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Follow the line...

In Mumbai, they say you dont have to do much to get from 1 point to another. The crowd pulls you along. Such is the mechanical and fast pace of life. Though I haven't been a witness to that, but my commute in public transport here, reminds me of just that.

Taking the BART for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect. I decided to have an early start to beat the crowd. I arrive promptly at 7:30am only to find more than half the parking lot full. With instructions from V that if I need directions on what to do or where to get off just ask....I marched ahead having parked my car half a mile away.

With clear instruction on ticket purchase its easy breezy.Anyway I had to disembark at embarcedero(guess that rhymes). so I sat patiently studying the map and listening to the announcements. which I later felt was a waste of effort. Come my station and bulk of the train offloaded. And I soon realised all you have to do is move along, and this huge crowd just takes you along and deposits you right outside the building. It is almost like a well practised routine. Get out of the train, dont look left or right just follow the trail and head to the escalator.If you need to take the stairs take a quick cut in the line to avoid glares walk non stop.when you are in the stairs, mind you there is no time to puff pant and heave. you made the decision 2 mins ago and now there is no choice but to walk and walk fast and get out. if you are on the escalator pre-determine ur speed. slow coaches on the left lane would be subject to glares and occasional cussing.

Once you are out of the escalator-stair madness, head straight to punch ur tickets out. No fumbling for tickets or pleading ignorance. Just punch and go, almost like an assembly line.There is no time for thinking/observing people. The maximum I can ponder to see is the coat and shoes.

Six months of practising the routine and I can say I'm now completely sucked in by the system.I'm a pro, as I proudly tell V.

Spring is here....

Yesterday was officially the first day of spring. unofficiallyit seemed like I was eternally waiting for Spring and summer to finally make way. When it comes to weather I'm a complete sucker for warmer climes.
You would think having spent a lifetime in Chennai where the only season of the year was summer....would have somehow changed my belief. If anything it increased my affinity for the hot weather. I just hate winters period. I can't thank my stars enough that I'm in Calif. where I dont have to experiance the harsh winter. Even then I complain big time when V turns the heater down.
Spring brings a lot of beauty with it...everywhere you look there are flowers/fruits blooming. Even the uncared for trees in my backyard have started flowering in abundance. It is so refreshing to just look outside my window.
I also love the spring for the daylight saving time change which gives us an extra hour of sunshine. It feels great to be back home when there is still daylight.doesn't seem like we are working too hard(which by no strech I am).
The other reason I look forward to this season is to finally get to wear my summer clothes - summer tops/skirts/capris. without having to cover it up with an oversized coat.The colors and the floral prints on display are just amazing. I cant wait to go shopping.
Spring on the other hand is also a season of allergies. Hope I dont start sniffling!!

Holi Hai....

I couldn't resist posting one about Holi. Seeing so many of the Indian websites pompously advertise the "Holi fest" can only bring back fond memories of growing up in Delhi and having a blast at holi.
Over the years my association with holi has kept diminishing to the pointthat last couple of years it has become nil. Holi is popularly celebrated in the northern part of India. Moving to the south/US has snapped all my ties to holi....but it still manages to bring a smile on my face.

Back to my good ol days....Holi always came just before the annual exams.So every year we would be faced with the dilemma weather to sit at home and study or go have fun. offcourse as kids we obviously wanted to do the latter.I, for one would be sitting by the window pretending to read with the attention span of a butterfly. Realising my concentration level, my parents had no choice but to let me go. With a word of caution from my parents and a dirty dress on I would be more than happy to join my friends and just get out of my home.

The previous day we would be busy buying colors and filling up balloons.The prev day to holi is also referred to as choti holi meaning mini celebration.meaning you can catch a few people unawares with the filled up balloons/pichkaris but nothing to draw the attention.

On holi day I clearly remember watching gang of people coming out with colours and water pichkaris from all over the neighbourhood right at the start of day. The thing I really liked was the instant bonding displayed by people(which is rare and far fetched these days). X would enjoy holi with Y whom he/she has never met. Such was the effect, with everyone just enjoying the fest and the fervour.

A whole day of fun would end by late afternoon. Some people continue the fun with a bhujia(snacks) & bhaang(something to give you a high....as if you need one)session.
For most of us the day of fun would end in a major scrubbing and cleansisng process.Mind you, it takes hours/days to get back to ur normal self.

While I mentioned a lot of good thigs about the festival. The standard is degrading over the years and the innocent fun is getting lost to malicious behavior and trouble makers who turn things sour. I think anything is fun and exciting as long as we stick to the limits.

On that note I'll sign off with a "Holi hai"

Going Green...

I have been often enthused abt gardening. But never dared to attempt due to lack of time/interest/space. I wasn't motivated enough.
When we bought a house with a backyard, I immediately envisioned myself toiling in the garden and a garden full of veggies and fruits.
Its going to be almost a year and there hasn't been much progress on that except what was originally left behind.
To my defense I did try my hand at gardening last summer....only to realise that was the wrong season to start esp if you are planting veg/fruits. I also realized how little knowledge I had of the new trade I was taking up. After a lot of rheotoric question which at times pissed off the guys at OSH I picked up some new terms/terminology. For instance I learnt spade/trovel/shovel are all not interchangable. My first attempt at gardening was planting a rose(shrub/bush) and another one. I decided on a shrub instead of a rose treeas it weas more cost effective. Thought to myself I should start with something smalland less expensive. turned out to be a bad idea. 1 plant is dead and the other refuses to flower.
This spring I decided to have a head start into gardening. So the last weekendas a priority I visited OSH and picked up a few tomatoes, herbs and cucumberafter some litrature reading I concluded my chioces were the best.
I have managed to plant the tomatoes so far. Hoping to get the others planted/potted before the end of this week. Just keeping my fingers crossed that my luck is better this time.

Make-up time

I take the public transport aka. the BART train for commute to work.Its is been a very interesting journey for me on most days. frustrating on a few days that the train is delayed or I missed by a couple of minutes. Also on days when I have to bare it in the cold weather and walk a mile to catch the train.All in all I enjoy my "personal time" where I can catch up on books/sleep/news and get away from all the tension.
I'm also equally amazed watching the fairer sex demonstrating a complete transformation in the 35 mins ride. I can refer to them as a seperate lot because I dont indulge in it(make up that is). Not that I think I'm a stunner but maybe it just stems from the fact that....we as a race give more importance to thought/intelligence/wit/even clothesbefore the face. Whatever the reason, I was diligently watching as the lady opposite me started for a whole 10 minutes with the eye curler to be followed by another 5-10 mins of foundation and looking thru a small hand held mirror. Just when I thought she was done she would surprise me with her next move. This went on for abt 30 mins. Looking at the outcome I couldn't resist taking a peek at myself in the train window and going "Oh man I look like a doormat...esp near the piece of work sitting opposite me".
Taking my mind off I get back to my novel and happy to spend the quality time on my fav passtime rather than decking myself with layers of make up.

Cats Irk me....

Before you start thinking I'm an animal hater of some kind. Let me clear this. I do like animals but I'm just intimidated by their close proximity.It is one of those phobia's I have had since childhood. As a child I would walk an extra mile or an extra block to avoid running into stray dogs. Used to dodge behind people to hide from a cow. U can well imagine how I would have walked in a place...where there used to be this buffalo shed(which is now replaced by a multi story building)on my route to the bus stand. I needed to walk to the bus stand every other day.So to avoid the buffalo shed I would cross the road, get to the other side and then crossback again past the buffalo stand. The whole exercise would take me an extra 10 mins, which I didnt seem to mind back then.
Over the years I have been able to overcome some of the fear I have for animals.Thanks to people around me who keep assuring me it is them and not us who are really scared. My daughters have helped reassure me that not everything that moves willbite/bark at the first instance. What brought back all those memories is the fact thatI notice far too many stray cats frequenting my backyard these days. Since they are straythere is no control over their movements. Some of these cats are really huge/plump cats.They look like some mini tigers to me. What irks me most is their running all the way finding a spot to dig up do their job, cover it up and run back...right under my nose.
Some things never change....same way some phobia's take years to go.

upcoming...

I changed my blogpage name from cracks-me-up.blogspot.com to arch-musings.blogspot.com.
easier to hit upon it.

Note to myself : My agenda for the next week is to create a blog to show case the recipes I have tried, tested, experimented, ripped, inherited and above all loved over the years. so watch out!! This idea is also a rip off from a friend who keeps a journal of recipe's. I found it a very novel idea. Instead of devouring over printouts and different websites to search for that one recipe ur heart is set to make. Why not just put everything in one place.

Morning Madness!!!

Recently I watched a wonderful movie - Taare zameen par. while this movie in itself
has a lot that can be discussed, the scene where everybody jet setting for the morning
...was like a slice of my everyday!!
My mornings typically start at 5:30 am. After hitting the snooze button couple of times I sluggishly step out of the bed. I grumble while my hubby and kids are blissfully asleep.
Then I start timing myself and pacing arnd getting tea ready/breakfast, packing lunch all
this while cutting veggies for dinner and catching up some news. Done with that I decide to set
aside some time for gym. The back of my mind offcourse telling me there is no time. After some
back and forth thoughts I decide to give in.

So head for a 20 mins of treadmill session. Once there it turns out to 30 mins(u see it is once in
a blue moon that I exercise and my logic is to make the most). in between I hear my lil ones
coming downstairs with a cry(which I at times pretend to ignore). done with that I'm refreshed
and ready to take on the next battle.

Its 6:45 and my daughters gingerly descend the steps...a few hugs and kisses later my daughter
very nonchalently asks me "today is holiday" I reply with a firm "No" to which "where are we going today?" Mall" I go "No where do you go everyday. School" which will be followed by "School. but why?".Mind you I have 2 so if one forgets to ask a question she would be quickly prompted by the other.

Finally I decide there is no time for the questions and answer session and nudge them to get on.
10 mins later I find them blissfully playing in their rooms and telling me they are doing "cooking"
at which point my hubby comes to the rescue to continue the rest while I get ready. Thank god for V who takes care of the mornings and ensure I get to work on time.

Once ready I find my hubby struggling with the kids to get them dressed. which by the way is
nothing short of a mahabharat with 1 of my daughter not agreeing on anything sensible to wear.
either she would want to go in a ghagra/her night dress/nothing at all. The poor parents would
be left to cajole/beg/plead followed by threaten. to get her to finally get her act together.
I would heave a sigh of relief. 1 task done...I would leave the rest to my better half and start headingtowards the door after a quick bye and a hug...dreading my lil ones are not running after me.

If I'm lucky I can get out of the house by 7:30. not so lucky on some when my daughters would come racing after me and go "Today mummy is going to drop me to school" I would go "oh no" and I have to convince them that I will pick them up and follow it with a treat. Finally out of the house and it is past 7:40.
Thinking to myself if I'm lucky and all the lights are n my favour I can make it to the station and take the 8'oclock train. I tell myself tomo I should aim for the 7:45....I'm really slacking.
drive to the station praying/cussing that I make the train on time. finally reach and park with a minute to spare and a mile to pace I walk run and partly hoping my bart card does not get demagnetised and force me to miss the train.

Finally made it and step into the train. I take my seat and with a smile on my face think
Thank god for some peace and drift into a nap!!!