The 2 weeks of bachelorhood

This happened 6 months back and I had drafted this post then, but I completed it only today.

The title says bachelorhood, and I am a girl....contradicting? Well I am using the word bachelorhood, because I am not very sure if there is a word  called spinsterhood and even if there is, I don't like the sound of it. So sticking to bachelorhood.
 I am married  for almost 2 years now  and have been totally dependent on my husband for everything since the wedding. Its not that I have not lived alone before. I have, when I did work in India, Shanghai and also the initial one year I was in US. It's partly because I just don't want to grow up that if there is someone to make decisions for me, I just let them do that job. So when there were some visa issues when we went over to India in May 2010 and Sree couldn't make it back to the US with me, I was totally upset. Actually was paranoid about how I am gonna be alone at home without him and how I am gonna get things done. I remember, the first night I spent alone in the apartment, I cried.But, after the initial 2-3 days, I  actually got  adjusted.
Yes, there is this constant anxiety of how and when he is going to join me, or if plans are going to change and all, but the things I thought would be extremely difficult for me turned out to be manageable.

The comfort of getting a drop to cal-train station for commuting to work was no longer there. Thankfully my apartment was next to the cal-train station, so I walked to the station daily. It was a good one mile walk, but fortunately the weather was amazing. And after a few days it became a routine. After reaching back home, generally either me or Sree usually take turns in cooking( ok, I agree, most of the days its him), but now I hardly bothered about cooking. I just browse channels, do some pending work or surf the net and and then go to sleep. Time just flew. Also during weekends, I  packed my bags and went to my friend's place and stayed over there for a day. She is an amazing cook, so yummy food was always around. And everyday I had constant phone calls with Sree to catch up on all the news. I also did a good amount of driving as there was no other option. So ya, situations just force you get out of your comfort zone.Well, after around 10 days, though I was doing things my own, I just wanted him to reach back soon to get back to my comfort zone.

After two weeks, we heard back from the consulate and he could travel the following week. Was pretty much thrilled and I don't want this to happen ever in my life again. I don't mind not having this space for myself.Still, I am happy that it made me realize that I can manage stuff on my own, even though some of it was hard initially. So next time he needs to go for an official trip, I am no longer worried as I know what it is like.

After a long time..

I dont know what made me write this post. At 12:43 AM in the morning after a rough few days of cold and cough, I simply cant make myself to sleep. Partly because my throat pain is just not letting me get back to sleep and partly due to my curiosity to watch the next episode of LOST on netflix, I decided to just get out of bed. So before I switched on the TV to watch LOST, I decided to check my office emails and gmail, and came across a few blogs of my friends and I just realized that I hardly wrote anything for the past 6 months or so.

Well I like writing, but many a time, I end up drafting something and never posting it.Things like my Canada trip, cooking recipes, get togethers, happy moments in 2010 all are pending to be penned down. Mainly its because when I do write something, I need to feel totally involved in the writing, or else its simply impossible for me to pen down something. But then now, looks like I am just letting my mind type whatever it wants to.

So as I was trying to sleep, images of my grandparents came to my mind. The yummy food that they always make for me whenever I go to Nehru Nagar, the rainy days when we used to sit outside and watch the rain, the paper boats I made along with my cousins, the number of times I have controlled the TV time to watch Tom and Jerry when I was young..man they were such an integral part of my life till I came down to US. They are still very close to my heart, but yet, I dont really get to see whats going on sitting here. So I decided, I am going to call them more frequently from now on.

There were few other stuff going through my head too..some plans..here and there..have to do this, do that..but one another thing that came in strongly was about my friends. I met one of my close friends a few days back and since then I have been yearning to spend some time with my friends. So I decided that next India trip, I will try to go to Bangalore and spend some time with few of my close friends and catch up on some old times. I do really want to plan a meet up of the entire gang but then I am really not sure with the different paths everybody has taken, whether this is ever going to be possible. But still I shall give it a shot sometime in the future. Also I was such an extrovert that I had made so many friends, at work, school, college etc but then now I hardly am in touch with many. I know that is how life is, but the thing is I really do want to hold on to those relationships too. Well with Facebook, you do get all the updates, but then there is nothing that can beat talking once in a while.

Hmm..guess its time for me to go watch an episode of LOST or read something till my sleep kicks in...
I already have something in mind...will pen it down soon in the next post.

Painting again...

This is currently put up on the side wall to the entrance of our apartment

I hadnt painted for a while and had totally forgotten about the three new canvases that Sree had got me last time we went Michaels[ Its an art store]. I got some time over the weekend, so I decided to take on the paintbrush again. I love the backsplash tiles that they use in kitchens, and wanted to get one set and see if I can do something with that. So here's what I came up with...
Its a little messy and given a chance, I would redo this again a little more carefully, but still I am happy I didnt let those canvases go waste..

LAW & ORDER

I was introduced to this series by my husband. For those of you who might not have heard about it, its a television series which is telecast-ed in the US channels such as TNT and USA.Even though my husband told me its a gripping one, and that I should watch it once instead of watching other stupid soaps,I never believed him. Its one of those things, that you don't even want to try out and especially since Sree liked it, I assumed it to be something which might be interesting only for the men and I just decided I wont watch it:). And one day, while he was watching, I just happened to watch one episode and wow all my interest in detective stories were revived.

I was pretty impressed with the way each story is planned and plotted in each of the episodes. Now there are different series for Law and Order. We have the simple ' Law and Order' which contains equal portions of Investigation and Court Drama and we have the ' Law & Order Criminal Intent' which is basically investigating the case. And both of them are my favorites mainly because of the liking I developed towards two of the characters. I have come to love the character Detective Robert Goren in Criminal Intent and Jack McCoy , the litigator in Law and Order.

While Goren investigates a case by understanding human psychology and manipulating the suspect emotionally to finally solve the case, Jack McCoy is someone who practically does what he feels strongly about. He is ready to go against the existing rules of Law to finally find justice. And the full credit for this goes to the director of both the series and the actors Vincent D'Onofrio and Sam Watterson. They are such good actors that they make the character look real! Also its not only the drama of investigating a case that's interesting, its also the dry humor embedded in the conversations that makes it even more appealing.

Another attractive feature about both the series is that they show the professional side giving more prominence to the investigation and court trials unlike some of its rival television dramas.

Well, I am not trying to publicize Law & Order and claiming here that its the best series. This post is basically what I feel about it. Different people have different opinions.

So if there is a Law & Order Marathon on TV, you know where to find me:)

Chai at its Best!

We have a friend ( Ranga)who is famous for his tea making skills and whenever we go to his place, we would definitely get a cup each:)
And my tea making skills are just average to just barely make an edible tea. So when Ranga came over to our place today, we requested him to make his tea and I got a chance to learn his way of making it
Interestingly he also knew the reason behind it so the 'making of chai' steps will also include that.

Making of Chai

1. Depending on the kind of milk you use, this is the proportion
Full Fat Milk - 40% Milk, 60% Water
2% Milk - 50% milk, 50% Water
Low fat - 60% Milk, 40% Water
2. Crush Cardomom, Cloves and also a few pieces of ginger.

3. Boil Water and the crushed cardomom, cloves and ginger in high heat. (Dont use too much of cardomom or cloves since they have overpowering features unlike the ginger. If you have tulsi, that also makes a fine addition in small portions)

4. Once the water boils add the Tea powder after keeping the heat to a sim. The number of cups = the number of spoons of tea powder (light leaf teas might warrant some extra)
Reason : If you put the tea powder in the water and then boil it, then the longer the tea powder boils, the more bitter it becomes.
So put the tea powder after the water starts boiling.

5. Add Sugar once the water boils. 2 teaspoon of sugar for one cup.(this gives you a sweet cup of tea but not sugary)
Reason : If you add sugar before the water boils, it will elevate the boiling point of water and thus the water takes longer time to boil(alternate is to add sugar after you pour the tea into the mug).


6. Warm the milk in the microwave for a minute or so.
Reason : When you pour warm milk, the whole mixture of milk, tea and water comes to a boil faster than when you pour cold milk. (It also prevents the tea leaves from boiling longer and hence making the tea bitter.)


7. Once the tea boils after adding milk, you can switch off the heat and serve it hot after passing it through a filter.

Well, the outcome of this was a real good cup of tea which we thoroughly enjoyed with home made bread made by Sree:)

Thanks Ranga:)

Pic for Deepu

Well my cousin sister Deepu had come over for a visit..and the one thing she asked me to do was a drawing for her room. She also gave me a sample pic and the above is the final outcome:)

Another one for the Kitchen

Well, I wanted a pic for the Kitchen wall, so found something on the net that interested me and then just drew it the way I could. I liked the final product esp because I love all the colors in this pic:)

Fun to be a Man....

In all these past years, I had never dressed up like a guy for any of my dance programs. So when my Ma'am asked me if I could do the role of Lord Shiva for an event, I had mixed feelings.
I wasnt sure how I am going to carry that out. And ya, I always like getting dressed up for dance, so as you know the guy role never provides you the opportunity. But neverthless, I was excited about the new role and the program and I agreed.
Once I started the practice, I started loving the piece and on stage, I think I did do a decent job.
People complimented me and moreover my husband and all our friends were fascinated to see me as a guy:D
So here is a pic of Siva and Parvathi:)

My Tribute to Fall

I love fall colors. The leaves turning their colors from green to slight yellow and then orange is just amazing. Some trees are completely yellow where as some others have mixed colors of orange, red and green. And the different kinds of leaves that change their colors is also amazing.
I just drew this painting yest and I based it on fall leaves.

My First Chicken Curry:)

I am a die hard fan of 'Chicken' and I have always had chicken made by somebody else - my mother, neighbour aunty, friends. Today we had some friends coming over to our place and I thought I should try making chicken and so I made my first 'chicken curry':)

Below is the recipe I followed and I think it came out pretty well..Well I liked it and so did my friends....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HB7ywgJuTg

Let me know how it turns out for you.

Back to the brush once more.....

My first memories of drawing were the ones where I used to sit with other children under a huge tent with free colors in coconut shells provided for us to use. This is the Universal Arts Competition, which used to be held once a year, for which my dad had taken me till I was like 10 yrs old. I used to randomly draw something on the chart paper there along with my cousin who also used to accompany me.

My dad later sent me for drawing classes, and I had learnt a few basic things about drawing there.
Even though my artistic skills were not the best, I still used to take part in a few competitions in school. I soon realized that I suck at drawing with a "theme" or imaginative drawing. Give me a picture to look and draw and I can recreate atleast 50%. So from the above one can understand how mediocre I am in this art.

Well, after years of not touching the brush, I decided to give it a try again last week. Above is a picture I drew. Its a simple one, but the important thing for me was how happy it made me feel.

Moral of the story : Trees are artist's best friend. Even the worst artist(like me) can manage to intepret it in their own way( With a few strokes here and there) and it still will look like a Tree:)