Day full of treats....no tricks!!

My 33rd birthday was very special indeed. L planned as much as she could considering that she was just recovering from pain after her stupendous marathon on Oct 21st. She baked a Banana bread cake topped with some cereal on 25th night. She made me crispy fried green beans and french onion soup for dinner on 26th (my birthday).

Not satisfied without giving me a delicious 4-course, she made Veggie fried rice and Veggie manchurian for dinner on Saturday. All of the above were incredibly tasty as was evident from what was leftover (or not left over). She also got me a nice T-shirt, jeans and a cute ring

To sum it up, my birthday and the days preceeding and following it were full of treats....no tricks!!

Happy Birthday Guru

Here's wishing a very happy birthday to my dearest Guru.

Nike- You can Do it - I JUST DID IT:)) 26.2 miles

I did it! I completed 26.2 miles in 7hrs 38mins hours on October 21st, 2007 for the Nike Women's Marathon. I had initially signed up to run the marathon but with multiple injuries (on my knee and ankle), I decided to walk it. The weather was perfect, the course was awesome(except some treacherous hills). It was an amazing experience and chances are that I will do one again (maybe a 1/2 next year and a full marathon in a couple of years).

It was the furthest I'd ever walked in my life, on a perfectly clear, sunny and mild Sunday morning, with all my walking buddies, my peerless mentors, coach Al, Mama Lisa, coach Ron, Coach Susan and the whole east bay rockin' team pouring it on.

What a rush; all those people from all over the US and Canada, running for all the angels and heroes named on the backs and fronts and sides of their shirts. All those loving and supportive family members, co-workers, friends and loved ones, cheering and encouraging and snapping photos and making a joyful noise helped a lot of us get through the last mile (BOY, it was the longest mile I have ever walked:)! The Nike was a freaking blast, and I finished upright, feeling strong and powerful.

GO TEAM!!

“As an athlete, when you least expect it, you may find yourself standing on the threshold of an accomplishment so monumental that it strikes fear into your soul. You must stand ready, at any moment, to face the unknown. You must be ready to walk [or run] boldly through the wall of uncertainty.” ~
John “The Penguin” Bingham

Happy Birthday Father(-in-law)

Today's is L's dad's birthday. Here's wishing him a very happy birthday

Navarathri Celebrations - Golu

Our Golu this year

Navarathri Celebrations - Curtain Raiser

One of the things we do religiously every year in our house is the Navarathri celebrations. We actually take a lot of pride it and try to do it as sincerely as we can. Preparations are on in full swing in our for Navarathri this year. L and I have a ton of work to do. L is in charge of setting up the Golu steps, Golu, preparing Sundal for all the people who'll be visiting us to see the decoration. I'm in charge of ensuring that there will be enough sweets/savories for the visitors, preparing gift bags (or goodie bags as we are used to calling them now) for the ladies and the children

We both will have a lot of work for the next few days particularly on Friday and Saturday as we will have a ton of people visiting. We plan to visit our friends' Golu on Sunday

A real challenge this time will be to ensure that Vishruth doesn't climb up the steps or brings the house (or Golu) down :-) Vidyuth isn't much of a concern as he is going to be running around with the kids non-stop

More updates on the event will be posted at a later time....

Happy Birthday Brother(-in-law)

Today's is my brother-in-law (L's brother) Ram's birthday. Here's wishing him a very happy birthday.

Happy Birthday (Belated) Periappa

October 4th was my periappa's birthday. The least I could do to a man who has helped me and my family selflessly for all the time that I have known him, was to remember and wish him on that day. I didn't (and I feel ashamed and that's really how I feel). Here's wishing him a very happy (belated) birthday!!

What parents want!!

Back in my early childhood days in the early 80s, I distinctly remember that every other parent (mother and/or father) wanted their kids to either be an Engineer (or) a Doctor. Any other profession/degree such as Sociology (or) Arts was totally ridiculed and was almost a taboo. Even participation in extra-curricular activities such as sports, music always took a back seat comparted to academics. I must say that I was certainly lucky in that regard, for my parents never forced anything on me and gave me full freedom and independence to pursue (or not pursue) whatever I wanted

Fast forward the clock to 2007, I have 2 kids now and the trend that I observe with present day parents is this. Not only do they want their kids to excel in academics, they also want their kids (even if they are as young as 3) to learn music, arts, martial arts, dancing. One of the parents that I know even boasted that his kid is learning archery...at age 5...is he kidding??? While it is certainly none of my business to dictate what each parent should do, my views on this topic is pretty clear.

I want my children to first of all enjoy their childhood. I want them to get drenched in the rain without worrying about catching a cold, play hard outside that they are covered in mud. L and I share the vision that we will certainly encourage them to try out new activities that they want to try, but not obsess that they are the Numero Uno in that activity. That is, we will not expect them to be a Picasso if they take up painting.... well you get the idea!!!

L and I want to be there for them for positive encouragement and be a launch pad for them and expose them to wide variety of things in way that it nurtures their natural curiosity as children. I will certainly want to encourage independent thinking, kindness towards fellow human beings and helping the underprivileged. I certainly want them to have a mix of basic academic knowledge, solid analytical thinking and an overall personality development. Again, all of the above are only my thoughts and certainly L and I will make a conscious effort to not to force even the above but merely steer them towards that

In short, we would be very satisfied at the end of the day if our children are some relatively unknown good human beings rather than really popular and talented jerks!!

Here’s a bumper sticker I’d like to see: “We are the proud parents of a child whose self-esteem is sufficient that he doesn’t need us promoting his minor scholastic achievements on the back of our car.” - George Carlin

Bay area 7 year anniversary and Gandhi Jayanthi

Today marks my 7 year anniversary in the Bay area. Yes, I came here on Oct 2nd 2000 and like many others that preceded me, I was hoping to make millions of dollars by joining a startup venture. Well we all now know what happened to those dreams....

Today also is Mahathma Gandhi's birthday and there is one quote of his that I would like to mention here....."Be the change that you wish to see!!"