Week 12 of Quarantine - The Illusion

When you are in the cold claws of winter, it almost seems hard to believe that warmer days will be here. You keep waiting and waiting for the freedom from the jackets and sweaters. The slightest bit of warmth or sunlight is like a boon and I would adjust my work schedule to step out for my daily walk to catch a little bit of the sunshine.

Now, we are officially in summer. What a relief from the suffocation of quarantine added to the winter agony! It almost is misleading. It created an illusion that corona virus does not exist anymore. As we walk in our neighborhood, initial signs of driveway get-togethers was a shock. How are these people able to do this? Are they not afraid of the consequences? I used to wonder. 

I guess people are tired of waiting for months for the freedom to breathe outside and starving to have some human conversations and meet-ups with friends. 

We are slowly becoming comfortable with breaking the lockdown restrictions we religiously followed in the first few weeks of quarantine. Going out to a park and hanging out with some friends sitting far apart became ok. It was nice to finally meet folks and talk. A part of me was still worried, but I hear that if you are outside, we should be ok.

The excitement phase of trying to cook new dishes has faded now. It was a cooking marathon of dishes we never would make - now it has come to the normal routine with occasional desire for new trials. 

The restricted feeling of making-do with the grocery you had is not there anymore. I can just wear a mask and go to a store to get an ingredient, if I want it badly.

Today our county moves to 'yellow' phase. We are all afraid of increased number of cases in the coming weeks. Hope things stay in control and we can be relieved of this menace soon!

Week 6 of Quarantine

Quarantine Week 6 is rolling. Will we get used to this as a permanent thing?

Other moms are complaining about how they are overwhelmed by school work help they have to provide their kids. From what I hear, the struggle is more for parents of elementary school. They never had a online learning concept or system in place. So it is a major struggle to devise such methods now.

My boys are thankfully older and more independent. I cannot complain much about them troubling me with help for zoom calls or  school assignments. I wonder if what I am doing is good enough as a good mom.

I start off the day with breakfast and shower and the morning office calls. In between hours of work, if I were in the office, I would have stopped by a colleague's desk for a chit-chat. On the way to the restroom or back, I would have exchanged some small talk with someone, complimented them for their outfit or shoes and or made some ad-hoc lunch plans. Not any more.

Tired of sitting at my desk and typing, I walk around craving for a chat. I enter the room of my 8th grader teenager and he says - "mom, can you go out, I am in a zone with my home work. Don't distract me".

I open the door of freshman-in-college room and he is obviously in a zoom call. I flee from there hoping to chat a little with my husband if he is not on an office call. He too seems to be on a call and I wave at him and walk away,

Before it is too late in the night for my dad in India, I call him. These talks give me the confidence that he is doing good and can comment about movies, whatsapp jokes that are relevant to current situation. This gives me peace that I can go about my rest of the day and night. There is always a fear and worry in the back of the mind still.

It is all about food prep and food to make. When there is time at hand, we head to the kitchen to make something. It has been a good opportunity to try out dishes we never had the time to make. Lot more time at hand for preparing ingredients that will come in handy for cooking,

Here too, I cannot complain that I am the sole chef at home. There is a partnership in place, my husband cooks too,  and the boys have all been very co-operative.

• Apart from emptying dishwasher which they used to after we nag, now we have them help us furthermore in the kitchen. Like cleanup after dinner or lunch. Putting dirty dishes away (yuck...) and loading dishwasher or wiping clean dishes. 

• They like to jump in to the kitchen and bake occasionally. Both boys worked together (argued and fought too in the process) and made their first ever pound cake from scratch and converted it to a pineapple upside down cake. I am impressed.

• Boy 2 helped peel  a whole stalk of garlic in exchange for a fast food meal he has been craving for 5 weeks. And I caved ..!

• We have been playing carroms and it is a series of tournaments going on. We all have improved the skills a lot. First time in my life, I impressed my Boy2 with any kid of game/sports skills. I am so happy for that.

Still, there is a certain thing about routine that needs to be broken. It makes us stick to the same things every day - and there are areas of focus needed around cleaning/organizing closets etc which don't fall into this routine.

So far so good.

Week 4 of Quarantine

Today is Apr 8, 2020. We are living in an era where somethings never imagined are happening. Like me blogging again :-)

Three and a half weeks of quarantine period have passed by. 

Only thing that can guarantee to put a smile on our faces is nature. Sunshine during the day as opposed to gloomy clouds are THE ONLY thing that will make me happy. That means, I can step out for a walk. Gone are the days when I would ask to go out for a dinner with the family or dream of going on a long drive. All I ask for is a sunny day so I can walk. Even while walking, I think of those friends who have not stepped outside home to avoid the risk of contacting the virus from the air. I wonder if I am safe by doing this.

This walk is so very needed after the hours of sitting on the desk and typing. The stiff neck longs for some movement and what is better than a nice walk outside.

We have been blessed with some better weather days. Morning times, the bird sounds come as a realization that some other system is going on as usual even though human lives have come to a standstill. Added to the sunny surprise, is the view of the spring blooms on the trees. Some are waiting to bloom and these buds promise a better tomorrow. It is good to see nature going on its planned course as we transition from winter into spring. This gives us hope for some day soon, summer will be here. There is also the hope that summer temperatures may help curbing the spread of COVID-19. 

P.S. After typing this positive post, later in the evening, I heard about the 21 year old Malayali boy who passed away suddenly due to COVID-19 and I was terribly moved and affected. At this point, I could not smile even with the sunshine and spring blooms.

Best week of the year 2015!

I have been contemplating this post for quite sometime now. As the year came to a close, I should pen my thoughts which have been floating in my mind about that particular week from last year.

The opportunity to perform the duties of an RJ on an Internet channel came as a possibility through a friend "AM" who happens to be a founding member of the Internet channel. I spoke to another founding member "PM" which I considered similar to an interview. It was a nice chat and I was asked to record a sample audio file and send across. I dragged that for couple of weeks.

It was not easy to record. What you have to say has to be thought out before hand and even scripted out clearly. Only then I could produce any audio without a stutter or pause. Finally I sent the recorded sample, which got okayed and I was given a go ahead. It was as thrilling as getting a new job. Except that it is all completely voluntary!

Then family and life got in the way.  Months rolled by with this thought in the back of my mind that I will someday 'may be' air a program of my own. Then it dawned on me that I have to take the first step towards it. The goal changed from putting out a perfect episode to just get a episode out.

I learnt that you have to embark on certain journeys without knowing about what all could happen on the way. I have to accept the fact that one cannot always be prepared completely for everything that might happen.

As PM said, I was ruining the fun in the journey by insisting that I should know in advance about what will happen at every step of it. So I came to terms with that fact that I will figure out what it takes to produce an episode of the show - one step at a time. And what a fun ride it was!

How true it is to say that you will always find time to do something that you enjoy doing. Also, the order of tasks to do becomes second nature when you figured it out. I figured it all out and as it was told to me, it just kept getting easier as each iteration happened. After the tiring job of cleaning up the kitchen after cooking, I managed to sit and write script for couple of songs. Little by little. I learnt that I have to complete the recording in one shot. That was a big time commitment - so I had to manage my time efficiently not to impact other important things in life.

So what do I love about this RJ role I play: I am the queen of my own world. I set the rules. I select the theme (of course, here I have to mention my partner in crime who has been a source of song ideas and encouragement to pursue something I have dreamt of. My classmate TP). I select the songs which have made an impact on me. I have to have a relation with that song, else I cannot do justice to writing the introduction to the song. Writing scripts was exercising the creative side of me. I love this part the most. Years have flown by me where I have not exercised my creative abilities for anything worthwhile.

So - coming to the best week of the year - it was a week in October where TT edited the files. I awaited eagerly to hear the first run of my program. All the bits and pieces I have recorded and given, how will they sound when edited into a stream? I was eager to find out.

That is when I found it out it already aired the previous day. Some miscommunication. The next run was going to be early morning 4AM. Can you imagine me getting up at an early hour of 3.45 AM to listen to my first program? Hubby dear was worn out with his voluntary work for church. So as he dozed off, I enjoyed the show with my friend (partner in crime mentioned earlier) and my Appa on whatsapp. I was so thrilled.

Next re run was on a Friday and I let each friend know. And what fun it was to know that people who are close to my heart are listening to it and letting me know that they are with me!

That surely was the best week of 2015!

Months later, for Xmas, my hubby dear gets me this new mic and we record and edit all at the same time! It is all a puzzle to begin with, it flows along and before we know it, the whole episode is ready!  Hoping for many more enjoyable creations in 2016!

2015 - Chugging along

OK, OK - it has been a good few years since I even tried to put a post here.
There are many posts that I drafted in my mind while I was driving to work when my head was ringing with so many thoughts and TO-DO items.

So the moment has come to type up what is going on here. I know a handful of people is all that would read this - who have given up checking any updates to this page years ago. But these handful are some I can trust to visit the page once I tell them - hey, I put a post in!

Life is moving along. My teenager will be 14 year old soon. I am already comfortably settled in the phase where the boys are pretty independent and can manage their studies and activities all perfectly. At least that is what I am thinking!

My boys do not want me anywhere near them when they are doing homework for fear of me yelling at them to write neatly or to write the steps for a math problem. I am not even close to trying to force my Indian educational skills into them. I think I should do some of it - but they cleverly escape from me or I escape from the rejection or failure of our advices being thrown out the door.

But they are doing good at school - so I will let them be independent for now!

Hey, I am taking a quick trip by myself to India to attend couple of weddings. I am excited and nervous at the same time. Will it be too short - will I be able to handle the jet lag which always bogs me down..usually worse when I am back in the US? Will it be too hot? All sorts of questions pop in my mind.

But one thing is sure. This will be the first Tamil wedding I will attend in 15 years after I came to the U.S. So I will cherish the fortune that lets me take this trip. I am thankful for my family and circumstances that are making it possible, And it is the wedding of the kid I carried in my arms - technically, probably the only other kid I carried other than my own. To admit the truth, I was never kid savvy. So these bride(s) are special to me and I wish them a wonderful life ahead. I will wish them in person.

Meanwhile, I am leaving the boys (all three) with my B's parents. I realize it will be hard for them to juggle things while I am gone. But I should be back in a jiffy. 1 week to go for my departure and I am yet to start any packing/shopping. I will take it easy this time - coz it will be my trip alone. Hmm..I know you envious girl friends...your time will come too..don't worry!

In love with Manhattan..

It has been two consecutive weeks since we have been visiting Manhattan. Last week, A and A took us there - Mr.A cruising through those Streets and Avenues gave us a tour of all those eateries to be visited and landmarks to checkout when we come back. The one evening with them there was a fun prelude to what was to follow the next week.

We parked in Trenton for overnight parking and took the train.

B and I booked two nights in a hotel right on Times Square. Did not expect a luxurious stay but wanted to be close to the hustle-bustle. Got just that. We checked in to the hotel and stepped out. We took a stroll around and found ourselves in the Rockefeller center. We called to India to speak with the kids and chatted with them. After a round of appetizer in an American place, we were walking. An hour later seeing this Desi restaurant, we felt it is time to have something Indian. Dinner there and then walked back to the hotel to crash.

When we step out in the morning, there you are - you can see the city on the move! And you have this amazing feeling that you are part of the happening place and you cannot afford to sleep in a hotel room anymore. It is time to start moving!

Breakfast is no other place than Saravana Bhavan in Lexington Ave. Which other place is open at 8.30 AM to offer you food close to home? We enjoyed the South Indian food and took a cab to Central Park.

Central Park was amazing - the more we walked and we looked in the map - we figured we still have so much more to explore. Every direction you turn there is a fountain or some nice scenery. Groups of friends playing volleyball and stuff. Parents walking behind kids running away from them. Canadian anniversary celebration. The Lake. The Cubbon Park style grass meadows with couples here and there. The bikers made me regret I came unprepared to rent a bike and roll! Some other time..

The next stop was the Broadway Show. Thanks to A who recommended 'The Phantom of the Opera'. The story line as well as the rendition was captivating. B fell in love with it. I liked it but I guess it was my nap time.Ever paid money for an excellent show and fought with your eyes to keep yourself awake? May be I was too tired from the wandering around so much. The Phantom's character made an impression in my mind.

I had made reservation at Vatan Restautant. I learnt a new term - Prix Fixe menu. It was Gujarati food - bit pricey but I had heard so much about it that I had decided to explore the place. Great ambience and the setup of a village is nice.It was a good experience. I had read so many bad reviews about their service - but it was really nice in our experience.

The next morning, B insisted we go to Saravana Bhavan again - usually it is me who wants to go there, but this time it was him. Then was the adventure ride in Subway to Financial District. There was a moment when we stood in the hot and humid subway station that I thought we are completely lost. But we made it. Lots of things to figure out when you ride subway the first time - but we reached where we wanted to. We were thrilled to get the first glimpse of Freedom Tower. We saw the Bowling Green Bull which we had visited 13 years back with a friend's family. Roamed around more and eventually my feet were extremely sore. Then we took a train to Grand Central Station and were wowed by its majestic architecture.

Had a quick lunch from the "dining concourse" as they called their food court. Time to go back to the hotel, grab our stuff from the locker and head to the train back to Trenton. Quite a memorable experience!

N and N - my boys - I have made a list of all the places to take you both in NY. We missed you when we ate good food and especially when I tried the Icecream Soda in coffee flavor, I wished I could ask N1 to try. Now Appa and Amma are well versed with the Streets and Avenues - especially with Google Maps in Appa's phone, we can conquer Manhattan. Lovely city!

A school year later..

When I hopped into this blog after a long time, I realize I had not posted even once after we moved into our new home.

A week ago, was the completion of an entire school year in the new school district. Initial days of my older one complaining about the new atmosphere and not having friends. The days when the younger was lucky enough to find a friend and hang on to him. The school bus change and concerns around timings/pickup/drop off. Then it rolled off smoothly.

I took part in some Elementary school activities with the younger one. I would feel totally lost in the beginning since I knew nobody there. I missed the old school where you walk in and you could recognize faces. Now at the end of this school year, I can say I can recognize some faces.

Long story short. Kids have gone to India with grand parents. It is just the two of us. You will be surprised
how much our lives revolve around kids that you don't know what to do when they are not there. But I would be lying if I say that I am not having a good time - I am doing things which we cannot think of doing when a normal routine school week is going on. I went for Nails after 2 years with a friend. I am meeting girl friends for dinner and lunch. Last week, B and I went out couple of times for dinner. We went for a long walk in atrial.  It is almost like a bachelor life. Every evening we watching a movie or a half of it until we know it is too late.

All friends are making plans for evenings with us. It is a break for them too. Make hay while the sun shines!