Make a list!

Make a list!

Those 4 stores I have to go to every month or so (no escaping):

1. BJs
2. Market Basket
3. Indian Store
4. Asian Store

BJs for:

a. Granola bars
b. Meat
c. Frozen seafood snacks
d. Toiletries
e. House cleaning items
f. Tissues and napkins
g. Fresh veggies and fruits
h. Baking goods
i. Frozen blueberry and graham cracker greek yogurt by Ben and Jerry
j. Cereals
k. American spices, Sugar and Salt
l. Olive oil


Market basket for:

a. Things not found at BJs from list above
b. Frozen Peas
c. Flavored Yogurt
d. Fresh deli meat (those Jenny O turkey breast slices and honey ham slices)
e. Fresh fish at good price
f. Mexican food items (tacos, refried beans, jalepenoes)
g. Cheese!

Indian store for:

a. Maggie
b. Cookies and goodies and snacks
c. Gol gappas
d. Indian spices
e. Plain Yogurt
f. Chai and Nescafe
g. Paneer (like cottage cheese) and Mawa
h. Pickles
i. Indian stuffed or plain bread
j. Incense
k. Occasional festive shopping
l. Frozen koftas
m. Frozen pomfrets and koftas
n. indian Vegetables and fruits
o. Nuts

Chinese store for:

a. Frozen dumplings
b. Asian sauces (bean curd, chilli, oyester, soy, schezuan)
c. Sliced frozen beef
d. Bok Choy and Chinese Mushroom
e. Chinese spices

BOSTON - My tonight's tribute!

Boston, a small city with a big heart! Boston, resilient and proud!

'Not just a place. A perfect state of grace.' - U.S. President (Barack Obama) Speech on April 18th, 2013 inspired by an anonymous poet. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxgPjOBY7XI)

In Boston, we go around with our own lives not realizing how much we welcome this co-existence with strangers. Our lives somehow getting intertwined everyday we walk these streets, our sentiments for this city gaining stark similarities, our smiles getting bigger and love growing infinitely as we succumb to Boston -its charm, its culture, its seasons and its spirit!

There's a saying that once you've lived in Boston, you can't live anywhere else! The saying has come true for me and many like me. We drifted from here and we came back! We became a family!

Personally, if I can put metaphorically, its my pilgrimage. This city has shaped my thoughts, faith and beliefs! This city is developing my mind to be noble and high! Boston journey in these most significant years of my life is what has made me so devoted to it. I claim it too, like President Obama. Every Spring, every fall, so many students come to Boston. It moulds us emotionally and evolves our personalities. We all find fitting belongingness to it too very easily. Our love for its esplanades and  promenades, for its coffee nooks and books, for its sports and sports bars, for its art and theatre, for its history and substance, for its intellectual daytimes and drunk nights, for its poshness and funk seems like never-ending.

The Boston bomb blast on April 15th Boston Marathon day- the day otherwise seen as one of the most triumphant day in Boston- is most tragic. Patriots day is Boston's holiday. Boston Marathon is the longest running marathon event in history of US. It symbolizes coming together shoulder to shoulder to finish that race. It signifies how united we are irrespective of disparity in our religions or nationalities.

Now, April 19th close to 8PM the chase for suspects is over after long and odd 40 hours! The Boston's spirit and passion got visibility like  never before. What tragedy failed to do is stun us into silence. Victims were shown constantly outpouring compassion and generosity -not just in the aftermath but very much there in mayhem! Everyone did the right thing- from public to law enforcement! We all did exactly what the tide of time required from each one of us in our capabilities. We saw finest police work! We saw far-fetched press work! We sat quiet but our social media spoke out loud!  In last 4 surreal days, we prayed together, we collaborated together and we braved it all together. We united in sympathy, empathy and tenderness. We chose for heroic stories to heinous details. We opted to be of service to this city and benefit a cause than be rendered senseless by fear and anger. We came together in sadness and now in jubilation! We stood strong! Oh Boston, so strong!

Boston is my universe, my love and my pride tonight! I cheer you for your attitude and identity! You are to be celebrated tonight! Boston, and its people have my heart! And always will.

Superbowl 2013: Ads that don't let you take that break!

Here's the list of my favorite Superbowl 2013 ads:

1. Oprah Winfrey voiced Jeep ad
Why?
a. It's about soldiers. Who doesn't love them?
b. You almost cried, didn't you?
c. Everyone connects to them- out of respect or pride!
d. When Oprah's talking, you listen.
e. I come from a family serving my nation. Papa served Indian Navy and Bade Papa served Indian Army.
    I know the wait. I know of every emotion this ad talks about.
f. I want to own a jeep. I know almost everyone does.
g. The ad targets not just soldiers. Admit it makes you want it.

 

2. Paul Harvey voiced Dodge Ram trucks ad:
 Why?
a. Paul Harvey
b. Paul Harvey's speech. And goosebumps it gives.
c. Farmers- he gave ample reasons to love them.
b. Personally, my grandparents were farmers. I loved their lives. I loved them!
e. Every farmer would want a Ram truck after watching this ad.

3. Coca Cola ad:
Why?
a. They did it again.
b. Happy message. Cheers!
c. Bringing world together is all we need, don't we?
d. Just what you want to see - Making world a better place everyday!

4. Samsung mock ad:
I like it better than actual ad.
Why?
a. Witty, clever, smart..
b. About Superbowl - they don't say it, and you're still told.
c. About technology - they don't say it, but you know what they hold.
d. Forms the ground right for Super bowl day ad.

5. Volkswagen ad:
Why?
a. Happy message, happy ad.
b. About smiles :)
c. Car in the ad gives a smile indeed.

I like Taco bell, Tide(Ok ad, awesome timing) and Doritos ad too. Creative yet they fail to pull me as a customer.

Critics- both me and you.

Scrutiny is distasteful- as to you, is to me too. It evokes a response, that becomes a blog.

America saw elections recently. I followed politics like I never did before. Or maybe I did once. This was back in India...all started around 1996. Congress got uprooted after years of reign. This change was one of the most crucial ones India was facing after a long, usual, dull tenure after another with same national government. However, it was a short lived government- which better still, prepared and made aware the blind-to-politics India that it was time for a change.  I am glad my parents involved us in their awareness of a change and excitement of unknown future with BJP leading the nation. Coming to 1998, everyone (almost, or at least from where I saw), cheered for and adored Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji as the new leader of our nation. I was only 15 when this happened. My parents and I, wanted me to vote for next elections. I wanted to show my support to BJP because I had never been more inspired or in awe of our Ministers like I was in those 4 years. My favorites were Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji of course,  Jaswant Singh, Sushma Swaraj, George Fernandes,Yahwant Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, Pramod Mahajan and PR Kumarmangalam. More so, a new government needs more than mere 5 years to show what change they are bringing upon its nation. They had planted seeds of change with Gurgaon-Delhi Expressway, Delhi Metro, Nuclear tests at Pokharan, road connectivity to the farthest of villages and winning Kargil war to tame Parvez Musharraf a bit in first tenure itself. At 19, my voter documents were still not ready, I couldn't vote. That was disappointing. Congress won and got credited for most of BJP initiated work. The new government made sure BJP's scandals came to light to seal their fate to be power-less for some years. Not that BJP was innocent either but they were just reaping from taste of corruption, the spectrum that Congress always had covered up quite skillfully. Some of my thoughts and opinions could be debatable and invite sharp criticism but give me a breather as this is coming from a teen's mind and how I perceived things and people then. Don't get me wrong, I don't support any single party. Ideally, I feel people should change the government every 10 years. Why I think so, calls for a a separate blog altogether.

Anyways, come 2008, I came to US and congress had by now again monopolized the whole game.
Since then, I have not been able to vote in India. Worth mentioning here is that my 4 year younger sister does exercise her right which I find very cool. Anyways, till date when I call my dad in the nights, that is, his early mornings when he is sitting with chai and newspaper (US-India time difference), he gives me feeds on local and national politics. I think he looks forward to my question- "So, what's new?" and I know what's coming- sports news followed by political feeds with his crisp and to-the-point opinions.
These conversations through last 5 years got me motivated to follow politics and current affairs in US. I enjoyed my dad listening to me intently on my opinions about world affairs and especially in these recent US elections.
Having said all that, I would come to the reason/need of writing all that I did above. I saw my Indian peers criticizing on facebook about Indians living in America for their interest in US politics. How sad was that? Even sadder when my Desi friends here liked these status messages that claimed that we were never this politically aware in India and taunted us with if only.... clauses.

I had to write down my piece of mind on these perceptions:

1. I am interested in US politics. Yes, I guess you should be too. It's the most powerful country and  elections here are a game changer for world affairs and relationship dynamics amongst all countries across continents. Which party gets elected, what international reforms and treaties they bring along effects growth scale of mostly all countries, including India. Why shouldn't I be interested when my Brazilian or Chinese roommates and international friends are equally interested and attentive. We shouldn't even be discussing this further if you don't already agree. No point.
2. One simple question- On what basis did you merit your theory to be factual that I haven't been paying attention to Indian politics? Sorry, let me rephrase my question. How does one know we (Indians living in US/abroad) haven't been paying attention to Indian politics? I am sure you aren't even in touch with most of your facebook friends. At least I have not spoken to you personally in years. That makes me question the validity of your opinion. Kindly hash and surmise. Not too much to ask for.
3. Ok, another question that boggles me. What do I know if people updating these statuses on social media have themselves been paying attention to Indian local politics? I didn't learn about what was on your mind during last Indian national elections.Then why do I need to see your sarcastic yet useless posts? Picking faults, are we? Well then, personally, I would respect and like you more if you can share your constructive opinions.
4. The Indian in me is not dead. On the contrary, this 29 year old Desi brain of mine is more aware and attentive. I am struggling with everyday challenges unlike most of you leading a pampered life with family. I am learning from vast exposure and through lens of a first world, never on a single day, forgetting to compare things to the third world I come from and amidst all this, developing some aspects in my personality that I am proud of. I can not unfortunately say the same for some of my Desi peers. You must know, however, it is saddening that I don't get to exercise my voting right. It's not something I take pride in. It's totally my loss. I get to have zero say today in Indian or American political changes. That still doesn't make me indifferent. That does make me yearn for awareness and participation.

Don't let out that whip as yet. On a humbler note to myself and to give you a pick on my life, I came to US by choice. My parents or family didn't want me to. I did not have any relatives here. It was my choice to explore the unexplored and step out of my comfort zone. Thanks to my parents and friends who eventually supported me. Today I contribute to my family's growth in India in my very own small ways. Having said that, living an unstable life here for past 5 years with an unknown future keeps me interested in panoramic view of anything that may alter it. The most significant lesson I have learnt while weaving this new world for me is to stay happy. No matter what's thrown at me, I got to thrive for happiness. That's one reason I celebrate. I celebrate India as well as America. I feel fortunate to celebrate Christmas with same ardour as Diwali. I celebrate 4th of July with an equal vigour as 15th of August.  Where I stand on compass today, I am everyday attempting to erase the dense line I have had marked between two countries. I am trying to move beyond partiality, division and comparison between these nations. If India gave me my golden childhood, America is evolving my adulthood. I love both the countries passionately and equally today.
I am telling you all this so you get a better perspective. Not about me but about most of your friends who are living abroad. The disconnect from one's nation is quite too much to take initially. Eventually, some of us learn to live with it and most of us do as much as we can to stay and feel connected. In short, we try. If this still doesn't dart the point across, there's nothing more I can say.

This hand that paints- this and that...

My first acrylic painting after many many years. Ganesha as I see him:

My second painting, same colors, different strokes. Both are displayed together on each side of my kitchen window.

My Bedroom has all earthy colors. In my attempt to accentuate those - the painting below and my hand painted mirror frame:

This one's for my bathroom. A simple one but brings my theme around the bathroom quite alive.

Placed with the candle stand and a vase full of soaps :

A free hand, random thoughts and some colorful sketch-pens:

Just for the heck of it:

My first ever professional acrylic painting class. Learnt few new strokes for clouds, stormy sea and color-mixing:

iTouched by you, Steve Jobs!

With every status update on facebook, my heart sinks a little more. With every picture I see of yours, I get a hoarse throat. With every tribute that Google and all your competitors pay to you, I can't stop but burst into tears. If I didn't know how much I appreciated you when you lived, I know every iota bit of it now.

I wasn't a non-Mac believer.. nor an anti-Mac folk. I used your products but I wasn't interested any more. Yet now that you go, oh creative genius, I turn loyal and I will stay so!

I will proudly tell stories to my generations-to-come of what a technologically phenomenon times we lived in. How you changed the face of world with your creations and how immensely intelligent you were to exploit 'artificial intelligence' like no one did before. I'll rave about an indulging fact that I shared the world in same time and space with you. iBelieve you carried one of the most noble knowledge pursuits we all benefited from. Hats off to the visionary in you.

iWonder if the 'i' that preceded all your inventions had anything to do with Ayn Rand's philosophy. I wonder if you were Howard Roark or John Galt personified. You gave a true meaning to word 'philosophy' in the techno world. You were called haughty and arrogant for the way you lived and were refuted by the competitors for how proudly you always used 'I..'.
And you, you replied to them all by branding the very 'i' ! What a lasting legacy!

They say you died young at 56, iRespect the way you lived every bit of it.
One feels it when one sees people paying tribute to you in your own words:

-- "Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose," media mogul Arianna Huffington wrote on her Twitter feed, quoting Jobs' 2005 commencement address at Stanford University.

-- "You've got to find what you love"

-- "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

-- "Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become."

-- "Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new."

-- "We're here to put a dent in the universe."

-- "Because the people who think they are crazy enough to change the world are the ones who do"

This blog is my tribute to you- an 'i'ntellectual, an 'i'nnovator, an 'i'mprover, an 'i'nfluencer, an 'i'nsp
iration. You'll stay always in the bags and pockets of my heart! My life has been iTouched by you. iThankyou for the new world.
iSalute, rest in peace, Steve Jobs.

Nurturing Creativity

I write as and when I can. Even when I know many discard it all as useless, or not-worth-reading or with an attitude of 'who cares'?.. I write because it doesn't matter or ever bothers me. I always know I write for myself and not for others because there are times- that were as yet (before watching the video below) indescribable for me- when I just get the words flowing through me. Times when I just so well know I have to write about something or the other. And there are times when I so want to write, but nothing comes from within. I search for a topic worth writing and never find one for a long, long time. Same thing happens when I paint. And I didn't have a theory or an explanation for how it feels or what it is that stops me or forces me to write or paint and let the ideas/thoughts within me unfold on a paper or a canvas.

So today I thought maybe I should write about how my creativity dies and rises again like a phoenix. Then, even before I could get to my blog, I tumbled upon this video. I will say its worth a watch for all because we all have some creativity within us of dimensions unknown. And we all have heard once or many a times someone say- "don't let the spirit within you die".

I believe my spirit today or this thing- another genius body that regulates my creativity (as learnt in the video) took me to Author Elizabeth Gilbert's ( fame: Eat, Pray, Love) speech at TED Talks. I have been reading her book for sometime and with every page I read every once in a while, I am drawn more to the author for how she thinks and why she writes what she writes.
Brilliant, heartfelt and a stunning talk. Have a look:




http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

Bollywood

It was easy falling in love with Bollywood! I saw my parents romancing each other at the play of movie songs from their times. I heard my mom crooning her favorite numbers while doing chores around the house. I saw my dad pulling mom towards him and making moves together when their favorite song would come up on TV or Radio -making her blush and laugh and making us hysterical. Till date, I see my parents romanticizing to songs like 'Oh meri zohara jabeen, tujhe maloom nahin..tu abhie tak hai haseen aur main jawaan..'. Having spent most of his youth in Bombay- the Bollywood city, my dad has been a Mumbaikar at heart since and throughout. From what I know.. A typical average society Mumbaikar would be someone practical and zealous to the core, struggling in sweat and blood everyday to make a mark in the country of billions and at the end of every such day- watch a Bollywood movie over dinner to lose the stress! Yes, my dad is a Bollywood-lover Mumbaikar at his heart! And that is where my love for Bollywood comes from! and yes, it was VERY easy falling in love with Bollywood.

How could I have not fallen in love with Indian Hindi cinema a.k.a Bollywood movies. After all, as a kid I saw likes of famous and finest Ashok Kumar, effervescent Dilip Kumar, evergreen Devanand, patriarch of film-making Raj Kapoor, iconic and ahead of his times Guru Dutt, the charismatic heartthrob of 1960s- Shammi Kapoor, the very first Greek God of Bollywood Dharmendra, ever dashing and worth a drool Vinod Khanna and none other than legendary legend Amitabh Bachchan. To add a panache of beauty and romance to the blockbuster movies of that era were actresses like immortally beautiful Madhubala, classically graceful Waheeda Rahmaan, dream girl Hema Malini, immensely talented Jaya Bhaduri, suave and sexy Zeenat Aman (my dad till date calls her 'Zeenie baby' as she was called so by her fans in those days), versatile and sexy Rekha and many more..

While I admired in awe the blockbusters with these superstars, I have to mention some of my personal favorite actors who were underrated by Bollywood then but had an unsurpassed fineness and have left behind a legacy that is yet to be inherited. These were - prominent theatrical actor Uttpal Dutt, Cabaret Queen Helen, popular character actor Om Prakash and an unwavering citadel of talent- Pran!

Then came a time while growing up when I wanted Sunny Deol to be my protector.. I duplicated chulbuli Sridevi's expressions in front of the mirror for hours after watching Chandani, Chaalbaaz and Mr. India.. Angry and still a young man Amitabh Bachchan's fad continued..I wanted to be Madhuri singing 'Lakkhan ne Lakkhan ne..bada dukh deena...' for Anil Kapoor a.ka. Lakkhan or Dimple Kapadia singing 'Mujhe tumse hai kitne gile'in the movie 'Ram Lakkhan'. Amrish Puri and Shakti Kapoor continued disgusting and scaring me raping all those women and killing innocent people onscreen. And if you would laugh at me for loving Mithun Chakrovarty, Govinda and Jakie Shroff- I would just shrug you off as someone who doesn't truly understand Bollywood and is just ignorant to the fact that Indian cinema would not have seen a light to those 'at-the-par' acting phenomenon in movies like 'Prem Pratigya', 'Hathya' and I shouldn't even be giving proofs- they were there once and they delivered then in some movies what noone else could! Period.



And if I start talking about the ones behind the scene- from Gulzaar to Javed Akhtar, from RD Burman to AR Rahman, from Hemant da & Kishore Kumar to Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan, from Lata Mangeshkar to Shrey Ghosal, from Satyajit Ray to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, from Rishikesh Mukherji to Rajkumar Hirani - it would take me a blog after another to even begin writing about them.

Ya..did someone yawn thinking..just an irrational bollywood buff talking almost gibberish. YES! Exactly! That's my deaf and blind love for bollywood. However, I wont hide the fact that once came a time though that bolly looked deprived of talent. Every movie that came would either be good songs but poorly acted, or good actor/director jodi but a bad story! All in all, each production was a lackluster and the sheen of our cinema almost began fading. I dont know..all this happened during and around when Amitabh Bachchan retired, Vinod Khanna retreated as Osho's follower, Anil Kapoor-Jackie Shroff tried their best once in a while, Sanjay Dutt was lost to drugs and someone gave reigns of bollywood into the hands of Chunky Pandeys, Aditya Pancholis, Kimi Katkars, Neelams and blah. After that, I could've continued on watching old movies- black and whites and those first time colored ones but thankfully, THE 3 Khans walked in and conquered back my lost heart! And oh!.. how convincingly they won it! :)

To join their promenade, along arrived Kajol, Juhi, Karishma, Saif, Ajay, Akshay. Ah! Big Bolly Blockbuster drought was over. Gone! Success stormed in not only from within nation, but woed overseas audience worldwide showed their enthusiasm too! Millions of hearts were taken, this time not just from my generation. Dads and moms were interested too! There came movies like 'Dil', 'QSQT', 'Hum hain rahi pyaar ke', 'Hum aapke hain kaun' , 'DDLJ', 'Dil tou pagal hai' , 'KKHH', 'Hum dil de chuke sanam'....... To admit the truth, Shahrukh won me over others. Probably he came in my life at the right age, right time and gave me the right exposure. This was when I was still in my fancyworld- the lalaland where every romantic story is hunky n dory and every girl waited for that guy like Shahrukh to come and paint her world colorful. 'Rahul!..naam tou suna hi hoga'.. made me and many like me wish upon the shooting stars! Not just Senorita or Simran, even parents believed him and Maya(Madhuri- my all time fav) when they said, 'Is duniya mein har kisi ke liye koi ek bana hai..aur ishara woh deta hai'! If you didn't want any complications in life, well you could just waive it all off saying 'itne bade bade sheheron mein aisi choti choti baatein hoti rahti hai, Senorita'. And yes, there arrived Bolly's Superstar! Not that I don't whistle while watching Sallu's mindless 'Wanted' and 'Dabangg'..or that Amitabh Bachchan's fad ever faded..and not that I don't appreciate Amir's much thought through work and the new talented ones like Hrithik Roshan, Farhaan Akhtar and Abhay Deol..but as I said..Its all about the timing and I tend to stay loyal! :)

Now that we talk about loyalty, I see mine towards Bolly never dying. I love our larger than life cinema that might make even a broadway musical look minuscule and lose its splendor if compared. I value the variety of aesthetics and emotions introduced by it, decade after another, for us to insinuate into the world full of colors, hues and imaginations. I enjoy as much of its randomness as its integration. It amazes me with its vividness and brilliance and cracks me up with its facetiousness. I acknowledge when it is comprehensive and thoughtful and I even like it when it is hindless and unmindful. For me, it is what it is. It is Bollywood and I am a huge FAN!

Cashew and Raisin

As far as my memory goes, I have always wanted pets. I love animals. My dad or even mom never wanted one, ever. They were not even ever moved by my numerous puppy-eyed pleads to get one puppy for me. A fine day & my dad's fine mood - that's all I would need to place myself finely in his lap, stretching over to touch his chin lightly and say , "Papa, I want a puppy." Sometimes, I would influence my sister and get her involved too. He wouldn't budge. His history with pets, especially dogs had left him convinced to not get one, ever again.

I had to put my persuasions on guard one not-so-fine a day when I was up to the same emotional bantering to induce my dad to give in. It started when dad came home one evening and gave us a news that one of his friends was offering to sell his Labrador to us since he was going to be traveling soon for many months and couldn't take his pet along... "Dad, I think we should buy it. I'm serious. I mean there are so many thefts around, see today's newspaper also carried the news of this old couple attacked by these thieves..bla bla". And my dad waived his hand to show he wasn't interested. So as I tried hopelessly to grab his interest, my excitement peaked and I went a decibel or two up while saying, "Don't you think Mom, Guddu and I need a good big dog around the house to keep a watch..". And in the middle of my sentence which was going to finish something like "..when you are on the ship"; my dad quipped,"So who could be better than ME- a big dog around the house to keep a watch!". I was so in the flow of my debate and quite eager to put across my whole point that I completely shunned away what he had just said and went something like, "Ya ya, you're fine..BUT I mean a real dog too, that....." Halfway, I chewed back my words and looked guiltily at my dad. Few seconds of silence and his stare- I swear I never felt more sorry for not being a good listener and being such a chatterbox. Till date to my embarrassment, he would mention it jokingly to our guests on how once I almost made him a Labrador. I wish I could tell him how unpleasant the sarcastic humor is to me!

Recently, almost after 15 years of the incident, I tried adopting one. Per the restrictions in pet policies of the apartment society I live in, I couldn't get a dog. I decided against birds as my roommate had couple of budgies and however beautiful, birds are quite a pro at creating a mess and what not by the end of a day, everyday. So I concluded that as a beginner, I should get a low maintenance pet, and what better than a fish. Goldfish is what instantly came to my mind for they catch my eye every time I am in an aquarium - I find them beautiful! I emphasize on the word 'beautiful' as I am finally a parent of such two- I have named them Cashew and Raisin.

I have seen them grow everyday. I have seen them learning to maneuver
around in their new tank(read ' their new home'). I saw them curiously exploring their surroundings- tumbling over air bubbles by mistake and gliding back gleefully to their newly found game. I saw them swirling around the vacuum cleaner whenever I would be cleaning to catch those one or two food flakes they had missed earlier. I saw them sluggishly lying at the bottom on the rocks when it would be cold or cloudy to just silently point out to me I need to pay attention. I saw them rushing to the top to kiss the tip of my finger when immersed in water thinking it was a food flake and then rushing down even faster on realizing they'd been tricked. I remember when they pooped for the first time in the tank and panic struck how we googled- 'what is the red thing coming out of my goldfish?'. I remember them shivering in shock for a full day when for the very first time I cleaned their tank and remember how the duration of their shock abated and actually became a fun activity for them with every session. Till date, I see them staring back at me in stillness when I sit and stare at them. I see them looking hard at me through water and glass as if trying to read my mind when I sit looking at them but actually am lost in my thoughts. And every now and then, if I haven't gone crazy yet- I see them blowing a kiss at me if I look sad to them - could actually be that they are just breathing air in but the timing is so sweet that I blow a kiss back. And yes, I see them smiling at me coming together and then going away from each other to see which one will I chase with my finger.

Since I adopted Cashew and Raisin, I have been researching on how to take care of them but as it seems, while I live and move around them- concerned once in a while if they are alright- they are at the top of this game- silently and mutely, somehow they've been taking a better care of me. How I would love to add more pets to my family. A dog would definitely be the next! :)

An episode from the past..

This is hilarious!

Little Falls (which used to be my home on weekdays in the first year of my service while I worked at ACS-Xerox), had unfortunately only 1 cab company that provided the local service in and around the area. All other companies, as I called and was told, do only NJ-Airport or NJ-NY.
This lady I called everyday to send me a 8:50 A.M. cab had been getting me late by half an hour for 2 days.
1st Day:
She politely said in her Mexican accent, "Honey, I don't have no cab for you before 9:30A.M."
This was when I had called at 7:50 A.M. That got me stirring, up and awake google-ing for other cab companies in the area. I started dialing numbers for the only few but different companies I saw enlisted.
Dial 1: "We don't do locals."
Dial 2: "Honey, you called me again. I don't have any cab available before 9:30 A.M."
Dial 3: "Sorry, We are a limo service to the airports. Call West Patterson cab service."
Dial 4: "Honey, its me again!" (me:Ou! am very sorry!)
Message 5: Hey Scott, coming to office? I need a ride. Thanks.
Dial 6: "Haanniii, you calling the wrong number again and again. Its mee! I told you no cab before 9:30 A.M. You understand?"
I: "eh..I do. Can I get a cab for 9:30 A.M. atleast...eh....please?"
(Just so that you all know I wasn't dialing the same number again and again. Google had this company with 4 different names and each one had even-distinctive-to-a-blind-eye phone numbers!)
And so I got a cab at 9:30 A.M.

2nd Day:
I called at 7:30 A.M to get a cab for 8:50 A.M.
And she said, "OK honey. But the cab might be running 10 minute late. OK?"And I think to myself-'Not bad' and say 'OK'.
I am all set to leave the house at 9:00 A.M but no sign of the cab. So I dial again.
Lady: "Honey, he be there in 20 minutes, OK?"I (very politely): 'OK! ......err..but I just want to know why is it that suddenly and recently I don't get a cab on time anymore?'Lady: "..because my cab drivers all busy with other customers."I : 'Alright, but I called at 7:30 A.M. to book a cab. When do you think I should call, at 6:00?'Lady: "Haaaniiiii, I can't help you even if you call at 6:00 or a day before. I can't lose business of a customer going to the airport paying $50 for your local 12 bucks. If that customer calls, I can't leave him for you. You understand?"I: "But..err.. I am regul-"
Lady: "I know haaaniii, I send cab for you all the time. Next time, I tell you at 7:30 itself that the cab will be late! Ok? or I will straight away tell you we have no cab. OK?"
I: "Hmnn..that's not fair!.. I think the cab is here. Can I call you later?"
Lady: "OK" (and hung up abruptly)
--
So you can understand how frustrated I would have been as the cab pulled away from my doorsteps after picking me up. This cab driver had often picked/dropped me earlier and had always seemed distinguishably decent as compared to his peers. Almost 40-45 year old, salt and pepper hair, well ironed shirt, good English and good air about him. I might seem partial but I liked him for he would never ask for that extra $5 for one mid-way stop that I usually took forATM to get some cash (How I dislike 'Cash-only' systems!). As I sat and settled my stuff in the car:
Driver: "Good morning."
I: "It isn't that good a morning for me but thanks." (I mumbled..)
Driver: --
I (mumbling mostly): " I would again be late in my meeting today. I don't know why you guys suddenly have no cabs for me."
Driver (confused): "Was there a problem?"
I (pouncing on a chance to vent out): "Since two days, there have been no cabs available for 9:00 AM or before. This is when I call at 7:30 A.M. I can't even get another cab as your company has monopolized Little Falls!"
Driver: " Maybe if you call a day in advance to book a cab- that might help."
I: "..which I'm ready to! But this lady on phone tells me even that wouldn't help. Because she said 'I can't lose business of a customer going to the airport....bla bla yada yada..'!!
Driver (blankly) : hmnn
I: " I think this lady is not calculating right. I am a regular customer you know. You have picked me up every other day right? Everyday I pay almost $25 and if she would sum that up over a month's time, its much more than $50 from a random airport going customer she gets once in a while. She's just not being unfair to me but to her own business as well!"
Driver : 'Well, I will try and talk to her.'
and while he said this, I thought to myself, 'Ya right! I bet she would hate me more and I will never get another cab if she hears that I've been venting to random drivers about her!'
So I say, 'Thanks!.. but no need! I think I will be fine. Just pull over on the 3rd level parking."
--

In the evening, I call the same cab company at 3:00PM to have someone pick me up at 5:00PM. I got a cherry Chevy cab with this another nice cab driver that I knew. Like always he asked me how my day was and I just started telling him how it started off with a hitch but went by all fine. He then asked if I was the one who complained in the morning about the receptionist. Well right, what a network amongst drivers too. News travels faster than light! I quipped that I just happened to mention about it to this morning cab driver. My cabbie smirked at me in the rear view mirror and said, 'Ya, that's our cab company owner you spoke to!'

I: !!!.. 'What?' (imagine my expressions!)

Cabbie: 'Yes, that lady got a warning after you complained to be nice to customers and to send you a cab without delay if you call!'

LOL!

I(resisting hard to hide my smile and surprise): 'Oh, I didn't know he was the company owner....'

Cabbie: 'Yes, he started as a driver. Then he buy big cars in good deals and start his own company. Very nice guy and his company is so big you know, he still drives. I have been with him for 17 years and tell him always to relax but he doesn't stop. Very hardworking and he loves his job. If somebody tell him something, he makes sure customer like the company.'

On a li'l serious note: However cracked up his English might seem, he conveyed more in his message than he knew. I thankfully learnt that the lady wasn't fired; honeyyy.. she was just warned (How satisfying that news was!). I found out who the company owner was and made sure I stored his number when he next drove me to my office. I never got a delayed cab afterwards and however small this guy's success story is, it inspired me. Its not everyday that you come to admiring a cab company owner or a cabbie. But whatever motivation I could derive from this small business owner who-as was revealed- was hardworking and earned money pursuing his passion, I did. Not everyday you meet people who have found their dream jobs! :)