the pool and the beach, and the pain of winter will go away or at least subside!
To feel that mood, and to signify the spring, we did our share of spring cleaning to pack away all those heavy jackets and sweaters, and to top it all= me the brown thumb, went and got a plant for the house!
We both love this city. I mean the charm of living in the midst of all the hustle bustle of Chicago downtown. SD always says, in US this is one of the few city’s where you can actually live and love in ‘downtown’. And hence he insisted on moving to the city, even if he has to drive to work, an hour one way everyday!
But for us, just grabbing V's stroller and walking down a mile to the Pier or the Magnificent mile.. is amazing. Being able to hear the cheers of the Bears game in Soldier field, listening to the historic Obama speech right in our bedroom (not TV! we live 1/2 a block to the Grant park), watching the weekly summer fireworks from our building roof top.. i mean its amazing. The food, don’t even let me start.. OMG!! Is yummy! and you can tell by looking at our most recent pictures... calories have to go somewhere you know! And to top it all, again for me, having my work and V's day care within a 2 mile radius.. its simply amazing.
So the catch, how do i say this, hmm, well windy city is a bit too windy! :-( I mean come on, it’s almost April and it just snowed this weekend! Yes, before moving all our friends and the weather channels told us...this city is brutally cold in winter.. but man... what i didn’t expect is the length of the winter. Seriously! From Chicago standards, i would say its cold when the weather is 32F or below! So it’s been this way since November! Yes, we did have the last two weeks of amazing spring weather (45-55F), but winter.. Damn. its back with the snow this Sunday.
And it’s not fun when my brother and sis-in law in San Diego say its only 65F there but they could manage some BBQ and beach stuff in the cold weather! Fuming!
I can honestly deal with the 30 below zero with wind chill making it feel like 50 below, simple, churn up the heater in my living room and staying home! And if its a weekday, dressing all of us up in countless number of layers and parking my car as close to office doorstep as feasible! And to be honest it may be a couple of weeks that it happens, and you dress appropriately for winter. And if you live in Chicago, you know already, there is not much outdoor stuff you can do in winter.. so have your friends number on speed dial!
But, what i really don’t like is the after effect. All of us have fallen sick once in this winter pretty badly, to the point that my brother was visiting only for a week, and he could barely get out of bed the entire week! But V, i think her case of sniffles have been on since November. There may be a couple of days in a month that she doesn't have a runny nose or a cough, then its back. I think we have kind of accepted that as a part of her. (Sob sob, sniff sniff). She is fine, i mean doing all the stuff kids her age do even with the runny nose and smiling through it all...... The doctors... all say only one thing, its the weather, and it will be fine, all kids have it in their first winter... she will be better by next winter.
Well, honest to god, i hope that’s true! We really do!
I mean we both really love living here, though we miss our friends back in DC and neighboring Philly and NYC like crazy! But this city is great, work wise, family life wise and SD wise. He is enjoying his work a lot. In addition all our friends here are amazing, and it’s awesome to gather up with them and enjoy the snowy nights laid back in some one's living room. I know V ponders, “Last night when i peeped out of my bedroom, the road was grey and the building was red... why is everything white this morning?" There is this question in her eyes and confusion in her face!
I know spring will come and summer will come..and V will enjoy the endless Chicago festivals, the pool and the beach, and the pain of winter will go away or at least subside!
To feel that mood, and to signify the spring, we did our share of spring cleaning to pack away all those heavy jackets and sweaters, and to top it all= me the brown thumb, went and got a plant for the house!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Time will go by fast- clichéd but true!
So, it was an ordinary Sunday afternoon. My brother was visiting V (now I say, V and not us; since genuinely, all he wanted was to spend time with her). Back to the point, so bhaia, SD, V and i stepped out for a nice afternoon stroll. Walked to bhaia's favorite coffee place and got our 'Turtle Mochas' the adults got chatting.. while V started exploring the coffee house.
I drifted away from our discussions of "these tough economic times" to just gaze at V. She was oblivious to us, oblivious to our conversations... she was wobbling in the coffee house, observing strangers as they walked by, gazing out of the glass doors on the street: A kid trying out the two wheel scooter while his mother had a watchful eye on him, a homeless man looking for change fallen on the ground, a cute hurried couple walking in the store, the server wiping the tables.. and she'd occasionaly look back and smile at us..knowing that we were watching her with the corner of our eyes....When I started to wonder: What goes on in this little mind of hers.
What does she think, when she looks at all these things, all these small things which we take for granted, are all new to her. Every situation, every place, every new face.. . What goes on in her mind? Wonder/ Amazement/ confusion/ anxiety/ excitement…..what?
I know the time will come soon, that she would say what she "wants” the pink scooter instead of the red one, the Dora dress instead of the Mermaid one...she will tell us exactly! .......and honestly i can’t wait (SD frowns).
But i know, this time of her constant gaze and admiration of the world with those innocent eyes will go away soon! Very soon!
Every time we have friends over, or go somewhere.. it’s a ritual for her. The first twenty minutes or so, all she will do is look around, stare at everyone’s face to observe, and then slowly start walking around and investigate the house/ store.. to see which places where she can play without getting a “Uh- OO” from us. Just familiarizing herself!
Every morning, we take the elevator to go to the car parking, and in that small space she will stare at the “Gimme more coffee” struck faces of our building people… until they are forced to smile at her with those sleep deprived eyes.. and yes, then she will repeat the same process with the next person in the elevator. Trust me, the ride is may be 30-45 seconds, but she does this, every morning in our elevator!
While SD and I just look, just look at those cute, naughty eyes!
I say repeatedly, to one and all.. Having a child is a big de-stressing factor in our lives (Yes even those sleepless nights!). Minute i walk out of office to pick her up,i forget everything else.. all presentations.. all meetings and all due dates......... and all i can think of is what game do i play with her tonight! Its new every evening.. sometimes a play date, sometimes a fussy evening, sometimes her toys and me...sometimes us singing nursery rhymes and dancing to kiddie music with no care in the world, all leading up to the finale.. SD entering our home! The delight in her eyes, the excitement in her voice....and V throwing her arms up for her dad to hug her.......forgetting all her toys, sniffs and sobs and mum.... is the best part of the entire day for me!
And i know this time will go by fast.. very fast! Clichéd but true.
I drifted away from our discussions of "these tough economic times" to just gaze at V. She was oblivious to us, oblivious to our conversations... she was wobbling in the coffee house, observing strangers as they walked by, gazing out of the glass doors on the street: A kid trying out the two wheel scooter while his mother had a watchful eye on him, a homeless man looking for change fallen on the ground, a cute hurried couple walking in the store, the server wiping the tables.. and she'd occasionaly look back and smile at us..knowing that we were watching her with the corner of our eyes....When I started to wonder: What goes on in this little mind of hers.
What does she think, when she looks at all these things, all these small things which we take for granted, are all new to her. Every situation, every place, every new face.. . What goes on in her mind? Wonder/ Amazement/ confusion/ anxiety/ excitement…..what?
I know the time will come soon, that she would say what she "wants” the pink scooter instead of the red one, the Dora dress instead of the Mermaid one...she will tell us exactly! .......and honestly i can’t wait (SD frowns).
But i know, this time of her constant gaze and admiration of the world with those innocent eyes will go away soon! Very soon!
Every time we have friends over, or go somewhere.. it’s a ritual for her. The first twenty minutes or so, all she will do is look around, stare at everyone’s face to observe, and then slowly start walking around and investigate the house/ store.. to see which places where she can play without getting a “Uh- OO” from us. Just familiarizing herself!
Every morning, we take the elevator to go to the car parking, and in that small space she will stare at the “Gimme more coffee” struck faces of our building people… until they are forced to smile at her with those sleep deprived eyes.. and yes, then she will repeat the same process with the next person in the elevator. Trust me, the ride is may be 30-45 seconds, but she does this, every morning in our elevator!
While SD and I just look, just look at those cute, naughty eyes!
I say repeatedly, to one and all.. Having a child is a big de-stressing factor in our lives (Yes even those sleepless nights!). Minute i walk out of office to pick her up,i forget everything else.. all presentations.. all meetings and all due dates......... and all i can think of is what game do i play with her tonight! Its new every evening.. sometimes a play date, sometimes a fussy evening, sometimes her toys and me...sometimes us singing nursery rhymes and dancing to kiddie music with no care in the world, all leading up to the finale.. SD entering our home! The delight in her eyes, the excitement in her voice....and V throwing her arms up for her dad to hug her.......forgetting all her toys, sniffs and sobs and mum.... is the best part of the entire day for me!
And i know this time will go by fast.. very fast! Clichéd but true.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Funky Friday's!
I dont about anyone else... but my feet have an extra swing in them on Friday's.. especially after the clock strikes noon. Man, i cant wait for the time that i change in my snow boots and head out of work to pick up V and not to come back to work for 2 whole days... its wonderful.. And then.. next Friday- same story!
Two full days of whatever.. doesn’t really matter... it may be extensive plans, or just a chill back and relax, may be shopping, may be movies..... no matter what those two days hold, i am pretty much running through my meetings on Friday’s, continously calling SD with my plan(s).... and hoping no fires happen at work.. so after i leave and pretty much for 48 hours.. not think about work. And those 48 hours are then all for V!
Its amazing how this conversation rules my household every Thursday nights while V is snoozing- jaan, what’s the POA for weekend? reply: lets keep Friday evenings free..
this is one evening, we both love to unwind ourselves, have a lazy dinner and pretty much do nothing. If we do meet some friends, we ask them to come over...
Exactly opposite of what it used to be just two years ago.. When Friday night, never ever lazy, either out with friends, or having a get together or just partying out.. if nothing else, picking up SD from airport (he travelled a whole load back then) going for some fancy ass dinner, and then meeting friends for something or the other.
I could say, may be its cuz of V, but honestly, i know its not! cuz she's a sweetheart.. happy go lucky gal, who wouldn’t mind any plans we make with her. (Come on she is 14 months!) May be the cold Chicago weather.. and may be we are just enjoying this one evening.. when we pretty much do nothing and love every minute of it..
For both of us, we prefer not to have any household work for weekends...for me, weeknights (except Friday) is when we complete all the chores like: laundry, house cleaning, cleaning V toys, groceries and all the other annoying tasks...... both SD and I love to have weekend free. Weekends are for us to dote on V, to see some new chicago festival, to laze around, meet friends, walk in the city, shopping.... anything... but mostly never house chores!
It's amazing to see how i feel things have progressed:
In undergrad....weekday/ weekends seemed all the same.. College on weekdays.. and some computer class, tuitions some stuff on weekends.. and rest of the time, anything.. didnt really matter.. family dinners, catch up with friends, some marriage functions, some guests over at home.. only thing which was certain.. was sunday lunch at home with everyone sitting together and eating together some yummy marwaari delicacy that mum made.. it was so much simpler
In Grad school... well i dont know when was day and when was night.. forget weekdays and weekends.. man those were super duper busy days... the only thing that i remember distinctly, almost the entire first year...we were three girl friends who would call a freind to drive 60 miles from OC to pick us up from LA and then drive the same 60 miles back to his house.. no wonder he called us "Teen Hatya! ;-)" our reason of making him drive so much..we didnt have a car.. and we were too lazy to take the train which was ten minutes from college campus!
Then the minute work started, and then started weekend planning.. never home on Friday nights, always meeting up friends, travelling, some place, some restaurant, some thing or the other.. and when SD and i were dating, same stuff and rest of time, on phone or him making a few surprise visits to LA.. and then .. slowly progression to where i am now... very happy.. making no qualms of really loving a funky Friday office day and equally relaxing Friday evening..
Yes, we do meet our friends on Friday evening .... but they know us, and they come over and relax and unwind from the week.... .. and if nothing else.. we'll go someplace where we can walk with V in the city.. and be home after dinner for a good game of Poker while V is blissfully dreaming of her weekend fun and frolic!
Two full days of whatever.. doesn’t really matter... it may be extensive plans, or just a chill back and relax, may be shopping, may be movies..... no matter what those two days hold, i am pretty much running through my meetings on Friday’s, continously calling SD with my plan(s).... and hoping no fires happen at work.. so after i leave and pretty much for 48 hours.. not think about work. And those 48 hours are then all for V!
Its amazing how this conversation rules my household every Thursday nights while V is snoozing- jaan, what’s the POA for weekend? reply: lets keep Friday evenings free..
this is one evening, we both love to unwind ourselves, have a lazy dinner and pretty much do nothing. If we do meet some friends, we ask them to come over...
Exactly opposite of what it used to be just two years ago.. When Friday night, never ever lazy, either out with friends, or having a get together or just partying out.. if nothing else, picking up SD from airport (he travelled a whole load back then) going for some fancy ass dinner, and then meeting friends for something or the other.
I could say, may be its cuz of V, but honestly, i know its not! cuz she's a sweetheart.. happy go lucky gal, who wouldn’t mind any plans we make with her. (Come on she is 14 months!) May be the cold Chicago weather.. and may be we are just enjoying this one evening.. when we pretty much do nothing and love every minute of it..
For both of us, we prefer not to have any household work for weekends...for me, weeknights (except Friday) is when we complete all the chores like: laundry, house cleaning, cleaning V toys, groceries and all the other annoying tasks...... both SD and I love to have weekend free. Weekends are for us to dote on V, to see some new chicago festival, to laze around, meet friends, walk in the city, shopping.... anything... but mostly never house chores!
It's amazing to see how i feel things have progressed:
In undergrad....weekday/ weekends seemed all the same.. College on weekdays.. and some computer class, tuitions some stuff on weekends.. and rest of the time, anything.. didnt really matter.. family dinners, catch up with friends, some marriage functions, some guests over at home.. only thing which was certain.. was sunday lunch at home with everyone sitting together and eating together some yummy marwaari delicacy that mum made.. it was so much simpler
In Grad school... well i dont know when was day and when was night.. forget weekdays and weekends.. man those were super duper busy days... the only thing that i remember distinctly, almost the entire first year...we were three girl friends who would call a freind to drive 60 miles from OC to pick us up from LA and then drive the same 60 miles back to his house.. no wonder he called us "Teen Hatya! ;-)" our reason of making him drive so much..we didnt have a car.. and we were too lazy to take the train which was ten minutes from college campus!
Then the minute work started, and then started weekend planning.. never home on Friday nights, always meeting up friends, travelling, some place, some restaurant, some thing or the other.. and when SD and i were dating, same stuff and rest of time, on phone or him making a few surprise visits to LA.. and then .. slowly progression to where i am now... very happy.. making no qualms of really loving a funky Friday office day and equally relaxing Friday evening..
Yes, we do meet our friends on Friday evening .... but they know us, and they come over and relax and unwind from the week.... .. and if nothing else.. we'll go someplace where we can walk with V in the city.. and be home after dinner for a good game of Poker while V is blissfully dreaming of her weekend fun and frolic!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Finally!
So.. i have been thinking of doing this for a while.. and i think i am happy doing this! i.e. writing on the World Wide Web!
Well, OK i may be ahead of myself right now, may be not happy writing on the blog for anyone and everyone seeing this.. right now, lets stick to Apprehensive.
Why you may wonder.. most of the people i know will consider me outgoing, friendly and open! And i think of the same of myself (Do i see some frowns). Anyways, for the longest time ever, i am opposed to expressing personal opinions, views and thoughts so openly on the net.
Dont get me wrong, i am a very opinionated person and will not think twice before saying what i think about something (My darling husband smiles!) and not that i am scared of net...i am techie myself, engineer to be precise. So technology doesn't scare me.
Its just the thought of someone you may or may not know reading your innermost feelings, thoughts, hopes and pretty much day to day stuff. It's kind of weird to me.
So i am trying to overcome this fear! I do enjoy writing, i think words can do wonders, just the way to say it, way to phrase it.. and way you describe it... can take you places, make you smile, frown. What i am trying to convey is, you can do wonders by writing and invoke the emotions we did not know exist.
I am comfortable writing.. i used to be one of those girls who maintain a diary of the deepest emotions! And i'd freak if someone even laid a finger on it.... and i know this post is nowhere close, but writing so openly is a big step for me.
I think now i am overcoming my anxiety and getting closer to being happy about doing this.
SD will vouch, i always have hundreds of ideas, loads of plans, loads of wishes... come on. as girls I have the right to! This way, it will be nice to just actually spell them out.
One of the other things about writing, i gave up writing my diary years ago...Just got busy with studying, work and life.
But i remember, when i was down in college, or just upset, reading those pages, would always invoke tears of joy in me. It would make me appreciate what i had become cuz of those little incidents in my life. And i dont know why, but it will always make me smile and understand, that for whatever reason that i am upset is another learning experience.. and after a couple of years, no matter how bad the incident was, it will make me smile!
And it makes my belief stronger- "Whatever happens, it happens for a reason and its always for the better. I may not know why is it good today, but in the long run, i will understand that Its always for the better"
Phew.. okay.. thats a good start for me i think.. Finally i "blog"
PS: And about the diary i had, i still wont anyone lay a finger on it! SD dont even bother.
Well, OK i may be ahead of myself right now, may be not happy writing on the blog for anyone and everyone seeing this.. right now, lets stick to Apprehensive.
Why you may wonder.. most of the people i know will consider me outgoing, friendly and open! And i think of the same of myself (Do i see some frowns). Anyways, for the longest time ever, i am opposed to expressing personal opinions, views and thoughts so openly on the net.
Dont get me wrong, i am a very opinionated person and will not think twice before saying what i think about something (My darling husband smiles!) and not that i am scared of net...i am techie myself, engineer to be precise. So technology doesn't scare me.
Its just the thought of someone you may or may not know reading your innermost feelings, thoughts, hopes and pretty much day to day stuff. It's kind of weird to me.
So i am trying to overcome this fear! I do enjoy writing, i think words can do wonders, just the way to say it, way to phrase it.. and way you describe it... can take you places, make you smile, frown. What i am trying to convey is, you can do wonders by writing and invoke the emotions we did not know exist.
I am comfortable writing.. i used to be one of those girls who maintain a diary of the deepest emotions! And i'd freak if someone even laid a finger on it.... and i know this post is nowhere close, but writing so openly is a big step for me.
I think now i am overcoming my anxiety and getting closer to being happy about doing this.
SD will vouch, i always have hundreds of ideas, loads of plans, loads of wishes... come on. as girls I have the right to! This way, it will be nice to just actually spell them out.
One of the other things about writing, i gave up writing my diary years ago...Just got busy with studying, work and life.
But i remember, when i was down in college, or just upset, reading those pages, would always invoke tears of joy in me. It would make me appreciate what i had become cuz of those little incidents in my life. And i dont know why, but it will always make me smile and understand, that for whatever reason that i am upset is another learning experience.. and after a couple of years, no matter how bad the incident was, it will make me smile!
And it makes my belief stronger- "Whatever happens, it happens for a reason and its always for the better. I may not know why is it good today, but in the long run, i will understand that Its always for the better"
Phew.. okay.. thats a good start for me i think.. Finally i "blog"
PS: And about the diary i had, i still wont anyone lay a finger on it! SD dont even bother.
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