Deceiving Samosas

Once upon a time, in our suburban Philly area, there was only one Indian grocery store. But today within a driving distance of 5 miles, we can find at least 5 or 6 Indian stores.

These stores mostly keep Samosas next to the front counter. This is a difficult temptation for me to resist. If you give me the choice of a chocolate cake and a samosa, I will pick samosas any day. Spicy tangy items win over stupid sweet dishes. Except for cheesecake - the only non-desi dessert to which I cannot say No. I am digressing.

This fried item (fried in how many days old oil...hmm..we should not go that route) is more tempting when I am hungry and happened to enter the shop in such a state. Last week was one such occasion and a fresh tray of samosas arrived just then. I asked the shop keeper - "fresh hai kya" and he said "yes, madam". I said - "Pack 2 of those" considering the fact that B hates samosas and I have only been criticized for showing so much love buying extra ones for him.

After putting all purchased groceries in the trunk of the car, I carefully took out the samosa packet from the lot and put it on the passenger seat. I drove to the next stop which was an American grocery store , parked there and decided to eat one samosa. After all they should be savored when they are hot!

One bite and I almost broke the teeth. The samosa was super cold. It looked like the world's most beautiful samosa, but the outer coating was very hard. It was obviously taken out of a fridge just now. When I saw the tray of samosas being delivered in front of my eyes, I assumed they will be hot. I should have learnt my lesson from my previous such experiences.

How many ever shops they may open, the samosas are always cold. The filling is never great. When a mass order of samosas is catered, it is again disappointing to see the poor quality. This post is dedicated to Poor me who still forgets these lessons and keeps buying them with hope!

TO DO List and OCD

I have seen people who are obsessed about cleaning. So much to the extent of neglecting their lives. Wikipedia says OCD means: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCD

I am definitely not like that. But I have an obsession now which I am beginning to doubt is leaning toward an OCD state. It is THINGS TO DO! It seems to me like life is mainly comprised of things to do. My mind revolves around the calender to begin with.

Oh, tomorrow, there is a dentist appointment for Son1. Evening he has to go to Activity A. Then get home to finish homework to return to school. Son1, his school, activities and home works can hog my mind like anything.

BTW, on Sunday, there is a birthday party we have to go to. When do we purchase the birthday gift? Make a note of that task.

What about finding a preschool for Son2? There are 4 or 5 choices and now I worry about going to each place and checking out which is good.

As I accomplish a task, I mentally draw a check mark. Wow..that is pure satisfaction that one experiences. But sometimes, it is all overwhelming. Worrying about one thing to do, then next, then next. Worried about whether not being prepared for an event/day will drive us all nuts in the last minute. The only thing that is left to do in life - is worry about the NEXT THING TO DO! I have to remind myself to take it easy - but I am striving hard to be the perfect mom, wife and perfect person who is always taking care of her tasks in a proper way!

Next thing I am planning to do is to take a day off and relax. Oh boy! There I go again!

Jab We (Bloggers) Met!

Have you seen Kaathal Kottai? The movie in which Ajith and Devyani communicate through letters for a while and don't seen each other till the last scene. I could exactly imagine the 'dhak-dhak' that Devyani must have gone through when she set out to meet Ajith. Well, not exactly, in that sense, but somewhat close.

Laksh, UL and myself decided to meet each other with our families at my place on Sunday. We have been keeping in touch with each other through our blogs for the past year.
I have met Laksh before and I knew how the conversation will go. Laksh and UL are close friends from before. But I was meeting UL for the first time. And we three were meeting together for the first time. My thoughts revolved around which launguage will I be speaking - since it will be a mix of Tamil and Malayalam in the group when we meet. I have a mental picture of UL from her blog and her comments to my post. Will her real self match my mental picture? Can I be just myself or should I start with being polite, nice and cute (can I manage that?)

Here the door bell rings. UL and family arrives. We start in Malayalam. We talk of Mallu friends we have, trying to find common folks we know. Laksh and family arrives. I chat with her in Tamil. Before I knew, we were all comfortably chatting, cracking jokes and the husbands were laughing aloud.

When they left, I could feel how Devyani must have felt at the end - peaceful, happy and GLAD that we MET. GLAD THAT WE MET ONLINE!

P.S. Suman and Shy, we missed you!

Pizza talk

Ordering pizza and getting what you expected is really a matter of luck. So says my experience over the years! And I am supposed to be in charge of ordering them always. And something always happens that, in the end, I feel responsible for the goof up!

Couple of years back, we used to have a Donatos Pizza which served a unique Pizza called 'Mariachi'. I was a great fan of that spicy pizza and when I was pregnant, I used to go there super hungry and order that!

Ordering a 'veggie Mariachi' pizza only made them put veggies on top of a Mariachi pizza loaded with meat. When I opened the pizza box, I was disappointed and I returned it and I explained the requirement. And here comes another goofed up pizza as a result. The requirements were not understood right once again! Finally the third try worked. The shop ended up giving as 3 pizza pies to take home! B benefitted from the meat pizzas that we got as a gift!

From then onwards, I learnt to specifically name all the veggies I want as toppings, mention 'No meat' and then say 'add Mariachi spice on top of it'. Lesson learnt!

Anytime, we ordered over the phone, the instructions were misunderstood and something was bound to surprise or shock us. Yesterday something similar happened.

I called Dominoes and had a conversation about what deals they have. The talk fluctuated from medium to large pizzas with and without toppings. I swear I ordered 2 mediums and I put the phone down. The total he mentioned flashed in my mind and I said - this cannot be right, I bet they have 3 large pizzas in the order after all the talks. I called them back to find out, yep, that was what they had put in. I patted my own back on catching this at the right time. I fixed the order back to what I wanted. Phew!

Any interesting experiences from your side?

Time for myself

Morning goes by making breakfast and making sure kids eat. Day goes by driving to work, work and driving back home. Evening time flies by with dinner and homework and Kumon with Nikhil. In between, there are tiny snippets of fun time with Nithin's pranks and him surprising us with newly learnt words (yesterday he said, correction - a term we use a lot with Nikhil's Kumon work and 'spelling test' pointing to Nikhil's weekly spelling sheet.). If there are more snippets of free time, loading/unloading dishwasher or folding laundry clothes eats them up.

I have been longing to do something for myself - I think of watching a very good movie! I think of picking up my old movie song jot down book and sing aloud! I think of picking up 'Oru Deshathinte Katha' - the Malayalam novel I brought from India and read it. I think of uploading those pictures which friends have been asking for, forever. I think of giving the elliptical a workout! Before I know, my mind wanders into the TODO list again, deviating from the quest for fun to the satisfaction of getting things done. It is always a battle between productive work and relaxation - when you go for relaxation, work piles up and stares at you - 'How could you..?'

And there at bed time, kids want me to lie down with them. Nikhil says it in words and Nithin too, in his own way and his cries. So here I lie down with both kids hugging me from both sides (should confess I love that!) - there is another battle going on at that point. My mind is fully awake and wants to do the things I listed above. My body weakens with each moment. I start yawning in a minute. We have some serious talks about life - Nikhil and me. He shares a secret or two occasionally. And soon he says, 'I want to sleep. No more talking'.

He is fast asleep - while Nithin takes some more time. Each minute in the bed weakens my determination to get up! After all, I am doing B a great favor by putting the kids to bed so he can study peacefully! And every night, I pass one moment where I know both the kids are now asleep, and I am slowly sinking into sleep. I know that if I get up that moment, I can probably enjoy some quiet time with my books/TV. I remember thinking of all this and I am already zzzzz..!

So, what you see in the picture is what I want now!
Tell me what is it that you like to do - to get that feeling that you took care of your mind?

Rental Car experience

Last weekend, I went away from home to stay with a set of family friends leaving B alone. Me and Kids went with another family to NJ, spent the night there and returned back Sunday evening. This is the best gift I could give B - since he I know he would love to have the home in solitude and peace, so he can study for his upcoming test. All went well and here I come back on Sunday evening realizing that the next morning, I have to leave my vehicle for repair and take the rental car.

Little changes like these make me nervous - I worry about what if the rental car does not start up when I try to start it, what if the controls don't behave the way I expect them to, and before that...what if I cannot figure out where each control is etc. I was on my own, since B has to drop the kids off and go to work. I got the rental car and I sat inside - telling myself "it is only 3 days the repair will take, it should fly away"!

The next 20 minutes I took to get accustomed with the vehicle - contemplating on whether I should drive 40 min to work in this new car or not. I drove slowly in my area - the cold air would not stop, my feet were freezing, I pressed some buttons , hmm..no luck. OK, indicators work fine. It was a brand new all white BUICK LUCERNE. There could be nothing wrong with the car, but that itself made me nervous. It was like wearing a costly silk saree and not being able to enjoy it! The worry of harming the silk threads and tearing them off would prevent one from moving around freely!

My Camry is black with a dust coat on it (!), which I felt so comfortable squeezing into the narrow right turn lane even when a huge van stood to my left! I knew mine would squeeze in..but this new car, I can't take any risks with it!! As such, the rental company guy warned about the case when something happens to the car when I am driving it. 'Apashakunama pesathe da' - I felt like telling him ( meaning 'dont jinx it, man'!).

Day 2:
Next day, was my WAH day (work at home!), so I escaped from driving till evening kids-pick-up time.

Evening, I was kind of looking forward to driving it. The drive was smooth and by now, I had a feel for the car's size and I got used to driving it. When I unlocked the car from afar and it was getting dark, I was amused to see the headlights light up. Ithu kollalo! Little things I discovered made me appreciate the car!

Day 3:
Around evening, I got a call from the Auto Body shop that my Camry is ready for pick up.
I started at around 4 hoping to make the whole journey smooth and tension free. I looked for my sun glasses when I entered into the car. I had left it in the compartment to the right of the driver's seat. Where has it gone? I fished for deep into the compartment. I remember leaving it on a flat surface though. Hee..Hee..there was flat portion on the top of this compartment where I left my sunglasses and it had got joined with lid - so now I could hear the glasses move around within it, but could not see it. Oh God, how am I supposed to drive in the sun glare now? After shaking the top of the compartment like a mad girl (I know, you are asking, LIKE?) for 5 minutes, I looked calmly and found a way to open the latch...hurray..got the kannadi..what next now!

Oh, I need to fill gas to make it equal to 3/4 the total capacity - the way it was handed to me.
Of course, what I dreaded most happened. At the gas station, I opened the tiny door to the fueling portion (what do you call it! I don't know now!), but could not figure out how to open the knob. Again after 3 minutes of trying, I sought help from a gentleman who was fuelling his car. I was reminded so much of India where you could always find someone to help you out - where ever you go, you are not alone and it is so normal to approach people for help in public places!

The gentleman was nice and he did find out the way to open it after with it. OK, filled the gas, stopped it, checked the indicator, hmm, not enough..filled more and oops..overfilled it..well,. Whatever! As I drove to the rental place, I was worried about them closing the shop and going. I would be left stranded there coz I wont have a ride to my auto body shop. Thank God, I made it to the shop and returned the car.

The guy at the rental, talked like a recorded rebot. He drove me back to the Auto body shop talking to me about the sunny weather and asking me about how my car landed there etc. For my jokes, he laughed like a robot too. Was reminded of the airport ticketing officer girl who types non stop and smiles/talks like a machine in the movie 'Meet the Family'.

Signed the papers and paid the bill and got back the keys. When I opened the trunk of my Camry, and put my laptop bag in, I felt I was HOME. When I drove back home, I felt like that car is an extension of my body. I dont know if others are like me, I find comfort so much in the things I am used to. Well, there ends the story...thanks for driving with me..TATA!

Fun of sharing!

This post started as something else and morphed into what it is now. No, I am not talking about "sharing toys" that we preach to preschoolers. I am talking about the fun that we get in sharing and enjoying any form of art with someone.

Even as a school goer, my mind would be set on listening to songs from the movie I have watched recently. I enjoy doing that now also.I spent sometime yesterday evening in front of youtube. Kids and I enjoyed watching all songs from Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and Dasavathaaram - two movies whose songs have been playing now in our car. Watching it together with kids was a lot of fun.

Wanted to share some Malloo links that I am enjoying reading and laughing out loud.
Kodakarapuranam
Motham Chillara

I miss reading these aloud with my school mate S. When I read them, I was reminded of the good old school days when S would bring a comical article or book in Malayalam and we would Read it Out Aloud and laugh during lunch time. Not to forget the poetry we read and enjoyed (some our own) - that made us both feel like intellectuals (buddhi jeevis as we call in Malayalam!).

I was also reminded of the times when my Appa would read aloud the Backiam Ramasamy or Cho or Marina books and we would laugh out loudly. Somethings can only be shared with some people and it is hard to find a replacement for those people.

Now both S and Appa are in India and I can't really relive those times. Sigh!

That brings to memory all the S.Ve.Shekar's dramas I have listened in younger days. Whenever my cousin brother or any close relative comes home who is likely to enjoy it, my mind would be debating on which one to play and we can all enjoy listening to the drama together and laugh out aloud.

Another thing I really enjoy is watching "Akkarakkazhchakal" with B in youtube. The fun is doubled when there is someone who shares the same wavelength. Having such friendships/rapport is a blessing, right! I am also wondering at this moment - how many such new relations I developed after college years - very few!

Ok, end of sentimental blabbering session! All of you enjoy your weekend!

Akkarakazhchakal

It is tough to spell it in English, but once you learn to do it, you can enjoy this really funny Malayalam serial in Youtube. The title means the 'sights on the other side of the river'. It is telecast every Sunday on Kairali TV in India, showing the people in the Des how life is in the US, in a humorous way.

The serial paints a truly realistic picture of an average Malayali Christian family in the United States. Any average Indian living in the US can identify with the main character called George Thekkummoottil who owns an insurance business of his own and his wife a Nerse (nurse in Malloo way!). I burst out with laughter many times with the dialogues, coz they are so true and funny. I wait for it to come to youtube on every Tuesday. Somethings to expect from life and adding fun to it.

Of course, now I have the concern how long can they sustain the interest and pick juicy themes.Like all good things that lose their charm one day, the inevitable is going to happen.

Reminds me of waiting for the Super 10 Parody program in SUN TV every week. Every episode's every dialogue was juicy and full of humor. They were not afraid to ridicule any Super Star and mock even the most sentimental scene in a movie. But it lost its charm, the actors crew disintegrated and went to different channels, and the program is not funny anymore.

Scared that some day that might happen to Akkarakkazhchakal!
But as long as the quality lasts, let us enjoy it.

All the actors do a great job! They live the characters, to say the least.

I am just putting the link to a Random episode of Akkarakkazhchakal here. But it is a treat to watch each episode in order. Anyone who can understand Malayalam and is living in US, should not miss it for the fun of it.

Aunty, eh!

After I crossed 30, my mental age has not changed much. I still think of me as the same old person ( note this usage of 'old' does not pertain to age!). Also, whomever I talk to who looks like my age, I assume she is my own age. If I can communicate to someone in the same wave length as mine, I assume they are my own age!This has given me some interesting shocks!

I still think of me as a fresh graduate from College! But somewhere down the lane, I never realized that what people perceive in me is much different from my mental image of myself!

Being the mother of two kids, people have promoted me from 'chechi' or 'akka' to 'aunty'!Last weekend, we attended a wedding. There was this girl I met in the women's room and she was feeding her infant. She had an older kid who is my second one's age. She called me 'aunty'! I am like - you have 2 kids and I too have 2 kids...what makes me more of an aunty! Of course, I did not say that to her. I smiled and came back.

The converse is also true - I think of Mr.X as 'uncle' assuming he is close to 40 (or at least 6-8 years older from me). I am still holding on to the mental image of 'uncle figure' from years back!
But when I know their real age, I am so shocked, I am only 1 or 2 years younger to the 'uncle'. So he is not so much of an uncle. But I have become more of an aunty!

To top it all, last year, I recall someone called from our church and they were asking for some contribution. They just addressed me 'Ammachi' right away! The person who spoke thought that he has got his name into the good books of the eldest member of the family - or at least that was his idea. You are not going get a penny out of my pocket if you do that! Do I sound like Kaviyoor Ponnamma or Manorama! (Now that is a rhetorical question! Shh..!)

Nevertheless, I would like to hang on to this mental feeling of age. It helps me to relate to younger people's feelings and understand them better. It helps me be approachable in case of problems. I prefer to be shocked like this once in a while..but I will hold on to my youth!

Adventurous dinner

After work, I went to pick up Nikhil and Nithin from the baby sitter's place. It was time to take him swimming again. Life has changed all of a sudden so much. Up until last week, I had the luxury of not having to worry about managing the younger one when the older one goes to an activity. But now I am alone with 2 kids till B comes back from Kuwait tomorrow.

I know , you guys are going, thank God, she will have to stop this 'alone with 2 kids' dialogue at least tomorrow! Ha Ha Ha! I think I am enjoying all the sympathy and attention I am getting from people for this reason!

Back to the story! It was a new instructor, a giant man, who looked to me exactly like the genie who appeared when Aladdin rubbed his lamp. He snubbed at me when I went to him with my usual 'please deal with my kid like this..' and told me 'lesser said the better'. Having convinced my son who watched me from far away, that I DID warn the instructor about not letting him under water too much, and feeling sheepish, I waited with Nithin on my lap. The class really went very well. The old man knew his way to work with kids.

The class was over and I was super hungry when we started our ride back. I was tempted to go to my favorite restaurant (Devi vegetarian) for dinner. I asked myself.
"Am I crazy venturing to go to a restaurant all alone with these 2 kids?".
The younger one I know would play with the water on the table, try not to sit in the high chair and for all you know, when I get my food in front of me, who knows if I can even eat once piece peacefully! I know B would not dare to take them.

On one side, was this fear. On the other side, were my hunger and the "yummy-veggie-South-Indian-food" thoughts.

I looked to Nikhil for some courage.

I tried to entice him. "Nikhil, do you want to eat pooris"
He replied quickly : "Yes, yes, yummy"

That was it. I will deal with the problem when it comes. There are 2 people now in the car wanting to eat out.I am going to Devi. Period.

We parked a bit far and walked when the wind almost blew us down. It was cold and so windy.
I kept my fingers crossed. We placed our order and the food came.
Contrary from usual, Nithin also did some good job with the food. Nikhil ate his pooris as a good boy. I ordered a dosa which was served in an oval plate as big as new born baby! Everything was good. And I thought 'everything is going so well. Ek coffee order karne ki gusthaakhi karoon? '
And I did. Nikhil got his usual mango lassi.

We left the place contented and not stressed out. Mission accomplished. Thank God for the adventure well done!

Dance and me

Yesterday, when I went to my new GYM (no, the Gym is not new, it is me that is new to it!) to attend my first aerobics class there. I was taken aback to hear that the class for the evening has been changed to Latin Dance Class! Nevertheless, I decided to try it. If it is too much for me, I can always run away in the middle of the class faking some urgency to get somewhere!

It was not bad. The lady coach was very cheerful, energetic and she looked so good dancing! Every girl in the hall seemed to do well. I liked the exercise part of it and got some work out - but I wish if I could 'dance' like them. Dance is not just imitating the steps, I can do that, but the grace and the lachak (Hindi term!) has to be congenital.

Here is my dance history!

When I was in primary school, we had the dance class as part of the school curriculum and it was the same song every week. My dad till date remembers that song 'Velli mala thazhathu..maanathu' and we burst out laughing even today. Then in middle school, I remember I practiced in the Thiruvaathira team for school day celebration. Thiruvathira is a Kerala group dance for girls. When the day neared, the teachers moved me from the dance team to the team that sings for it! Was it because I was a better singer, than a dancer? Obviously. Dad and mom kept teasing me for being removed from the dance team!!

I did successfully dress up and take part in Thiruvathira in high school. Probably they needed me for making the count!

When I started working, it was the official parties that killed me. The company hosted parties where there was music and dance.Those had me hide behind the pillars in a chair and take a sneak peek at the bold guys/gals who danced. I was always the one who will get pulled for being a slacker - 'come here and dance, you cant sit there!'.I enjoyed watching people who danced, but never dared to be in that group.

Dancing as a couple - oh God, I dread those too. When you are dressed in suit/dress, with those fancy shoes, I cannot bring myself to swing and sway. I don't think he is big on it either, so we did not have a problem. But I think it would be good to go train for a formal couple dance once in our life!

Recently, it has become a norm at some parties to dance. Here is my logic now - I can dance if the group of friends I am with are really close to me. I can get rid of the inhibitions and do whatever I do coz I know they will accept me as I am. I can also dance if I dont really know them all very well and it does not matter what they think of me. The easiest thing to do is to stand in the floor and clap. I get away with doing that for some time.

I am still fighting the inhibitions and am not 100% comfortable at the thought of dancing in the parties. It does not matter how you look when you dance (especially when the crowd around is half drunk), it is about how happy you are! I realize that all that matters is having fun. I am trying to do more of that.