MEINE CORNER IN THE BLOG WORLD!

 After a grilling 2020, 2021 started out with a mixture of emotions - grim but hopeful, distant from family but long WhatsApp calls, rainy but looking forward to the sunshine in the coming days. A lot of R&R is how we started our New Years, thanks to the long weekend. We read, watched tv, cooked and slept a lot!  Once work started, it didn't even feel very different from the past few weeks. Unfortunately a few days into the first working week, there was chaos in the DC Capitol and many State Capitols. A riot started by an infuriating and possibly out-of-work men and women wanting to display their passionate support of an incapable President. Back to feeling uncertain and grim about the future, we were surprised by Mother Nature providing us a rare snow fall day here in Austin, TX! It was simply amazing and a great 2nd Sunday of the year where we got 3.5-4 inches of snow ! The sights were remarkable during and after the snow fall. The entire city and neighbors were thrilled...

This post is a long time coming... I don't need to give any excuses though, I am a new mommy after all! After all that baking, my munchkin arrived on 20th September 2013...yes very much on time baby! The first 5 days were extremely stressful as my precious one was under monitoring in NICU, which meant I didn't have the luck of holding him close to me in the first few hours and also a lot of separation due to us being in different rooms...it was certainly difficult. But as far as I recall I didn't cry at all since he was doing great and was perfectly healthy. He confused the doctors with his heart pattern in the first 2 hours of his life and then came back to normal on his own. I strongly believe he didn't take labor process well and certainly not the pushing part... poor little baby. After we got clearance from all his tests (God is great!) ; we were allowed to take him home. It was a feeling beyond words, a realization of how lucky we all were as a family and with...

Day 4 in Maui : Just 1 adventure on the agenda called Road to Hana. Hana is a town in east Maui and though Hana itself is pretty, the roads, bridges and sights that you  experience is what makes the road to Hana a must do! We did fill the tank for our car and pack some lunch and drinks with us as we were told it will be tough to find food and even gas on the way. After a good breakfast we were off to Hana highway. We made about 6 big stops, based on a guide. 1- twin falls : where the trail was adorned with tropical plantation and We walked through a river stream to watch the falls. 2- 70' waterfall: I fail to remember the name, but at one of the bridges, we enjoyed the view and were trying to take in the peace and quiet! 3-Lava Tube right before the Wai'anapanapa State park (this was quite a sight, a volcano site where the lava had erupted about 960 years ago, walking inside the cave was quite an adventure) Amazingly, no bats or other such beings, just golden a...

Day 3 in Maui: we had booked a submarine trip in the morning and a sunset dinner cruise that night! For non- divers and the less daring group, the submarine ride a blessing and a real adventure. There's nothing like being the human tank that goes to visit the sea world. It did feel wonderful to visit 3 reefs, have the more nosey fishes swim right to our windows and stare at what's going on. Also having algae on the tank is a big attraction for them. We didn't have the pleasure of seeing a shark but a huge variety of fishes and eels is very exciting. The lovely ride to and fro the submarine gave us pretty views of the west Maui mountains and the sunlight was very generous. We spent the afternoon in Lahaina district. It felt perfect to walk by the ocean, get lunch, try the maui mango gelato, a spa treatment and shop for souvenirs. After that we were all set for our cruise. The most enjoyable part of the cruise was the views, food and drink . Sadly the ride was cold and ...

Day 2 at Maui : No big plans, it felt more like a trail/ hike day.  There were a few suggestions and we picked Iao valley and Haleakala national park, both located at central Maui. The Iao valley is one of the more famous ones as it had one of the bigger thriving taro plantations. The Ioa valley is very moist in comparison to south Maui, the presence of tropical forest add to the humidity and it's easy to see how the valley would support life with a river stream and various fruits and flowers that easily grow in the fertile soil. The Iao valley has a so called needle point, a hill which is more than 300feet in height and always has a mist on top. Apparently there's always mist up top through out the year. The walk in this valley was very easy and about lunch time, we headed to Haleakala national park. The volcano national park is famous for the sunrise and sunset views from its 10,000 foot height. Also called the house of sun, the drive up isn't that easy. The c...

A dark early morning, raining and cold, off we were to the airport to our long awaited trip to Hawaii. The airport parking lots, shuttles, check in lines  et al were packed as it were thanksgiving holidays. Luckily our flights were on time inspite of the busy season and In fact we landed earlier than scheduled at the Kahului (Maui) airport. The airport was a pleasant surprise with the open ceilings that is rare to find. You walk right out to find the direct view of tropical skyline with warm temperature  and cool breeze welcoming you. It was an exciting moment and perfect time to change to flip flops! We couldn't resist the hawaii shirts at the airport shops. Once we got our rental car, off we were to Wailea, about 17 miles which is located at South Maui. At the Wailea Marriott, the resort was just so exotic with the multi flora , waterfalls and koi ponds,  sound of the ocean and chirping birds - a lovely combination to relax. We had decided to stick to the r...

To begin with I was thinking I shouldn't celebrate this birthday much and all the coming ones. I think it was age was bothering me, though I didn't feel my age at all! But what the heck, I went ahead and did things I've been wanting to do on the day of!  So we headed to Cal Academy of Science in San Francisco ( http://calacademy.org/ ). I've been dying to visit it and finally we made the trip. It was just amazing to spot so many different butterflies, birds, snakes, spiders and fishes! The moon jellies are always like wow-stuff and I had no idea that there are leafy sea dragons! The coral reefs were so pretty and the school of fishes both small and big all entertaining! Their planetarium show was pretty good and they had a global warming section. Overall, worth the trip.  We had Japanese tea at Japanese tea garden right opposite the Academy. This place isn't worth the visit price, but the cherry blossoms were just so awesome. The sight is so lovely. For dinner...

Past few months were very tight -  trips to India and pressure to finish up with examinations by 2011 along with work! Result was a big sacrifice of social life, long days, bigger dark circles, swollen feet, mosquito bites; but ended up having a great time with family, my sister in law's wedding was the biggest ocassion & got to finally meet my niece and celebrate her 1st birthday! can't believe she's completed a year - i think it was just the other day that my sister had delievered her! As we step into a new decade, I am trying to form my goals and objectives for the year....I have to say I'm pretty impressed with accomplishing 2010 goals! - Attempted and passed all CPA exams! - Back to yoga classes ! - Visited sister and parents - stayed a few days with them! - Did my annual med check-ups - drinking more water each day as well The only thing I did not get to was taking some Spanish language classes. let's hope I get to that some day. In 2011, I defi...

After what felt like ages, we took a break from Bay area and made a trip  to Arizona this past long weekend. The most attractive feature was the heat! The winter never seemed to end in North CA and it just kept raining even in the last week of May. So Arizona's hot and sunny days were just perfect. My first thought of the highways in AZ was that it looked like Dubai (UAE) in the 1990s. The desert, how the buildings are spread out, the simple yet some decoration of the highways, quite a few roundabouts and the overall excellent roads/bridges. Most of the  highways, you would find cacti, specially the giant seguaro. This landscape changed as we headed to Sedona on day1. Sedona is this land of  tri-colored rocky mountains with a cute uptown that offers the rich an exotic place to own a home and for tourists the delight of experiencing Mother Nature's wonders. The rocks here have layers of red, yellow and ash. the red is a result of iron oxide effect, the yellow is lim...

So while this blog is also partially my journal, I am going to add this list and probably keep updating this one. For quite some time, I have been learning Bollywood dances and after about a year's break, I am back to it again. So here's the list of songs that I have danced to so far :- a) Deewangi (Om Shanti Om) - In Class b) Ke Ab na Pooch (Cash )  Summer performance c) Sajnaji Vari Vari (Honeymoon Travels) - also Summer Performance d)Move your body now (Kismat Konnection) Winter Performance e) Lucky Boy (Race) -also Winter Performance f) Hadippa remix (Dil Bole Hadippa) - In Class g) Chor bazaari remix (Love Aaj Kal) - In class Hopefully more to add on to this list!

I completely missed out mentioning that I had taken up Bikram yoga classes in the past 2-3 months and that was another reason why I have been so busy...to be specific I spent close to 90 hrs in these yoga classes in 2+ months! The first few sessions were crazy tiring but eventually I did love it ! especially that feeling after having stretched every part of me! Bikram yoga is really a test of endurance in terms of patience, the concentration, determination, confidence it takes and what not ! Its a must try and if you can stick to it, its something for life. This form of yoga claims to have changed lives - both physically and psychologically. Here's the link http://www.bikramyogasanjose.com/ to the center I went to. There's also controversy regarding this form of yoga as the founder has copyrighted "Bikram Yoga" method; http://daily-yoga.org/bikram-yoga-controversy/ All I want to say is any exercise is good for me and Bikram yoga is definitely not bad at all!

Reversing the car, giggling away, girls all set to start a fun evening! Oh! don't you just love it when its just the girls! So as my spirit has just been recharged, I speed off. I notice a vehicle following us, the next few moments are spent on who that must be , comments are -- "crazy guy", "look at him stare" , "what's his problem" and so on. His car comes parallel, glares exchanged, he pulls down his window to stick out his head and shouts something! our reaction --"OMG! the guy has lost it". However, I pull down my window and then we hear him say-- "Turn on the lights!" and I go "Oops, Thanks for that" with a smile and his reply "there you go, enjoy your evening!" Group final reaction -- Silence and then bursts of laughter! :D

Ever wondered how when that long, winding tunnel comes to end, how things change for you? quickly, at a speed unimaginable! That's where I am right now.. The day I awaited finally dawned and with God's grace things are falling into place.. So all this while I as stuck at home - frustrated with the situation n the helplessness of it.I can imagine how sad some of my posts were when some days were horribly hard! When I was finally approved to work, I got an offer that was good enough to begin with, temporary though, glad that I am occupied..that's all I wanted and guess what....on my 1st day at work, I am first asked to help an older guy who is so much fun and might have a spirit even higher than me-inspite of his disability and senior age he continues to work and is filled with bountiful talk! then sometime later non other than the latest olympics champ makes a visit ! Hard to believe? Well, same here! More than anything else, I value this work opportunity and I am really tou...

So besides the calendar year, is the birth anniversary....hence as I add on to my age tomorrow, here's an attempt to recollect how the past year has gone. -Loads of shopping -Fun with Bangalore and Dubai friends -The WEDDING itself : laughs and tears -Landed in USA -Boredom overwhelms on weekdays -San Francisco visit -17 mile drive -Joined aerobics -Lake Tahoe visit : first ever parasailing,jet skiing -Trip to Las Vegas -Visited Santa Barbara and Solvang -Finally completed my case study -Joined ICC as a volunteer -A California Driver License earned -Trip to Los Angeles and San Diego -New year party at a club ,first ever -Yet another assignment completed -Joined dance classes -Hubby's business trip -A small time course taken up -A new dance class And in the meanwhile -Home sickness -Earned some good friends -Painful paper problems -Potluck dinners -Mixed thoughts about this place -Learnt some decent cooking -Few physical issues -Grasping the local laws -Relocation : its thrill a...

Recently I realised how big a mistake it was to go by a professional and the vibes of the theme, ....the result, an embarrassment. The debate was presented in a lame manner. You know we shouldn't really care which party in the debate you support, as long as you have firm points and facts attached to it. So being on a dependant status, already sucks, especially if you are nurtured to become independent. To add salt to this injury, you have people querying when you would settle with a job , to which i want to say -" I don't make the rules ", but of course I can't, cos I don't want to be rude! Yea, so here you are present a debate as to why can't the spouse work and instead of conveying the spouses as a smart, intelligent individuals- whining weaklings was put across. so if the woman had a car , she wouldn't be stuck at home ( how lame)....but how can a 1 income household possibly maintain 2 cars? Even education is expensive these days, so how much ca...

Big Sur ,Santa Barbara and Solvang were our choices for a 2-day break during Thanksgiving holidays....Beautiful beyond words, you drive along the rocky coastline, the lovely Pacific , roads through mountains- very green adventure this time... We stopped at Carmel and Pfieffer beaches,the popular Rocky and Bixby bridges, many vista points in Big Sur - Freeway1 was just too good! We reached Santa Barbara by evening and by the time we pulled up some energy , it was time for dinner and decided to take a walk by the Stearns Wharf.they have a Flag project there, a sand sculpture had been done, the breeze is very chilly ,but the board walk is great in the day time.State Street is the highlight of the downtown, lit up for Thanksgiving and Christmas, its a pretty sight in the evenings! The following day we visited the Historic museum which is a decent overview of their barbaric forefathers, marine,mammal,plant life besides an astronomy center.We drove to Solvang , known as the Danish capita...

1st Sunday of November, the clocks moved 1 hour backward and the feeling is just great...like you are granted an extra hour and tested as to how you use it! this is the first time i am experiencing a time change and having slept till 10.30 i was guessing this sunday should be as lazy and eventless as usual...but i couldnt contain my excitement when i checked the time and it showed just 9.30, to add to it was the bright sun lighting up the mood , a long due hike was to be put into action ! :-) Mission peak was the nearest one and challenging enough for a first-timer like me. I was impressed by the crowd that hikes, specially kids who were at ease...i found the first half of the climb more challenging, getting used to the slopes- there are just about 4 resting spots in the entire climb and they are great to enjoy the view! Once at the peak, it gives you the "I am on top of the world" feeling...the salt marshlands can clearly be seen in white from that height and a lovely view o...

However sad this might sound, I had to put this thought down my blog....Halloween is today but we got "BOOO-ed" last night itself...it was a mutual feeling among most in San Francisco bay area! Mother Nature was the originator and she brought us an earth quake,a comparitively mild one of 5.6 according to Richter scale ! A little after 8pm, I was still tryin to finish my cooking and suddenly I felt a shake initially thought it was something to do with the above floor and then when it continued, I realised it was a quake ,atleast a tremor....that moment I was panicking, I didnt know if it was right to be inside, run out or look for the keys or take my mobile with me....it was my first ever experience! I must say inspite of the shake I saw , hardly anything was damaged and most of the things were still in place...anyways I managed to step out n speak to my neighbours and since I was alone, they could see the fear in me! one of them started speaking about a similar experience a f...