2000 to 2009.....

Today, January 15, marks my decade in the US.

Days like these always make me reflect and ponder.....and wonder how time flies by!

I want to write about my experiences  in the last 10 years....but I am still working on that post.

However, I did want to post something today, so that I would remember this day.

So here's a picture of mine from each of the last 10 years.....I've gained weight and I've lost some, I've changed hairstyles, I've tried out weird fashion styles, but overall, I've become much more mature and comfortable with my own self as time went by.

2000 - I arrived at SFO on Jan 15, 2000. School started right away, and I slowly began adjusting to the new country. I did not miss home for the first few weeks, as I was used to staying away from my parents in India. But when my grandma passed away in Feb, I felt awful and miserable. I spent my summer in Boston this year, with my cousin.  I completed most of my MS coursework at school, and also got a job at Intel. I went to Yosemite for the first time, and hiked Vernal+Nevada falls on the mist trail. This picture was taken at NASA, Houston in December 2000. It was my first visit to Houston to visit my family there.  The first year in US was sure very eventful. The sweatshirt I am wearing was one of the 3 that dad bought me before coming to US :)

2001 - I started working at Intel as an intern in January 2001. I also went back home (to India) for the first time after coming here. I graduated from CSU, Sacramento with my MS in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. A very memorable year. Here is my graduation picture :)

2002 - I started working at Intel as a full time engineer. I made new friends at work, and went on a lot of trips with them. I got my own room+bathroom at my new apartment....and enjoyed reading until late in the night everyday. This picture here was taken at a studio....my first set of portraits taken professionally.

2003 - I started off this year with a trip back home. Celebrated Uttarayan in Ahmedabad for the first time after moving to US. The rest of the year was usual stuff....more work and more travel. I tried hang gliding and whitewater rafting for the first time. I had gained a lot of weight in 2002, so I joined a local gym (24 hour fitness) here. I also started playing tennis and racquetball, and loved them both. I lost all the weight I gained after few months of regular exercise, few sessions with an excellent fitness coach, and watching my diet. The picture here was taken in September...the outfit is from Banana Republic gifted by one of my friends. The second picture is me hang gliding over the Smokies in North Carolina.

2004 - This was the year of relationships. Lots of ups and downs happened in this area, and professionally also, I went through a lot of stress. I got my first promotion in April, and immediately decided to move jobs. I was extremely lucky, and found a position within Intel without applying for one (with a strong recommendation), and before joining the new position, I went to India again. This time, I took my family on a trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Goa. It was their first overseas trip, and was very memorable. It was also the first time I went back home in summer, and I enjoyed mangoes to my heart's content. You can see all the sugar and fat on my cheeks in this picture below, which was taken at the sky lobby on Petronas Twin Towers, Malaysia :). This was also the year of bangs...in terms of hairstyle :).

2005 - This was the year I bonded the most with my aunt, Jayshree aunty who used to live in Sacramento. We spent so much time together....her and uncle were like my parents here in US. This was the only year where I lived by myself in a 1-bedroom apartment all year long. I loved watching movies on my 17-inch widescreen laptop almost every other night, comfortably reclined on my bed with the laptop placed on a stack of pillows in front of me :). My parents came to the US for the first time to visit me. I loved taking them around California during their 5-week short visit. Towards the end of the year, I moved to Folsom with one of the best roommates I've ever had (Swapna), and around Christmas of 2005 was also the first time Sameer and I communicated :). I don't have my parents' US trip album on my computer right now, so here's a picture of me outside my aunt's house with my friend Hiren's new car.

2006 - This was the year I met Sameer for the first time in March. After spending a weekend in California (our first date was a day in SF), I met him couple more times and then went to India in summer to meet his parents. Things went well and we committed to each other, and our wedding date was decided. I spent most of my India trip with wedding planning and shopping. During this year, I also met a couple people who are now very close friends. I  made a lot of new friends this year, and also enjoyed lots n lots of outdoor activities with them. I hiked Half Dome in Yosemite with my friend Hiren. Here's a picture of Sameer n I taken at Twin Peaks, SF.

2007 - The year I went from being single to married :). The wedding in India (Jan'07) is one of the most memorable events of my life. The honeymoon in Mauritius was also amazing. Sameer moved to CA soon after our wedding, in March of 2007. We moved into our first apartment as a couple in June. I felt the first year of my married life a lot more challenging and relatively less fun :). It has only gotten better though. This was also the year my sister Dharam came to US to do her MS. Here's a wedding picture of ours, and a picture of mine on the catamaran in Mauritius.

2008 - We forgot Intel all these years, but things were going smooth on the professional front. I got my second promotion at Intel in 2008. I was delighted. We also invited my in-laws and parents to US for a visit. They both stayed for few weeks with us. Sameer's contract ended in Sacramento area and he found a job in LA for few months. It was back to single life for both of us, with him commuting a lot of weekends so that we could spend time together. We went to Hawaii to celebrate our first anniversary, and had an amazing time out there. Towards the end of the year, we all left for India for another trip filled with memorable events. Here's a picture of me in Maui, Hawaii.

2009 - The last year of my decade in US. It started off with a bang...we were in India and enjoyed our post-wedding ceremonies at my in-laws hometown, as well as my sister's engagement function. We got back and Sameer found a job back in Sacramento area. We decided to buy a home and moved into our first home here in the US in May 2009. We hosted a wonderful house-warming for our friends and family. I biked the entire American River Trail from Folsom to Old Sacramento for the first time. This year was light on travel, but we found time to engage in new activities close to home. Here's a picture of Sameer n I at my sister's engagement function.

Phew! That was a long post. I enjoyed my trip down the memory lane. There is much more to cherish and share. There were happy times, and tough times. It was like a roller coaster ride, and I have enjoyed every bit of it.

Hope you enjoy the pictures and few of my memories!