Don't Forget to LIVE

My husband sent this to me yesterday. It's a powerful message so I am sharing it with all of you.

Yesterday morning when I woke up, I checked my email on my iphone. After that, as usual, I logged in to facebook (via an iphone app) to check the status updates.

I was shocked to find this message from an ex-colleague:

"CP is in shock and in so much pain at the sudden death last night of my husband, M. I would normally not post this so broadly, but so many of you knew him and I am asking everyone to spread the word for me so that all the lives he touched can know of this tragedy. It seems utterly impossible that I go thru these days without the person who loved me unconditionally. Please pray for our family during this time."

And another such message from her today morning:

"Nearly 24 hours w/out my M, our daddy, our son, our brother our cousin, our nephew and our friend. Such tremendous outpouring of support today from all of our friends, neighbors and family. I honestly don't know how to get through the next minute, other than to breathe and love on our kids. We will be setting GA and CA funeral / burial plans. Thanks you for ALL your messages, support & tears. I love EACH of you."

I could not digest this news. Even though I did not know my colleague's husband personally, its such a tragedy. I am still upset and very sad that she has to deal with this loss. She has 3 kids, the youngest only a year old, and I cannot even imagine how difficult it is for her and the kids.

As I read this, all my fears came alive. I was dreading everything that could happen to me.

Life is so fragile. I just simply assume that so many things will never happen to me....and when I read this post, I realized its not true.

I was suddenly thankful of having spoken to my parents the previous night, and to my sister the previous evening. These are routine things that I do but they felt special to me yesterday morning. I had spent a good weekend with my husband visiting a close friend who was sick. I suddenly felt grateful for that. 

I am praying for my friend CP and her family. And I hope they find the strength to go through this pain. And I hope somehow, with a lot of LOVE and with the passing of TIME, that they can lead a somewhat normal life. 

For all of us, I have this quote to share:

"Live each day as if it were your last, and Learn each day as if you live will forever."

Be blessed!

A visit to the local farmers' market

Hubby and I went to the Sunday morning Farmers' market last weekend in downtown Sacramento and it was so much fun.

Farmers' markets are places where farmers offer agricultural produce they grow themselves for direct sale to the public. By eliminating the middleman's additional costs and multiple product handling, both the farmers and the consumers benefit. Each farmer is inspected and certified before he/she is allowed to sell at the market. Most of the produce is vine or tree ripened. All the produce sold is from local farms. 

I used to visit this market frequently when I was single, but after getting married, I never went even once (don't ask why). Couple weeks ago, my husband went to the market with our neighbours to check it out, and he loved it. 

So last Sunday, we both woke up early, took a couple cloth shopping bags and cash in our wallets to go shopping. 

The first feeling I got upon reaching there is being in India. I used to go with my mom every Sunday morning to the city for buying fruits and vegetables. It reminded me of that experience.

Most of the shoppers were Asian, and some of the farmers were Asian too. 

We walked through the entire market once to see whats available, carefully observing the quality of produce and its price at every vendor. And then we started shopping!

We thoroughly  enjoyed our grocery shopping, and we brought home organic produce at very low prices. We were amazed to find fruits like fresh apricots and lychees which are rarely seen in the department grocery stores in our area.

What we bought:

- Blackberries

- Red Seedless Grapes

- Fresh apricots

- Melon

- White + Yellow peaches

- Plums

- Fresh Corn

- Red Potatoes

- Red Onions

- Green Beans

- Green Bell Pepper

- Okra

- Gourd

- Cilantro

- Basil Leaves

I also bought a small bag of dried lavender petals from a farmer, which I am using as my car freshener...and my car smells heavenly. It cost me only $2, versus a regular car freshener that I buy from Walmart costs $5. 

I could find rare items like bee pollen, local honey (for people with pollen allergy), and locally made olive oil at the market.

I am making a resolution to frequent this place more often now!

Enjoy the pics!

"Have patience with the growers. Smile at them and appreciate them. If you do, you will find them smiling back and appreciating you in return. That is what certified farmers' markets are really about. Smiles and mutual appreciation. Families growing food for families. Californians supporting California.". - From here

Congratulations DR. PP :)

We all wait for Friday. And most Friday's are just the usual.

Yesterday was a special Friday for me. My dearest, nearest, closest friend P successfully defended his PhD dissertation (on Friday, July 10, 2009).

It's just a matter of few days before P receives his official degree; it's just a matter of few months before he "walks" at his graduation ceremony, but for all practical purposes, P is done with all his PhD work, and I can now proudly call him DOCTOR!!!!

Yesterday morning, I prayed for everything to go well for him, and even though I was buried in work, I was anxious to hear from him in the afternoon.

This sooper busy and always forgetful friend of mine can easily forget to let me know how it all went, and keep me waiting until the end of the day when I finally run out of patience and call him. I'm so glad he didn't do that yesterday.

When he called me in the afternoon, I was so relieved to hear that everything went well. He got all the signatures of the committee, and sometime next week, he will submit his final dissertation and then it will be all over. I could sense the HUGE sigh of relief, and the tremendous happiness in his voice, from 3000 miles away. I am so so proud of him!

I met P in Summer of 2006. We lived in the same town and worked for the same company for a few months, and we became friends. I taught him how to play racquetball, and he taught me how to play poker. Whatever we did together, it was always a blast. It was not until he went back to his university to complete his PhD that we actually became such close friends.

P is THE hardest working individual I have known in my entire life. I saw him working tirelessly on his PhD, day in and day out. There was not a single day when I saw him slacking. His research was his passion, and I could see that zeal and enthusiasm in him to give his best to his passion every single day.

There are numerous sacrifices - small and huge, that have been made to achieve this goal. Dear P, I am really proud of you for your achievement. YOU DID IT and YOU ROCKKKK!

Once P was done with this research work, he accepted a job back in California, and I could not have been happier. I vividly remember the day he moved to CA for good. I was at a Bryan Adams concert, and as soon as it was over, I went and met him. We spent the night at his new apartment...all of us slept on the new carpet, with the security alarm beeping every few seconds, P being bothered by it and covering it with furniture pads, etc etc.

P continued to amaze me with the dedication he showed for his new job. Within weeks, he had made a mark in his small company. On an average, my buddy works more than 12 hours a day, including weekends. He never complains. He simply enjoys it. Hats off to you bud!

P, you are a HUGE inspiration to me, every single day. I always get motivated to do so much more when I think about you. I am extremely lucky and blessed to have you in my life.

Now that this huge stress is gone from his life, I look forward to spending more time with my buddy and having a blast, as always :)

Congratulations DR. PP :)

PS: Can't wait to give a huge bear huggie to my doc....hope we meet sometime soon :)

PPS: The graduation card that I picked for P has very beautiful words, which I would like to share here:

For the Graduate

We are all on a journey toward

becoming a complete person.

Along the way, we reach milestones - 

chances to step aside and 

take account of how far we've come

and where we still need to go.

This is a very special time - 

a time full of potential,

of unexplored paths,

of undreamed dreams....

Your graduation is

in some ways an ending,

but in more ways,

this is only the beginning.

Congratulations!!!!