Getting back in touch with my aunt....

I was a student back then.

I was very new to the country (US), and was still adjusting to being in a new country all by myself. I was very motivated and determined to pursue my MS and get a job in the silicon industry. I didn't realize I was such a strong person from within until the time I came to the US. You see, I always had my mom with me.

But she was the one who pushed me to go for higher studies. And so I did. She still does....she wants me to get an MBA - don't know whether it will happen or not.....

Those days were difficult. I was lucky and blessed in a lot of ways. I found an on-campus job with a management professor (Dr. Patricia Cheshier) as her grader cum assistant right away. She was very kind to me. It was an easy job that paid me well ($8 an hour, I think). It also gave me access to the Management building keys, her office keys, and access to a computer with an internet and printer 24x7. It is a luxury to have all this, let me tell you.

That was my first year in the US. Year 2000. During that time, every few months, I would get a package from India. It would either be a letter, or a card, or some goodies, etc. My family would always send it by registered mail, which means my signature would be required for the delivery.

I would always miss the package when the postman came to deliver it at home, coz I would be in school all day. So on Saturday morning, I would take the bus from school to the intersection on Arden n Howe Avenue, from where I would walk about 2 miles to the post office to pick up my package.

On one such Saturday, during my walk to the post office, I saw an Indian restaurant named "Taj Mahal". While walking back, I was hungry and decided to have lunch there.

That's where I met my Jayshree aunty. She owned and ran the restaurant, along with her husband. She is one of the most caring individuals I have met here in the US. Till this day, she cares for me as her daughter. It was as if I found a mom here in the US. We clicked instantly - she was from Ahmedabad - used to live in the same area as I did....and we had a ton of things in common. Both her and her husband (Narendra uncle) welcomed me whole heartedly into their life.

During the 3 years that we spent together in Sacramento, we had a blast. We used to meet almost every other day, taking care of each other in every possible way. We went out for dinners, movies, watched football, had cookouts, hosted their family, went out on trips together (I remember our Hwy1 trip from Monterey to Mexico), and so much more. She cared for me when I was sick, and she cooked for me regularly. I never missed out on home cooked meals while she was here.

She needed help at the restaurant, and a desperate day off. So I introduced her to some of my college friends, who started working at her restaurant during evenings and weekends. They made some quick cash to help them with their expenses, and aunty got the much needed time off due to their help.

But then they decided to move out of town. They closed the restaurant and first moved to Fairfield, and then to Vallejo (about a couple hours away from where I live). They still live there. We could not meet often after they moved out. Also, I was single at the time they were here. I got married, and we both got busy with our lives.

We used to meet every couple months, but it was not the same anymore. I hate it when this happens - you adjust to a routine, and then it has to change. However, we still kept in touch.

Since last year, I lost touch with her. I tried to call her few times, but could not connect. I did not have her new cell phone number and she never picked up the home phone.

She finally called me today morning, and I spoke to her for an hour. She found out that I bought a home through a common friend, and decided to call me right away. I have no complaints from her as to why she lost touch.

We just picked up from where we left, and I'm sure we will meet soon, now that I have her new cell number to bug her :)

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with her. It brought back so many happy memories of the great times we spent together.

It was a great start to my Happy Friday.....Wish you guys the same :)

Diwali and New Year 2009

Here's wishing all my readers a VERY HAPPY DIWALI.

I also wish each one of you a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Most of you don't celebrate New Year at this time of the year. But where I come from, the state of Gujarat in India, we celebrate New Year on the first day of the month of Kartak according to the lunar calendar, which is typically the day after Diwali.

Growing up in India, New Year was all about wearing new clothes, visiting family, bowing down to elders to get their blessings and receiving gifts (mostly cash ;). Since I never worked while I was in India (except for the 3 months after my BE graduation), I always use to joke with Dad saying - "New Year is the day where I make the most money ;) :)".

It's been 10 years that I have been away from home now. This was the 10th year in a row that I spent Diwali and New Year away from my parents. I am going to try my best to be with them next year. Festivals have much more meaning when elders are around. Without them, I am kind of lost and spend all my time in social gatherings and outings.

Having said that, this year we celebrated our first Diwali and New Year in our new home. It was SPECIAL!!!! My sister is staying with me, so it was her, my hubby and me. We did not do anything fancy, but we did many little things that are memorable - I will cherish them for a long time to come :).

We bought Xmas lights, and even though we didn't have a 8-ft ladder to hang the lights from the roof, we managed to arrange them in a decent manner with my friend Andy's help, as you can see in the picture above. On Diwali day, my hubby lighted diyas and candles outside as well as inside the house.

The morning on Diwali was spent in making phone calls to family spread around the world - India, UK, Middle East, US, etc. Then my dear friend Prateek drove over from San Jose to surprise us....he bought a new car earlier that week, and wanted to show it to us, and also spend some time with me at my home, since it was my first Diwali in the new house. We had a great few hours with him, after which my friend Ekta came home to visit me from San Francisco. I went with her for garba at my college that night, and met so many college friends that I had not connected with in a long time.

Sunday we had arranged for a potluck at our place. I woke up early and spent time cleaning the house, and after my sister woke up, we started preparing the food (ras malai's for dessert :)). My sister had marinated all the veggies the previous night, and we were going to BBQ them on our brand new grill that was gifted to us at the housewarming.

The BBQ was a blast. We BBQ'ed paneer, bell peppers of different colours, onions, pineapple and corn. It was yum yum yum :). The rest of the potluck items was okay. I was little disappointed with the quantity of food that "some" people brought, but we managed it fine.

Since we are on the topic, I want to share my frustration w.r.t potlucks. There are few people who almost always show up with less food. Or some with no food. I actually don't like potlucks at all. I rather cook everything and treat my friends to a good meal, than deal with this kind of frustration. But since I work and don't have so much time to cook for everyone always, this works out good.

How do you tell these people (who are friends) to bring enough quantity? It is easy for me to ask each of my friends to bring something, and so I don't have an issue where someone shows up with nothing now, but I still find it hard to ask a person to bring more quantity. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Ofcourse one option is to avoid inviting such people, but its not always possible.

Anyway, after the lunch, we all played cards for a while, and then my friends had tea, and left. The sky was cloudy and we saw a rainbow from our backyard.

We spent the evening doing Satsang for an hour, and watching some telly.

I will remember doing the lights outside our home, also the look of the house with lights n diyas, Prateek's surprise visit and driving his new car, garba with Ekta, the first BBQ in our backyard, and the relaxing evening Satsang with my sister and hubby. And I will remember all the blessings and good wishes from my family and friends who I spoke over the phone.

I had a great festive weekend, and hope you did too!

The FLU!!!!

Almost 10 years and I had avoided this disease.

I never took the shot coz my doctor always advised me against it.

Growing up in India, I have suffered from malaria, typhoid, jaundice, stomach virus, chronic dry cough, and what not. So after coming here, I was hoping I stay healthy. As they say, it's a crime to fall sick in the US. And how true that statement is!!!!

Except for developing pollen allergy, I have had a fairly clean bill of health in the US so far. The weather in my sunshine state of California is amazing. It is wonderful most of the time, and it helps me stay healthy, not only physically, but mentally as well.

But this year, even before the flu season started, even before the flu shots were available, I got the bug. FLU!!!! It started with an itchy throat, then cold/cough, then fever, then chills, and last but not the least, headache and achy joints.

I took 3 days off from work, and was home for 5 straight days, just resting. I had never realized how tired flu can make you. The only thing I could do is fix up one meal for hubby and me everyday.

I could not do much at all. I read one book, watched couple movies ("State of Play", "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" - both were good), and watched some telly. Other than that, it was extremely boring and frustrating.

Saturday was good coz my friend Shubhika drove over from the bay area. I had a really nice time chatting up with her - every time I meet her, I am amazed at how much we have in common! We made a short trip to Apple Hill - did apple picking, some miscellaneous impromptu shopping (peacock feathers, incense sticks, a pair of earrings with a matching necklace, a kitty t-shirt for a friend) and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch at a pumpkin patch.

But I got tired after this short outing, and so took it easy all day Sunday and Monday before getting back to work on Tuesday.

I missed my sister a lot during this time. And ofcourse my mom. When I am sick, I like someone to make me warm meals - simple stuff, but I hate to do it myself. And even though I have an amazing group of friends around me, this time around no one offered me any help. I was taken aback a little bit, but maybe they were busy and wanted to stay away from the flu so did not offer much.

I am also very cranky and irritated during this time. I don't handle discussions very well - I tend to argue for no reason, I fail to take people positively, and in general, I am a pain in the rear.

Only when you are down you realize the importance of simple things in your life. The constant itchy throat, blocked nose and headache had taken away my peaceful sleep, which I cherish so much every single day :).

I am so glad I am healthy again. I am enjoying a relaxing weekend....with no agenda and no plans. I don't get many such weekends :)

And I am looking forward to my sister being back in town to stay with me tomorrow :)

You guys have a great weekend too!

Anacapa Island and the Seagulls

During Memorial Day Weekend 2009, I visited Channel Islands National Park in Southern California. Channel Islands are a group of 5 islands in the pacific ocean, an hour or couple hours boat ride (depending on which island you are visiting) from the mainland.

The first day, we visited Anacapa Island.

The boat ride to the island was fantastic.....loved the ocean breeze. I love being in the water, on the water, near water. As we approached the island, we saw this fantastic Arch Rock formation which I had only seen in pictures before.

After we landed, we climbed more than 150 stairs to the top of the island, to find ourselves in the company of hundreds of seagulls and their chicks and nests and eggs. This was quite a site!!!! We walked around the island loop which is about 2 miles, along with the park ranger.

The island is very small but has spectacular views all around.

I observed the seagulls all day along. I had never seen so many of them in one place. The chicks were uber-cute.....and I learnt a lot from the guide about this species.

There is a flat concrete ground on the island, which the guide said is the place for the gulls to meet. Seagulls prefer flat open spaces and this place is the perfect romantic spot for a date!!!!

Some of the facts we learnt:

- The seagulls primarily use this island as their nesting place because of relative lack of predators, and easy access to food (fish).

- Most seagulls are monogamous. 

- Some seagulls are lesbian.

- They have their colonies on the island. They lay their eggs in their colony and are very protective about the boundaries. If another seagull or chick tries to enter their territory, it will be attacked. 

- Seagulls drink salt water, and have a special pair of glands right above their eyes to flush the salt from their systems.

- Their lifespan is somewhere between 5 to 15 years.

Among the many plants endemic to the channel islands, we saw this flower - "island morning glory" which the guide said is only found on these islands in the whole world. Wicked! Here's a picture of it:

The Channel Islands are home to the most well-preserved archeological sites on the Pacific coast, with more than 10,000 years of continuous human occupation recorded.


The next day, we visited Santa Cruz Island. We spotted hundreds of dolphins on our way to the island, and explored many caves around the island doing sea kayaking. Will write up a post about it too :)


Here is a picture of my friends who made the trip memorable and special :)