Winds swept low

On this side of the Pacific North West, we have severe winds blowing at this time of the season. Tumble weeds rolling along and the fine dust in your nostrils is a some kind of experience. On NPR (National Public Radio) yesterday, the hostess mentioned , none of us need our hair styled. The wind does its job. The moment I would step out of my car, the well groomed hair ( I would like to think so) would stand up against the gravity. Not that any people notice the so well groomed hair, but it is an uneasy feeling - do not know which part of your bald or grey is showing. Skirts, Hats, and hair do s are bad at this time. Updates on the home front, DH and Chotu are back and showing off their cranky side of the jet lag.

Are we there yet?

What the heck, we will be late for the meeting by only two hours - is the attitude of the people living here. I love it. But, I don't think I can do it. The last ten years of my lifestyle has tuned me to do something always (if possible productive) . It will take me another ten years to un-do it.

Can we take along?

Mom: Ok, lets go..
Chotu: No!
Vin: She's so cute..
Chotu:Ya, mom can we take her home?
Mom: Ok, common lets go..
Chotu:No! Mom , you go. Bye

One of those violin class trips..

Vin: What is O2?
Me: Oxygen
Vin: What is H2?
Me: Hydrogen.
Vin: We all know H2O, is there O2H2?
Me: Yeah. There is OH too, it is called alcohol.
Vin: Awww. Is this the smoking alcohol?
Me: Yeah, that is the bad Alcohol.
Vin: Do people in India drink alcohol?
Me: Yess.
Vin: Is alcohol bad for body?
Me: Once in a while, after 18, it is not that bad.
Vin: OH! so I will have alcohol after 18 once in 5 Years.
Me: Oh!
Vin: Well my friend "X" drinks wine.
Me: There are some festive occasion in Churches, that sometimes the Father of the church gives wine.
Vin: I am an American, I can go to Church and get some wine.
Me: Yeah, You are an American born to Hindu parents. So you are Hindu.
Vin: I guess, I have to wait until I am 18.
Me: (Oh! my god..)
Vin: I will get married to Ash and then come back to America.
Me: When you grow up and when it is time and when you both like each other , then you can get married.
Vin: I like Ash now.
Me: If you like someone, it doesn't mean you marry them. Any ways long ways to think about it.
Vin: Yeah...
Me: (Thank god it is only 15 minute drive to Violin class, otherwise I would not know how to answer his questions)

Once in India, my mom made "Bobbatlu" (sweet chapatis), Vin loved those.While I was putting him in bed, he asked me:
Vin: Mom! we need to ask ammamma (Grandma) this recipe. I need to learn how to make "bobbatlu and make it for my family.
Vin: You know, once I get married and have kids and all. They are awesome. I need to learn.
Me: Giggles. Ok Kanna. We will ask ammamma tomorrow for the recipe.

It is cute to hear such stories, but it concerns me of his planning. I don't even plan for tomorrow.

Vennetlo Godari Andam.. (The beauty of river Godavari in Moonlight)

The fertile delta between the River Godavari branches is most depicted in Telugu movies as lush green villages. My friend Sai and her husband are from around here. So, we put in a request to Sai and Vissu (Sai's DH) for a short trip. Itwas worth every second spend there. We (we four, my MIL, Sai and Vissu) rented a Qualis (10 seater) one Saturday early morning (3:00AM) and hit the road towards the great konaseema. It is also refereed as East and West Godavari. It was a 8 hour drive with beautiful sceneries. We spoke, ate, sang, stopped for bath room breaks for Vin and Chotu along the way. We finally reached Sai's Uncle's place.
We were received very very cordially, (it is one of the characteristics of konasemma-hospitatliy, is given high importance). We visited Sai's grand fathers house - a small thatched (with coconut leaves) mud house, with a huge backyard (10-15 acres if you must know) of agricultural lands. The old couple manage the whole thing. We got Vissu to climb up a ladder and get us some sweet coconuts and briefly looked at Cabbage, drum sticks and few other vegetable gardens. After the refreshments (fresh coconut water and pulp) we headed to visit the villages along the river banks. We stopped in a village called Kapileswaram where there is a "Veda Patasala" that DH heard about earlier. This school is run by a rich Zamindaar (Land Lord) for girls to learn "Hari Katha". It is a four year degree for students with good music and Abhinay skills after high school. The students reside in the premises and learn music, dance etc., from very famous visiting faculty along with the resident gurus. The girls sang 3 songs for us. It was simply melodious and divine.
We were asked to look at Zamindaar's residence and we had to leave in a hurry because we promised the kids a boat ride on the Godavari and it was getting dark. Finally we managed to reach the "revu" and boarded the boat that is rowed by a single man (our hero). That was a scary moment for a while, we all could not move, because the boat would loose its balance even if we moved slightly. Chotu was getting restless. It almost got dark and we could see the real beauty of river Godavari in the Moon light. It was the most beautiful evening I would never forget.

The best of the two worlds

World A:
You get best filtered coffee.
Dosa/Idli/Upma for breakfast.
Very short days.
People, people, people everywhere.
Honks, dust, smoke, traffic jams.
Colorful outfits, different languages.
Head and feet are always on the ground.
Smiles, tears, pain, spiritual, anger, relations etc.,
Small day-to-day life hurdles.
Diversified economic sections.

World B:
Very quite mornings.
Bagle/10 grain cereal/Protein bar for breakfast.
Long uneventful day.
Hardly see anyone.
Plain ride, foggy mornings, fresh air, and smiley faces.
Optimistic, ambitious, goals oriented.
The same feeling of no feeling everyday.
Not so diversified economic sections.
Dreams come true.

I love my worlds.

Back to home from home!

Had a wonderful trip! Had tons of fun. I don't know where to begin, so will just write as it comes to my memory (no chronological order). The first thing I did, after I landed (of course after refreshing) in India, I surprised my friend (Sai) by going straight to her work. It took her one day to recover from it. I spent most of the time on this trip in Interior Designing of a single bed-room apartment. I don't like to call it Interior Decoration for some reason. For most of you who don't know my background, I am an Architect by training and never practiced officially other than few design suggestions to friends and relatives.
We have a single bed-room apartment close to my MIL's place (Mother-In-Law) that is by all means must have been designed by the contractor himself or a Civil Engineer or by a compromised Architect. The bed room has no ventilation except for a small opening into the shaft. They were cement shelves in each room and the floor was marble got a Wow! effect in the family. The half dying Architect in me shouted aloud, Help Me! (quite dramatic ha). Any ways so walked to Sai's (practicing Architect) office and said and I need some renovation done to my apartment. She was like, "OK - What do you want to do with it". I need to cover those shelves and do something with the bed-room lighting. It took two days for us to meet with their Interior Designer. I told him what I exactly wanted done to the apartment. He didn't expect a very decisive client who is an Architect by training at first, later we understood each other very well. I designed the whole thing, Sai implemented it in Auto-CAD and the ID (Interior Designer) suggested the labor and materials. You need to have lot of patience and money management skills to get work done. You need to be there 24 X 7 while the work is going on, otherwise things turn out to be just the opposite of what you want :) Ma'am this looks great! Moi, No! I want it like this was the quote of the month. Meanwhile DH (Dear Husband) was getting fits with my construction/renovation budget. It looks great already what are you doing to it? Huh! Please wait until it is done- me on the other end, miles away trying to convince him of my Architectural abilities. It is a three-week story, I will post some tidbits later meanwhile enjoy the pictures. At the end the single-bed/single-bath turned out to be a cute double-bed/double-bath apartment. I was happy to have completed it with utmost satisfaction and so was everyone including DH.

Ban on the Ramayana

Yes, we banned Ramayana in our house after we received a concern from Chotu's school.
The concern was, he is not concentrating on the work and is always lost in his own world. While I am discussing this issue with Chotu's teacher, Chotu runs to me and asks:

chotu: Mom! Can I fly like Hanuman?

*Tada* it struck me now, why he cannot think anything else other than Ramayana characters.
He has taken it too seriously, and trying to relive it everyday. We thought it was cute to hear him say Sanskrit slokas and few telugu words in his sweet accent. Now it bothers me. I need to erase/dilute his Ramayana episodes from his neurons. His teacher said, "3 year old's brain is like a sponge it will take whatever you pour into it". I need to squeeze out Ramayana and pour some real life / practical stuff into it. I wish there was one straight manual to raise kids.

Is Christmas Really here?

The snow is here, school delays are here, Christmas lights in the yards are out with deer, elves, Santa and many more figurines. The City hall parking lot trees are lit, shops are filled with Christmas decorations and seasonal gift items in colors, salvation army bells are here. Starbucks Christmas special (mint coffee ) is here, snow balls fights at the school bus stop are here. Kids Christmas projects are home, bright red Poinsettias are here. Candy canes are here, trinkets in different forms and shapes are here. Have a wonderful holiday season.

Phasing

Blog writing must be a phase to me or just don't have enough to write or just don't have time to write.
Updates:
Vin is busy catching up with his older class mates mostly on the terminology. Yes, "S" words are included. Parenting is the toughest job.
Chotu is growing to be boundaries less, fear less and mostly being a brat of the house. DH complains that Chotu's only qualification is "he is just cute" and chotu is taking advantage of that.
Vin and I are taking a long vacation trip to India starting next week( how wonderful is that?). Chotu and DH will join us in few weeks. I need to slog like a slave before I get my freedom to fly :).

Che Che Kule

Myself and Vin drove to Olympia to my sisters place for the Veterans day long weekend and had tons of fun. On our way back we stopped at a famous Photographer's (and writer) place to meet with her family. I got to see the original prints :) - some of you might have seen them on her blog. The cute girl described and portrayed in her blog is even cute in real life. She and Vin got to bake cookies which were awesome. We had to leave (all good things need to come to an end) and while driving back home , I asked Vin:
Did you know they were speaking Afrikan language?
Vin: No! I thought they were speaking Indian.
Vin: Ok, I learned this cool song from Africa, do you want to learn Mom?
Mom: Yes! (do I have a choice)
Vin: Ok, repeat each line after me.
Che che kule
Che che kule

Che che kofitsa
Che che kofitsa

Kofitsa Langa
Kofitsa Langa

Elachi Langa
Elachi Langa

Hu Amande , Hu Amande, Hu Amande Heyy!
Hu Amande , Hu Amande, Hu Amande Heyy!

Mom: Cool Kanna , where did you learn this?
Vin: Music Class, I will teach you the dance once we go home..
Che che kule... off we drove back home after a wonderful weekend.

Bings

I gave Vin his own blog wings which means I don't get credit for his art and writings anymore :(

Vin's Art

Bed Time Humor

After the "Shy little Kitten" , "Good Morning Mickey Mouse" and "Little Ducky" books Chotu has to hear the Ramayana (which we all know by now)before he goes to bed.

Mom: What does Soorpanaka ask Rama?
Chotu: Will you please marry me?

Mom: Yeah.
Chotu: Mom!

Mom: Yes kanna.
Chotu:Will you marry me?

Mom: With a smile on her face - No Kanna, I already married Nanna (dad).
Chotu: Disappointed! Mom! Will you marry me?

Mom: Chotu, I cannot marry you.
Chotu: Mom! Please Marry me.

Mom: Chotu, you are so small and I am tooo old for you..
Chotu: Pulls his two hands straight out of the blanket and stretches out and says Look mom I am big.

Mom: Could not stop laughing:)) and said Yes kanna.

(We don't take 'No' for an answer in our family)

Net Savings

My Savings account (not much) + my blogs worth :). Thanks to Vivek for sharing with this tool.

My blog is worth $3,387.24.
How much is your blog worth?

Growing Pains - Vin's short writing - unedited

Dear everyone I know that you like to run away from other kids when you are scared. But let me tell you how to use your brain in the olden days. then we will learn how to use the part of the brain in these days. Ok is that ok with you? good beacuse we have a lot work to do. the organ inside your head controls your body and allows you to think and have feelings, just if i could play a trumpet, and a tuba and a french horn and a trombone and a cornet, even toching a flower that would be great, even toching a chinese dragon bowl would be great to . your brain makes you do stuf like actifities and lots of other stuff, like playing baseball, soccer, basketball, te-ball and that's how you use your brain in these day's actually I forgot to do how they use your brain in the olden days, but it's ok ok. now lets review what happens here in our days.

Less Intelli-Gent

In one of the festive gathering recently, one of my good friend out of the bloom said "I am glad this is all ladies get together, we don't have to speak intelligently". I was taken back for a moment and thought of contradicting her, but smiled it away. What's this notion about when men get together - they converse intelligently. This is not the first time I am hearing this, I have heard flavors of it from a range of age groups.

Are stock market, work politics, football, political opinions signs of intelligence? as opposed to kids school issues, in-law troubles, low carb high protein recipes. My grand mother knows all this intelligent shi*, because she reads the news paper from top left hand corner of the first page to the right hand bottom corner of the last page. I think all this hype is trained into your blood/genes from generations - if you are guy you cannot talk or think about family issues, recipes, kids hws, shopping list etc.,

I bet y'all can tell I am in a feministic mood today :))

Roop.. Pratiroop..

Caller1: Hello Mrs Saripalli
Moi: Can I take a message?
C1: No Thank you. Will call later.


C2: Hi Ritna
Moi: No, she is not home, can I take a message?
C2: Are you allowed to take household decisions?
Moi: No. I am the baby sitter (wat, I am baby feader, cleaner, everything)
C2: Ok, Thank you


C3:Hello Mrs S.. We are from .... and We are doing so.... this is a survey...
Moi: Sorry, no englisss
C3: Oh thank you


C4: Hi Ratka
Moi: Sorry, she is not home can I take...
C4: Hangs up on me

C5: Hi Ratna (If some one pronounce correctly)
Moi: Yes, this is she.
C5: This is a survey etc....blah....
Moi: (shoot, it is a telemarketer, huh why did I say yes, this is me) How long will this take?
C5: 10 minutes
Moi: Sorry, this is a very bad time.
C5: Hangs up cussing probably.


C6: Mrs Saripalli
Moi: Can I take a message?
C6: Yes. This is Mrs. T , Vin's teacher......
Moi: Oh, Mrs T. Sorry, I thought it was a telemarketing call.
C6: Oh is it you?.....


I worked for about a week in a friends telemarketing firm in Austin while searching for a real job. I could not take it very long. People hanging up on my face or verbally abusive tone of voices etc. It was a very depressing job. From then on I never hang up on telemarketers or be rude to them- Just politely avoid the call. Sometimes it is very inconvenient to take such calls during weekends while we are busy with kids.

Gandhi At Gandhi Jayanti

We had a pleasure of hearing American Gandhi last weekend at Gandhi Jayanti celebrations. Mr Meyer dressed up like Gandhi came down to Tri-cites for this ocassion. He was the show stealer of the evening. He started of his interactive speech with quite a response from the audience (all the kids from the front row).

Gandhi (Mr Meyer): When I was your age .....

Kid A: I am four years old now, and this is my friend he is four too..

Gandhi: Oh I see, yeah I was about your age..My mom took a vow not to eat until she saw the sunrise ...Cont..

Gandhi: I made vows not to drink alcohol ..(interrupted by a kid)

Kid B: what is Alcohol?

Gandhi: It is like beer..You should talk to your parents after you go home..(gigles) (Continuing) ... I made a vow to be faithful to my wife and also to be a vegetarian

Aish (Vin's friend): Were you faithful to your wife? (is the question misunderstood by the audience and Gandhi)

Gandhi: Yes. I was faithful to my wife and continued...

Later when he said, today is my birthday, kids spontaneously sang Happy Birthday to you....

Aish's mom clarified later in the evening at Round table Pizza, she asked were you faithful in not eating meat? But audience (the whole crowd enjoyed the misread lines) misinterpreted.

The joke of the evening was, one person (non-Indian) thought Mr. Gandhi came from India for celebrations.

Mental Protein

An unknown anxious uneasy feeling has been haunting me since weeks. The more ambitious one becomes, the queasy feeling proportionately increases. Does anyone know how to put an end to wanting more? It is not like I am forced to do many things, on the contrary I enjoy doing more things. It is like the cascade effect of Glucose production in your body, the more carbs you eat the more you want to eat. So you eat protein to prolong your eating frequency. Is there any mental protein, that is available to stop your ambitious hunger? Must be time for caffeine, just blabbing away nonsense or the "FlightPlan" seen in the evening.