The Birthday Post

I am writing this post in advance, because I know I will be hit by the birthday blues soon on the day, and the post may not turn out, the way I want it to. It is really strange how birthdays have become so normal and neutral over the years to me. Ten years back I would not have thought it possible. But it happened... and I am learning to live with it.

This time I turn a year over 30, and it just does not feel special, atleast numerically. Feels like an odd out-of-sorts number to turn into. Strangely I don't feel 31, at all, maybe 27, but not 31, the sprouting grey strands tell a different tale altogether, though. And since there is not much I have to write about, unlike the last time, where it felt like I was going from one era into another, I decided to write about the most special thing in my life, the one thing that I am the most grateful for, the GP. He is my most precious blessing, not only because, the wonderful person he is, but also for the anchor and influence he is in my life.

We have been together for over 9 years, married for almost 8 of them, and I think having him in my life, has definitely made me a better person every single day. Sometimes, when I sit back and think, I am amazed, and can't believe that he is actually mine. He is calm, cool and collected always. (Trust me, I do need that kind of an influence in my life to function smoothly.) There have been moments, that I could not believe he was being as calm as he was, and had it notbeen for him at those times, I might have permanently damaged some relationships. I love the way he thinks before he leaps, so so unlike me.

He is the greatest support, and my pillar of strength. He is not romantic, nor an elaborate exhibitionist, nor a man with fancy words nor the one with pomp and show. But with him, you can be assured of true support and total dedication. He actually supports me in all my decisions, and life choices, stands by and helps me the best way he can. I have learnt to appreciate that in leaps and bounds the past few months. From the day I started my training, he was my rock. He pushed me, when I got cold feet, about leaving the BB at daycare and going, he took the day off from his work (which runs this household), when the BB fell ill on the day of my training. He, took a few hours off work, when I had my mid-training interview on a day, when the BB was to be at home. He has been just extraordinarily supportive. I could not have actually done the training and got on with the work had it not been for him. And I know, its a lot more then most other men would have done. Its surprising, how so many people, at the workplace have actually asked me, if my husband was OK with my volunteer work. I could not in a couple of sentences, explain to them, just how supremely supportive he is. He treats my work, with greater respect, than possibly even I do. After every shift he asks me about the day without fail, does so much to make me feel that my work does count. I have infact been divided on whether to call my 'work' work, or just something I do, and it was again the GP, who recently called my place of work, my office, that actually, made it real work to me. Had it not been for him, his time, effort and support, I would definitely not be doing what I currently am.

Ofcourse, I would not have the wonderful BB without him, and that just fetches him extra brownie points in my book. And to top that,he is just such an amazing father. I am not half as good a parent as is he. His amazing calm and patience, with the BB surprises me. The few hours of the day he spends with the BB are so much more meaningful and productive than the whole rest of the day that he spends with me. The GP teaches him so many things, and I wonder how I never think of any of those. He is loving, giving and amazingly forgiving as a father. He sits on the floor, and plays with the BB's Lego and blocks with him for hours, encourages him in his fun kiddy adventures, lets him play havoc on the laptop, and learning that way. The GP is the more worried and tensed of the two of us, when the BB is ill, he just cannot rest or sit in peace, till the BB is up and running again, I have grown better with that over time. Most of his life decisions are now based on how it would affect the BB. I never stop admiring how loving and giving GP, the father is.

He is neat and tidy, understanding, open-minded and a great great cook to. I forever count my blessings, and feel thankful for his being mine, and truly believe that he is God's greatest gift to me. Thanks for being mine darling, and I hope I celebrate many many more birthdays with you.

Jhonny Jhonny

Remember the nursery rhyme anyone???
Here it goes..

Jhonny Jhonny?
Yes Papa,
Eating Sugar?
No Papa.
Telling Lies?
No Papa,
Open Your Mouth
Ha Ha Ha.

Now, what if you have favourite bits in the rhyme, and want to save that for the last? What would you do? This....

Jhonny Jhonny?
Eat Sugar?
Lies?
Opeen Mouth?
No Papa,
No Papa,
Aha ha ha!

And that is exactly how the BB does it. 'No Papa', and the 'Ha Ha Ha', are his favourite lines, so he says the rest of the rhyme first, in a way that feels like someone, has pressed the fast-forward button on the remote, and then savours his favourite bits at the end!

He picked up the song 'Soft Kitty' song from The Big Bang Theory today. That is the only TV program that the GP and I both love equally, and so I think there has been quite an overdose of it for the BB. But that he picked up the song, is just too fun. This is what was on TV today, its sweet, hear it.

The Sound Of 'Something'

Looks like I have to eat my words, and fortunately for once, I am doing so rather happily. When I recently wrote the post, which stated, I was expecting a disappointment heading my way, I was rather sure, it would come my way, and I would mope and moan about it for a really really long time to come. I even had a super duper post title prepared in my mind to share my woes with the world. It was to be called, 'The Sound Of Nothing'. And since things turned out to be different from my expectations, so did the title of the projected post.

Now to bring you in the loop, about what happened. Since the last few months, I have been a little edgy, feeling the need to add more to my life, wanting to do more. Even the blogging has slowed down, often enough I have opened up to write a post, and been unable to go beyond a few lines. The reason being my mind is dulled, and yet agitated. My mind works the best when it has a lot to do, when I lay it to rest, it just does not start up easy. As simple as that. Coming back to 'my thing', I was not sure, how exactly to add to my life. Time-wise, I have pretty packed days as is. I am a really slow worker, you see, but I needed something to keep me happy, something to feed the mind and heart. I had planned on studying a course, close to my heart, but it did not work out for certain reasons. And so I was back to square one. Went back to looking for options. The only one being work, and even there I have a million constraints. I don't want to go back to where I once was, and I cannot work full-time, and I cannot work from home, and I cannot travel too far, since I don't yet drive, and......... well so you get the picture. The thing is, I wanted to start working, in a field, where I would be interacting with people as persons, I wanted to get into something along the lines of social work, counseling and such. Tough luck again, because I have never even dipped a toe in that river. But I kept looking.

And I came across a women's help group. They recruit and train volunteers, and the whole set-up really appealed to me. I called them up, and they sent me information brochures, from which I learnt, they were about to take in a new set of trainees. Obviously I applied. So the week before last I attended an orientation session, where they told us, everything about themselves, the training, and the work thereafter. I filled up my forms, and was requested to attend a group interview the next week, for them to assess, if I fit the bill. Surprisingly, for a place where an applicant needs to pay for training and then commit to a whole year of volunteer work, they had double the number of applicants, to the number of positions they needed to fill. It has been ages, and really ages, since I attended a formal interview of any sort. And here, I did not even know how to prepare. But knowing myself, I know I perform best impromptu and so I left it at that. Last Tuesday afternoon was my interview.

Things can mess up horribly, when you are really looking forward to it. I had to drop the BB to his day care centre and then take the tram to my interview. I needed to leave home, the latest by 12:30 to be able to make it in time. The BB however had coughing fits throughout the previous night, fell asleep only at around 8 in the morning, and I had to force him awake at quarter to 12. Fed, him dressed him and finally left home only past 1. I knew, I was running very very late. Had to call a cab to the centre to pick me up. Made it to the venue just in time, and the rest of the group was waiting. Started off, and what did I know, there were women with so many qualifications and and such vast experience in the field, that I felt like a complete fool, even being there. There are confidentiality issues here, and so I cannot go into details, but believe me, there was no one, as inappropriate to fit the bill as me. I just prayed, that, my true zeal for the work shows. When we were done, the ladies interviewing us, told us that the ones selected, would be called up and informed, before the end of the week, which basically meant by 5pm Friday. And I thought it would be better to get some confirmation of a rejection, instead of no intimation at all. And hence came the title, 'The Sound Of Nothing', to my mind.

Thursday afternoon, a friend and her little one were around, and the house was one hurricane hit place, with the BB and Aadya having the time of their lives. We were sitting around sipping tea, when my phone rang, and I wondered who it was, since I receive very few calls, and when I do, they are usually ones that I am expecting. I picked up my phone, and saw the number belonged to the training coordinator of the organisation. And I knew that I had made the final cut, and my joys knew no bounds. I pretty much gushed through the entire call, where I was offered an opportunity to volunteer. The lady at the other end, infact even commented, that she was happy to find me so excited. Once the call ended, I hugged everyone around the house. Called up, the out-of-town GP and informed him of the good news and bounced like a ball around the house a few times. Then in my usual fill of low self-esteem, went on to dissect the reason I had been selected, such as, I am not working or studying anywhere, so they can be sure I have the time to dedicate and such like, till finally I think Trishna got tiered of it, and said, "Maybe, it is because you were good!". It felt so nice, just hear someone say that, and I felt even better.

So basically it has been a cloud nine thing for me, since the call. I am settling down, and also realising the fact, that this is not fetching me any money or anything, and yet this is just the kind of work I want to do, and it does not need me to commit much time. The training will be a little rigorous, but even that will just need me to commit one working day in the week. And that is just such a great way for me to start off at this point. I am just not prepared to leave the BB everyday of the week and go, and the fact that really gives me comfort, is that the GP's workplace is close to his Care Centre, and that way one of us will be close by at all times. And that brings me to, my beloved GP. He has been happier than me about this, more supportive than I can imagine. I had almost dropped going for the interview, since the BB was coughing so much the night before, but he persuaded me to just go and give it a try anyways. And had it not been for his pushing, I may have, just not gone.

Since a baking spree is on currently, I decided to bake a cake, to celebrate my own success. This one is made with whole wheat flour instead of the all purpose flour/maida, and hence healthier than the average cake. Frosting is a newly learnt skill, so I indulged myself there, and decorated with a few gems. It tastes absolutely heavenly, and everyone who tasted it, rated it as the best one I have baked here so far! So please be a part of my joy, and dig in.

My SaTuRdAy

What do you think is this?

A huge container full of books and more, being given away!

When a month starts on a note this high, I only hope the rest of the days to follow can keep up, or rather I hope they do! It was Saturday, and we were in mid-day limbo, trying to decide on what to do for the day, when suddenly my phone rang, and a friend informed me, that a library had closed down in the City, and they were just giving away their entire collection on the streets. Well, the whole family was dressed and on the go within the next 15 minutes, though we expected to find very little by the time we got there. But fate had different plans, the container was still full of books, and more was being poured in every now and then. It was just, pick, take and go. Can you imagine, a whole library full of books just being let go. I jumped in, and grabbed as many as I could. And what was amazing was there was no pushing, no shoving, and not even any tugging, people, and surprisingly few, considering the fact they were being let go, were there, taking there time and picking what they liked.

My LOOT! 34 of them. There is even one by Rahi Masoom Reza.

Isn't that just the best way for the month to start. I informed a couple of other friends about it, and at least one, did rush in to get some for herself.

And then I caught sight of the 3rd Zombie shuffle happening in Melbourne. It was amazing to see thousands of people dressed like zombies, walking down the street. Most of them with unbelievably realistic make-up, making them look so so scary. I wish I had time to capture more photos, or atleast my camera with me, but the phone is what I had to make do with.

And then ofcourse my day ended, with my first ever attempt at a cake with frosting, and that too a mud cake. Did not turn out 'great', but tasted quite well, and so I am happy.



And so, this is how May has begun for me this year. How has it been for you?

This Post Would Probably Not Have Been

But human niceness always overwhelms me, especially when done without motive or purpose. It overwhelms me, because I see very little of it, in the world today and more so because it inspires me to try a bit harder to be a better human being. Touch wood for such wonderful people.

The other day, I was checking my mail-box, mind you, the mail-box and not the inbox, and I laid my hands on a slightly lumpy envelope. Pulled it out, and surprisingly, it was hand-written and addressed to me. The envelope felt exactly like it was holding a rakhi. It was surprising, because I don't think anyone would really 'write' to me. So I come home and open the envelope, to find a note and a small package. To get the rest, you will need the background story, so here goes....

Rewind to a couple of weeks, and after a lot of trying over the last few months, I finally found a sideboard/buffet for my dining space. The new ones in stores cost nothing less than $800, and I definitely did not want that, and so I was waiting for the right one to turn up on one of the trading sites. Used was what it had to be, and then I had grand plans of a floor lamp in the corner. The sideboard that I found was for $30, and it was five years old, from IKEA. I mailed the guy who was selling it the night I saw it, and the next morning found his reply, saying he would like to hand it over to me that very day or the next at the most, if I wanted it. Good enough I thought, and asked him if he could deliver to my address, which was quite a way off his own location and he agreed to that too. Transportation is expensive business in this part of the world, and this man delivered it to me for free. It was brought to my home that very afternoon, and the man told me, he, himself had brought it all the way from London, but could not fit it into him home here. Felt like it came all the way across the world just for me. It is exactly what I wanted, no glass exteriors, no sharp edges, and just the perfect height. And the price.... well let me just say I found a steal. (And would you believe it, the very same day I also found a lamp on sale at the same site for $10.)

However when the GP sat down to assemble the sideboard, two supports for a shelf was missing. I just mailed the guy saying they were missing, and if he finds them, let me know, and we would drop in and pick it up. And that was the end of it, till I received the envelope in my mail. There in the envelope, nicely packed were the two supports, and a note saying he had found them, and was hence mailing them to me. And I think that really was sweet of him, not because that is the right thing to do, but because very few people would take the effort to do that, take the extra effort, without anything to gain from it.

I was very excited about my new possessions of course, for the warm glow it added to my dining space, and the things got in place just before Easter, just perfect. I wanted to click photos and do a post, but just never got around to doing it, and would probably never have, had it not been for the shelf supports which came in the mail. So here I proudly present to you my gorgeous new possessions.

Doesn't it look absolutely beautiful?

And here is presenting a closer look of my onion lamp. It would have been hidden from view, on the floor, so I places it on the sideboard instead, and I think it looks just perfect.

For $40, that's a bright warm corner in my home!

A Happy Day

is when, a lot is accomplished, a day that is filled with things done. And that is why today is being marked as a happy day in my calendar after ages, because this is how today has shaped up.

1. Kicked myself out of bed in the morning, and made it for my walk. It being, quite cool, and me being very very cosy under my quilt doona/duvet, it was indeed a super duper achievement.

2. Got the BB up, fed and dressed in time to get to the playgroup.

3. Had the lunch ready before we left, since we return home ravenous with hunger.

4. Garam rotis(hot home-made bread) was made, lunch had, and then I went off to make another attempt to bake a cake. The bake has turned out quite decently, mainly because it does not taste like soap, like all the previous ones I tried here. Reason? I was using bi-carb soda instead of baking soda, and that made all the difference. And the books told me they are the same thing, what can I say? But what the heck, nice cake finally done. The base is a bit overdone, but it is still a cake,not soap and hence nice.

5. We received a bag full of home grown spinach from one of the GP's tennis partners yesterday, and I forgot to buy paneer(cottage cheese). The combination of the two, being the only dish in which I have ever liked spinach, meant I either keep the entire thing in the fridge, and wait till I get the paneer or I try making spinach soup, which may or may not turn out nice, and which basically would mean eventually throwing out all the spinach. Nothing appealed to me, palak pakoras were floating in my brain, but this being garden fresh I did not wish to waste the nutrition. Somewhere in my mind, a thought of palak with besan floated. And I concentrated on it some, got an image of what could be done, and what do you think, I churned out a yummy, healthy dish.

6. This was followed by a family stroll in the evening, back , and I finally had my chores for the day done, and could sit down and watch TV or just sit with the laptop. A hassle free luxury I haven't enjoyed in a while, since most of the time I have either stolen my time out of a busy day to do either, or had kept chores on hold. So that really made it a special joy.

So that is what was today, a full day, and now at 9, I am exhausted, completely drained, and cannot wait to go off to la la land. And hope I can sleep this gives-me-a-high exhaustion off. What is your happy day like?

What The Mailman Brought

Today morning, the mailman, rang my door bell, and he had this big package with my name on it. Obviously I eagerly took it, signed off for it, and got down to tearing the package cover.
And see what was inside.....






A gorgeous bag for my new camera. It is part of some promotion by Cannon, I had to mail them my bill, and a cut out of the serial no. from the camera box, and I got this gorgeous camera bag, which can pack in an extra lens, and some more. I am totally in love with it.