One of those days...

So, it was not just a bad coffee day but a whole bad day! One of those days where even if you walk, you risk falling. 

My day started off with me staying home because my throat wasn't doing good from yesterday and I needed a break, I stayed home planning number of things including that 'make ginger garlic paste' reminder still blinking on my phone. I will do it, I got myself to a point where I took the ginger and put it outside the fridge, so that it gets my attention that I have to do it. I created that reminder after throwing the garlic which mom pealed and left in the fridge when she was here and it was rotten. Do you know how much pain is pealing garlic cloves? Now, I don't know if I will make a ginger paste, but I will do anything before it rots too.

I usually get coffee from the market below my apartment building when I work from home, lately the coffee there's been bad, its not good if I get it after 10, so I went at 9:30 and got a cup for myself but it smelled like there was a fancy sanitizer or a soup and I quickly threw it out thinking about the long nails of  the lady who usually makes coffee, though I complemented her nails once. My imaginations are crazy at times, what if the lady used a sanitizer and touched the inside of the coffee thermos? or what if she didn't rinse the can properly? Anyways, I threw the coffee out and I went in the elevator again to get coffee from starbucks across the street after husband insisting, coz he knows what happens if I don't get coffee - I vine all day. So, I went in the lift and I realized a strong smell and I knew this smell, it was the same which was in the coffee, so it was probably the cleaning spray smell which was so strong that it even got into my coffee when I was coming upstairs in the elevator,  coz I usually take the cup from home and it doesn't have a lid. So, I cracked the smelly coffee case. I don't know if it was possible, but I think it is, coz it was the same smell in my coffee. I then went to starbucks taking my work phone too, thinking I will sit in starbucks for sometime and log on to skype from work phone, but when do I ever have charging in my phone? and the coffee sucked, every sip of it. I hate starbucks, specially the one by my house, coz they always don't have one or the other thing, this time they didn't have sugar and by the time the lady got me sugar my coffee went cold and everyone knows that I like my food and coffee at boiling point.

Not just these two coffee events, I went to the lobby of my apartment where they usually have coffee(not the greatest coffee), but their machine was down and they had a new lavazza coffee brewing machine but they were waiting for installation. So, all my encounters to get a good cup of coffee failed miserably.

By the time I finished having the bad cup of coffees, I had other cravings, it was almost lunch time and I was craving schezwan food, I usually get craving of having spicy food when I am sick. I will admit that one good thing that happened today was that I got a good mapo tofu for lunch. But, when I went to the restaurant to pick the food, I almost fell because the floor was wet and the waitress mopped the floor and didn't put a sign. 

Now comes the main event why I started this blog, today was the first day of volunteering after the kids returned school this year for the Syrian community Network I volunteer at, I was excited and looking forward to it, I was gonna meet the kids after 4 months. I got ready and took a train because it was more convenient to avoid parking on the street.

There are two train stations near my house, a red line station and the green line, the green line is close to my house and during office hours even the red line comes to the station, so I went to the green line station and waited for the train, my phone showed the train will arrive in 10 minutes, I waited for ten minutes and got into the train that came on the station, half way through I realized the stations on my google maps weren't the same as the ones the train was stopping at. I asked the guy beside me - 'Is this red line?' he told 'No, its green.' I got down at the next stop and tried to figure out where I was, I realized I went west instead of North. 

Me - in the library, before starting to blog

I once took a bus and went southbound just looking at the number on the bus, but I had to go north, after that incident I knew which way is north and which way is south, simple directions - they existed even back home and I took the bus everyday, for 6 years and how did I become dumb all together? not knowing what is south, what is north? I blame technology. It made things easy, but it also made human beings brains to stop thinking like - If you want to go North and if you sit in anything going towards North, you cant just sit in it, it can also go west, that's what happened to me today, not only did I sit in a wrong train but also just sat in it for 15 minutes thinking this is a train going North bound it will only go North, not thinking it can also go west. Sorry, if this is too much E/W//N/S, but there was a lesson to learn, to be focused and to pay attention. I felt so bad thinking I cant commute in train without husband? I  drive everyday, but to the same place and use GPS if I am going to a new place and it changes things so much when you are walking and trying to use bus/train. 

I gave up and didn't think of taking a train again to go to the volunteering spot because it was too late. I thought 'be easy on yourself..' and sat in the library of my apartment because the library was cooler than my apartment and I needed a change in set up for the day.

That's all venting for the day. I know too many unnecessary details were shared and the hatred for starbucks was out loud .. After all the events of my day, do you think it was just me trying to find faults in the day or its me doing things wrongly :/

Post vacation blues

Alright! I can't start another blog saying a lot has changed, it has..but, I will take a turn to write about post vacation blues. 

Post vacation when you come back from India is worst, post vacation feelings when you travel locally are bad too. If you read my last post you know I was going to Seattle for Thanksgiving. I have been back for a week now and only now after a week I feel comfort in my mind about being myself allowing myself to digest the way I am. Is it just me or it happens to everyone, that it takes some time to be back to the routine.

Tomorrow when I will wake up and go to work and welcome a new employee, I will feel back on my feet. Yes, another reason it's been slow on my side past 2 weeks is because one of my colleagues I use to manage/mentor quit. Not because I was bad, because she wanted go back to her country. It felt sad, investing so much time and emotional support for her to adjust in the company and off work and then suddenly one day she sent a text that she resigned. It felt like the first student I had gave up in my class. Anyways, tomorrow will be a new beginning and new challenge with a new person..it will also help me get back to my routine, I hope..at least at work.

It's holiday season and winter isn't very encouraging me to be active, the kitchen in the house is slow, the refrigerator isn't very full. Most of our meals are bread something, egg something. I experience this every winter, I am lazy to cook, I lose my appetite, I am mostly in front of the TV or on phone. The screen time widget puts me to shame every time I see the time I spend on phone each day. Good tracking tool apple, it's eye opening how much we can be with a machine.

Me Currently ^

Coming back to recovering from vacation, I always feel I pick up few things from the people I meet on my vacation trips and try to be like them unconsciously. Pick up the same interests or act like them, you don't feel yourself when you are back from vacation, you want to be more than what you are..that's what it means when they say 'you look fresh after the break,' inside  you are fighting your thoughts if you really want to be where you are, geographically, professionally and in personal life, if you have what you need, if you meet your goals/dreams of what you had thought you will do or be, in short too many thoughts.

Right now, I am thinking where to go next, cant travel outside the country, I have so many interest to explore..but I am stuck in the US because of visa constraints. I wish boundaries did not exist, I wish we all were free to go wherever we want, without visa or a passport. Didn't I right on this topic before?

Hi, from the new City!

Alright! I have been thinking of writing (just wrote writing as righting, who does that??hahah) but kept postponing. 

The best timing to write is when you steal time from something else and you are lost and in mood to write. When I say lost I mean, you don't know what to do next. Isn't that the best? Not having to do anything next and not knowing what to do next? Your mind runs at the speed of an ant. That mode is perfect, the ant mode when you are 3/4th awake and still trying to not be a sleep head and trying to ready yourself for the worldly things. Ant mode is the best cos it challenges you to do things like work from home and sit in a cafe and sip coffee for hours and sometimes can also make you write, like me right now. But the coffee slowly kicks in and you think what you should write about.

There's a lot to write about, I just finished one month in Chicago and one month of living with husband. It's really a challenge with everything new, new city, new job and an extra person to live with... Living alone for so many years, it will take me time for my brain to consider an additional person around me while doing things. Right now I think, I do things at my own pace, operate without planning and sharing what I am going to do next or what I am going to cook. Those are few things I need to improve, think about another human being living with me aka husband. Haha. Will get there soon, I hope. 

Anyhow, to share the new friends, acquaintances status - I made zero new friends and attended zero events, with so many events happening in the city, because it's summer..I was always occupied with something stupid where my mind wanted to do something and I was doing something else.

Acquaintances, I am yet to make familiarize with people around me, like neighbors, maintenance, leasing office guys (these are the important people, because they're the ones having power when you need things done). Because, everyone is into their own routine, it's difficult to barge in and introduce yourself, for a person like me- it's a task. I was pissed when I got the meeting invite at work just the morning of the day I was supposed to introduce myself to the giants at noon. I didn't even get ready that day, I don't think I even showered that day, cos the previous day was Eid and I was still trying to come out of the food coma, I didn't want to be at work that day and planned to leave by half day and then in the morning I got a meeting invite for a meeting where new hires introduce themselves to the leadership. It was a disaster, we were told to introduce ourselves, mention our favorite color and hobbies. Mehhh!! I am yet to figure out both of those. I don't think I can, it's useless, what will you do knowing your favorite color? Some colors which you find in India don't even exist here. So, no point! 

I am new to the city, but I have toured it enough with the family and friends families that I can be the primary tour guide for someone. This past weekend, one of my friend from Michigan was here with her mom. I was kind of sick, but I didn't want to say 'No' to be the tourist guide. So, I said yes and started my day at 11 in the morning, only to come back at 10 in night, husband smartly bailed out and attended a fun stand up comedy show at which his friend was performing, I wanted to attend too..but...

So, this time Sears Tower broke the record, it took us 4.5 hrs to go to the top. When we were buying the tickets the estimated time for regular admission showed 2.5 hrs and city pass- which is a quick way to get around was 15-20 minutes. We thought, they just want us to buy the city pass that's why they show numbers like 2.5 hrs and 15 minutes. We didn't know when 2.5 hrs turned into 4.5 hrs..we were so dead we just sat in the line, without caring what people around us thought and just crawled some of the distance. Did you ever feel like ' why do I exist?' That's what I felt..I am sure the aunty who was visiting felt the same ( my friends mom, who's visiting U.S). I was scared that I will pass out and I don't have health insurance. I am yet to transfer that from old work to new work place, will do that today. So, yes...I was feeling like i will pass out and I was thinking I wish I do pass out, at least I will get out of this madness. It's been two days past that trauma and I still feel my eyes sunken and skin dry coz of all the walking in sun whole day. (Picture on the left for you to see what I am talking about, I don't look much different in general, but little better) I promise, I promise I will never do that kind of toursisting again. I was counting that everyone in the family has seen Sears tower, so I don't have to ever go back there again, coz this was my fifth time, then I remembered..sister and my nieces would come next year and I might have to go do the Sears tower Darshan again next year. I will do it wisely next time. 

Reminds me about my old post where I was complaining about being a tour guide in Hyderabad..

Here's the link if you want to read about me complaining more..

https://nameera-nameera.blogspot.com/2009/05/be-gregarious-or-be-waitori-choose.html

Post above is from 2009, feels like a different me, also laughing at my writing style then. 

I chose to express it, totally!

Ok! Everyone knows this but can I take a moment and rant about it. Just because it's my moment and I chose to write about it. Just to vent it out?

No, it's not about politics. It's not about a fight or an argument. It's about a woman and her rush of extreme emotion of thoughts in her time of period.

On a normal day when I see my brother eat, I don't cry. I just feel he's born to eat, khaata peeta bacha hai..that's it. But this weekend, we were all together, me, my sister, brother and his gf and my husband. Desi family unions, you know all we do is eat. I ate too..to an extent and everyone did. But seeing my brother eat, I got very emotional. Because he's dating a white girl, and everytime brother hogs on indian food, I feel had he dated an Indian girl he could ear biryani any day and khichdi, khurma any meal. Ssh hope no one from the family reads this blog, specially the brother. 

Now, I don't know if I have this problem seeing my brother eat - I cry is a normal sister brother scenario or if it's just because some harmones are up and down and hitting wrong notes, making my heart go in wrong directions and creating some salty water flood in my eyes just because I am on a period. 

Why do women have to go through all this? Was the physical discomfort not enough that we have to go through mental torture too? 

One more thing I noticed is, I have a good connection with God, Almighty Allah, and when we are not allowed to pray in this time, I totally feel lost, unable to rely on someone that is the creator sitting up miles high sitting above 7 layers of sky watching us. It's so unfair to be not able to connect with him. They should have thought about some alternative, that hey if you are on your period, you cannot pray but you can still do bla bla bla. 

Now, if this hormonal imbalance thing is mixed with Monday blues, it makes a much worse combination. Double the worries, double the mountain of stress you carry on your shoulder and double the amount of time it takes one to fall sleep. Ugh!! 

I did share it with my sister and husband about how I felt. But..you can only complain so much and cry so much. Imagine, crying because 'brother can't eat indian food coz he's seeing someone who's not indian.' Sounds funny, but any tiny thing you would totally ignore on a normal day becomes as big problem as an issue which needs to be handled by UNO when a woman is on her period. 

I wish there was a way to handle it, other than over eating and blaming bloating when you cannot fit in your regular jeans. 

Hmm..that's all I had to rant. Hope mom/ brother doesn't come across this blog or they would kill me for disclosing personal issues in public. 

It's more than a place where you live!

8 years, 6 moves and two temporary moves, makes it 8 years and 8 times I moved my house and myself. Sounds tiring! Moving is no fun and the more I try to avoid it, the more I have to do it..but luckily I have had people to help every time I moved. Friends calling for lunch/dinner and neighbors offering free chai/coffee 24*7. Thanks God for people around me so special!

Friends are friends for everyone. But for me friends are categorized, like friends who are actual friends, friends who you can put your head on shoulder and cry (almost close to 2.5 or 3 now, decreasing as I grow old..), friends who can drop you to airport, friends who can cook for you and friends who can help you move! Haha

As I just finished my move yesterday, I was telling my sister I feel home sick. Sad about not having my own stuff around. All my stuff is in storage, it will be in storage for a month now and I feel so useless and bored. When I was moving, I was happy that I don’t have to cook anymore, no dishes to do and no need to worry about the biggest question in the world - ‘ what do I take for lunch?’ 

There’s a trip waiting for me tomorrow, for Mexico and boy I am sad about not having pots to stir for a month and dishes to do. 

Now that I am writing this, it makes things simple and not weird. I did plan to catch up on all the Netflix on my list and watch all the desi movies which have been pending to watch in my list from almost last year, it goes back to Padmavat, so you know I have a lot of desi movies to watch haha!

Past 4-5 years, I lived in a heavily desi populated community and moving from the area makes me feel weird, the freedom to knock neighbors door and ask for an onion or sugar, you get it nowhere, I felt I wouldn’t do that even if I was in India. But, being in a country, which is not your own, by default desi neighbors become your to - go 24*7 grocery store and cafe where free chai is served anytime of the day.

As each room was getting emptied, I had flashes of memories with my parents sitting in the hall watching tv, sister cooking, brother demanding the food he wanted (as usual) and me just feeling stressed out about being planning things. This apartment was special because my parents spent their 4 months here, my sister lived with me.. my brother visited us every time something good was cooked 😛. In short, I had my family except my sister. It felt like we were at home, it didn't feel any different. It felt good to see papa relax watching Netflix all day. It felt good seeing mom bonding with the neighboring aunty. The only person who kind of suffered was my sister who loves cooking and was responsible to cook. I got away from cooking by cooking few bad dishes. Hahah. 

Moreover, this was the house where I got engaged and married. It will  always remain special, because it was in this house, I and siva exchanged rings. 

With all the furniture gone, I sat down on floor and ate my last meal in the house yesterday, it was so emotional, to be eating alone in a place where we had delicious feasts, parties for friends. It reminded me of all the good food I ate when mom and dad were there. The only bad memory I had was my sister being alone in the house, worried, always crying  when we were all gone to India and when dad was sick.

I felt I got detached from it once I made a trip to India with parents and when I returned there was no one, Parents went back to India, sister found a job and moved to Chicago. So, it always had those good memories and not having them around in the place made the place a little hollow.

All in all, I will miss it, I will miss the swimming pool and Gym view. It always had a lot of people coming and kept me entertained in fall and summer. Also, I will miss the free coffee I use to have every morning  with no guilt in leasing office,. 😛 I literally use to check from my window if the leasing office was open and I can go dunk my cup of coffee.

Anyways, I can't wait to make another place a home with beautiful memories, this time maybe live a little longer and try to break my own record of moving every year.

Random things.

This guy has his travel mode ON. The shades he wore had lense of two colors, one blue the other green. How cool is that? 

I can never have that look on.

So..I am waiting at the airport. Abiding my ritual of pick up/ drop off someone at airport atleast twice a month. I realized no matter what season it is everyone month I go to the airport atleast twice. 

Coming back to the cool guy at airport. I wish to be him atleast on one trip, not having worries to lose passport or get scared about not being picked up by anyone at the airport or losing luggage. 

It's back to school season, lot of kids arriving for school being picked up by fellow school mates. I get to see some crazy tattoos and hair colors with this excuse.

I just figured there's no app for blogger in apple app store.

There's something about Rain - II .

When I was about to start this blog I didn't know there was a ' something about Rain ' post already. When I logged in I found that -hey the lst time I wrote was when it was raining. so. there's some connection between rain and me writing for sure. Rain gets me too philosophical to write.

It reminds me of the deck at my home upstairs where we would often hangout, just sit and chat for hours, then there would be a fight for who'll go get water to drink coz we have been there for too long.

I would sneak into the neighbors house who had a big backyard, chickens roaming around..I have not seen people had chickens in there houses after 2005 maybe..but these neighbors had chickens roaming in their backyard back in 2010..I don't know if they still do. Not that it's a bad thing but, hey you have a big back yard then why not have some extra hobbies. I always complained that they should have some vegetation going, but...

It just rained here..all the swoosh foosh sounds of breeze moving the trees which I was enjoying now replaced by the water falling from the roof, which I am not a big fan of. Now there will be traffic jams and a delay when I go get my morning coffee. 

Didn't know I would miss small things like this about home. Anyways, I didn't realize there was no app for blogger on iPhone, which is terrible.Because I had to open my laptop to write this one.

Before I sign off, I am listening to 'Cyrus says' podcast these days, Cyrus has his same old humor style till now. It feels so good to listen him, brings back memories of time when you used to feel cool just by watching 'MTV' haha. There's so much difference in the style of humor of different people, this guy can insult you and make you laugh at the same time but others like 'Tanmay Bhatt' cannot! I never liked that guy and I was never a fan of AIB, I preferred the Viral TVF over AIB all the time.

Well..have to dive into worldly things to keep the day going..so I am going to take an off right now.

(I almost sound like a Radio jockey in this post, I realized. Blogger is that dear to me,I feel like I am talking to another person, it's close to my heart. :D)

Moms are Moms!

Re post from somewhere else. Because - you always want to go to where you originally belong. Miss Blogging.

Have been sick for more than two weeks now. Have baby sit my neighbors kid who kept playing on the laptop with hi sound. Her mom came back to get her and saw my runny nose and gave this camphor(its a thing used in Hindu ceremonies) also known for purifying air and making breathing easy. That was so sweet of her. :D I crushed this and put it on my bed near the pillow..it has a mild sent.

Moms are Good! :D

It's the Cricket World Cup.

Feels like its been decades since I wrote something. I woke up to watching the video of  thousands of Indians singing the national anthem in the Pak vs Ind world cup match at the opening. It brings you shivers listening to that, I can just imagine what a player goes through with all that pressure and people's hope lying on the team. For a moment I was too excited thinking its the cricket world cup final today, but no! India's not in it. It's time I bring down the decoration in my hall which says 'Chase for the cup begins.'

To be frank I haven't seen a lot of matches this time, but I was closely following it. I haven't been awake at nights, not watched it doesn't  mean I can't whine about India failing its litmus test. I can whine, I have equal rights as Arnab. :P

It's funny how opinions, likes/dislikes change. I was such a huge fan of AG, I use 'was' because I don't follow Times now any more nor do I follow NDTV. 8-9 years back Arnab was that big mouth who wouldn't shy asking bold questions to any neta's or celebrities. He was that guy who spotted politicians playing the blame game, now he's joined the same creed blaming the Indian team for losing the match.

Leaving AG alone coz I don't want to add up to the lot who are yelling at him right now on twitter, facebook, blogs and where not.

I don't have a lot to write as I am becoming boring day by day as one of my friend confessed when I met her after four and a half years. I really want to write but at the same time I don't want to be a depressing blogger missing her family/life back home, I like the blogs I wrote when I was in India, I was a completely different person then.

Ending this with a confused state of mind for who to support in today's finals, when discussed about it with my roommate she yelled at me for supporting Australia as they trashed India out of the world cup. I don't know a lot of players so I don't know why I should support New Zealand.

Good/Bad

April 22 - 6:41 PM

I was feeling so guilty since this afternoon that may be I was wrong and my sis(Younger/Google or ancient Potter sis) was right, but no! I felt all guilt free in the evening when...

It's that day when you can't ignore the six O' clock alarm, monday morning's the meeting time..ting ting! You cannot be late. I spent few hours yesterday looking for tickets yesterday and I badly wanted to book them in a day or do before the prices go up, although a lot of you know what I am talking about I'd like to keep it a little secret and reveal it when it finally happens. I was sure I'll discuss the dates at home and book it today or tomorrow, after a one and a half mugs of espresso I was full awake to make a call home and unfortunately this added to one of those 90% of calls when no one answers the phone, this is why I stopped calling them, them includes even my elder sis. I left them few warning messages to call back. My potter sis came online and she started arguing you call, we wont call blah blah and there was a reason behind me telling them to call but no..someone had to argue argue and make the sh*t out of my mood and yell - 'Fine Bye' with extra exclamations and log out, which made me more mad because I was so excited about this thing and my sis argued on a silly thing and zeroed all my excitement. She doesn't like me using an ef word, no one does at home, I got nagged by my mom and a big lecture from my sis cos I used it and I used it again and my sis went -if you want to talk to me like this then don't talk..hmm..I thought ok now she'll delete me from whatsapp, cos last time I used it she deleted me from her facebook, this trends been going on everywhere I guess, delete people if you don't want to talk to them, but this from siblings?seriously? she needs to grow up! I know I shouldn't use an ef word on my younger sis but she did enough to spoil my day.

I didn't hear from mom or anyone from home, I messaged my elder sis so that I can share it with her and relieve myself of anger but she never replied back so..I was all frustrated with a heavy head trying to work.. end of the day when I was about to save my work I see a message 'Microsoft has stopped working.' This added to the misery and I was more arghh! I just shut my laptop and started for home.

Its spring officially but its still  cold, I had to scratch ice on my windshield this morning so I still didn't go back to my mechanic to put my Heat back to AC ..remember my temperature control knob in the car was broken? While returning home the car got so hot with temperature reaching mid 60s..I tried driving with a window little down on the freeway but it looked as if my car was moving from one side to other side of the lane, so I just shut the window and drove, it was so hot inside that I felt my brain would leak, I decided I have to fix this myself put it on AC. 

I searched on you tube and they were videos how to fix it, it looked like this problem was common, I went to the car and under the steering its kind of a lever and all I had to do was move it to the opposite direction and I could feel the cool, I fixed it. 

Now the bottom line is if it was my mistake in the mornings argument with my sister then like everything turned out to be a flop show since morning, the fixing of AC would flop too, which didn't happen. I believe you are made to suffer/punished for all the bad you do in the same life. I have extreme cases which holds good for the above philosophy, every time I made fun of someone who fell ill in the house or in the school or friends I would fall ill within next 2 days, no their virus didn't make me fall sick, may be it did, but every time?

Getting basics right.

This might be a short post, I don't know. Hmm..I've been going to malls to pick a shoe which I can wear in this season, when I say this season-its spring but its snowing flaking and still chilly, no I am not going to complain about the climate, I am just an expat so I don't even think I have the right. Before it started snowing I got suede boots not realizing the ice and snow would make sh*t of the boots and my legs too. I wore them couple of times when it didn't snow, they still look worn out the snow aftermath did its job. I managed wearing the leather boots my father got me when I was in ninth standard, I never got a chance to wear them in India. When I came here I wore them for job fairs and interviews and gave them a top shelf corner space - prayed them, now they're dead the snow ate them. :(  The things which my parents get me are very special, I feel so bad to even throw the plastic bags/boxes they send me sweets, namkeen, achar in from India. I remember when my sister got her first job she got my sister the Harry Potter series and brown sandals for me, I still remember them, they had bow in front. We kept our shoes in a shelf under the stair case, I guarded them in the same box they came in, once in a while I would wear them in house and walk around, one day when I opened the box I found the white mouldy fungus thing on the shoes and the leather was ruined, the rain water some how entered into the box and my shoes were gone, the first thing my sis gave with her first salary went in vain, I didn't even wear them once :( Now my younger sister tells she'll get boots for me, when I asked what did you get for me, you are earning now.

Today my friends at work were talking about the skirts and different clothes they wear in summer/fall and I was thinking about my boring clothes and my sisters dialogues in background, more or less I would  just buy a capri and not wear socks with shoes haha!

Coming back to the shoes, last week I got shoes from dsw, the same store whose website I browse at nights when I don't fall sleep. After spending an hour, I got gray suede heals, on a sunday morning I was their first customer, I trashed the requirements again, I wanted something to protect me from snow/cold.

In the evening I wore them and I see they're coming out of my feet when I walk fast. I cleaned them right away and put them back in the box and returned them the next day. It doesn't happen often that I return something which was on sale or clearance but this time I had to..

The plus point of being in India or any tropical place- you don't have to buy different shoes, clothes  for every season. You are not bound to that pain of packing unpacking from the suitcase when the season changes or blame my cupboard size -I don't have a big cupboard/storage. I don't have that many things to do cos I just put on a sweater on the top which I'd wear in spring, summer or fall, but the people who live hear they have a complete different set of clothes, they enjoy buying different clothes for different seasons I guess..at least summer clothes. Haha!I am remembering how mom use to take excuses to buy different sarees every season, before rainy season she'd go for rainy season saree shopping and in summer for cotton sarees and that pain of taking those sarees to dry clean and put on startch.  I think pain is everywhere from buying summer/woolen clothes to buying rainy/summer sarees..I didn't know I would pacify myself on this argument when I was starting my blog. That's what writing is for..at least for me, I can yell, talk, cry or calm myself.

By the way, I went to the mall today and got a leopard print sandals for summer, they were on sale in Payless. Hopefully I won't return them, they were cheap for that price, I am sure mom will like them if I don't ;)

Phir bhi dil hai hindustani/Food obsession.

3/16/2013 -10:55 AM

Giving more details, its a Saturday morning and I am sipping my morning tea along with toast and murkul my friends mom sent, how healthy!! You need calories, its morning, don't curse me for overeating.

People from different nations if reading any - I don't have anything against the way you eat or what you eat and I am not discriminating, its just extra love towards my own motherland which made me write this blog. So, no offense. (I am bad at writing those techincal/statutory warning/ disclaimer or no its just my opinion lines.

We've been taught not to make fun of food or insult it, I'll try not to do so.

I have been fasting on and off to make my rozas which I left in Ramadaan, I left 14 out of 30 this time because I was sick, I got into a new role/new job, too much of travel and laziness etc etc. I know Roza means Prayers, surrendering yourself to God but its been so different for me, I am thinking, browsing about food all day at my desk otherwise too I do that regularly but its just more these days. Yesterday I made pakode which me and my Potter sis(lets name her Google sis now  :D) loved to eat, it used to be on thela (something like kiosk here in malls) in front of the very famous St.Anns Girls College. The place had Paani poori, jalebi, Mirchi Bhajji and more bhajji stands..Yumm..that place had almost everything, so we used to go there often.. the clothes store,  beauty parlor, printing stations..in India printing/scanning is still such a big deal..  When I opened my fast and ate those, first thing I did was texted my sis with the picture of bhajiyas. The previous day I made Thai chicken coconut  curry and after eating the bhajiyas I went-' Why do I even try making something which's not our own' not that the curry wasn't good but why try something which takes more time more money more fuel-yes it took me two days to get all the ingredients for the curry.

When I was new here I remember me and a friend went to a Chinese restaurant close to school we just ordered one dish and couldn't finish it, the veggies chicken pieces swimming in the soy sauce were new to us and we were not able to digest it. I am ok with the chinese food and I love thai food, I started eating more of it when I was an intern in Auburn Hills where one more friend from school worked and we used to carpool and eat lunch outside in the Thai, chineese restaurants where we got aquainted to Pad Thai, Gan garee, Kung Pao and what not.

I never had a thing for Italian, Pasta wasta and everything has that same tomato taste, I do like lasagna but for me I cant digest things without spice, they don't ask you the spice level in Italian so...haha! On the other hand I love the french cuisine it doesnt have that spice element still it can be tangy, fondueeey so..you'd have clearly understood by now that I like all the things which add on weight.

In 2010, we were invited to a church for thanksgiving dinner-there was this church going guy he used to invite us to church on Thanksgiving and Christmas and also give us ride, he's gone to India..I miss him..people use to call him Ravi Anna...nice guy. Because of him I know Turkey, Coleslaw and mashed potatoes- American food, which I'm not very fond of- Plain, Baked thrown into your plate with a dollop of butter. Kahan apna sambaar aur kahan Chilli(soup with beef in it with few chillies-cooked in a crockpot, hot according to...ahem ahem!)

The first restaurant I ate in was Qdoba, our super senior Bhaggu  took me and the other two friends there. A mexican restaurant where my friend broke his fork trying to cut a Burrito, haha. We were still in the Indian mode of eating where people eat Pizza huts pizza with so much care with a knife and fork. I have not seen a gora doing that..ever!

Initially we used to get all excited about eating outside in a restaurant, get ready and go slamming people who eat in Indian Buffet, but after a year all went phus! We are back to the desi khana and we love it and miss the Indian sweets and the bandi food.

I am planning to go low on rice and I'm worried about my achars lying in my cupboard- I have Mango which mom gave, Gongura(leafy vegetable) which a friend couriered, nimbu, small mangoes and amla which a friend got from India and mixed vegetable punjabi pickle which my lead got. I am over stocked and can't think of what to do with those :( They're lying in my cupboard I don't wanna give them away.

Anyone need some achar?

The first Thanksgiving!

A blog a month!

Bad strategy, I know...lost the blogging track so badly. No posting, no following.

Someone's said I have engaged myself in absolutely mundane activities, which are of no use...agree!absolutely!

Mmmm..Not pondering much on that, my this post's about all new things and new experiences....

Sunday Night; sadness that the weekend's over and a recap on what all happened in the weekend, weekend'd be wrong-the thanksgiving break!

Weekend's normally start from friday, but being thanksgiving the holidays were declared from thursday...

People started for vacation out of state  and the others waited eagerly for 'the black friday'..and so were us...

Had heard about thanksgiving back in India...Electronic goods, clothes everything at throw away prices...We all were so excited. The holiday feeling was ON on tuesday itself, for one of the friends was leaving for Texas... we all were so excited about his going... Having relatives here's a boon...You can go to relative X's place then relative X will take you to place Y and then at some time Z relative X will come to visit you, take you for shopping and blah blah...which unfortunately I cant take a privilege of...coz the X element's missing. :P

Wednesday was a real bad day, me down with cough and cold and  people saying 'Todays class got cancelled coz of Thanksgiving'...Watching Inception with that heavy head made it more bad(doesn't mean Inception was bad). With the end of the class I thought it was the end of the day...Half dead on the way home my friends tell that we are going to Deathly hallows HP today. Everyone was ready to kick start the vacation, except me..Yes, everyone must be aware of the famous quote 'When all is well, Nameera is not well' :P

One was going for seniors birthday party and the remaining were eagerly waiting for the movie...so, I was left with no option stale at home/Go for HP.

I played drama for an hour..after  Saradon/ zandu balm, Oil in hair, muffler round the neck, monkey cap, gloves and sweater...When they were booking the tickets online, I felt I am not doing that bad, I can see the movie.

Theatre wasn't Ohh Ahhhh Great..but the good thing was in a theatre of capacity of 500 people, they were only 30-40 seats were filled. Choose your own seats..What an awesome place for love birds, all silent, dark, no people around watch movie if you want and paying the regular movie ticket price you get the experience of watching the movie alone..Ahem!I hope I don't adopt Pesto Sauce's writing trait in some days.. 

HP was disappointing, very much this time...each time I watch it, I say 'the previous one was better'...Or may be I didn't like it coz my over excited  Potter Sis wasn't beside with me to answer my stupid questions during the movie.

The day started at One noon on thursday, Siva(the most notorious here :P...the next blog or when I am most bored I'd write about new people here) bought a seniors car. Thank God, we got the car, walking  in snow would have been for all of us..The fella took a day long time, it was a surprise to all his roomies...Me and my roomie knew it... we kept him calling whole day, he came in the evening 7 and we come to know that the car was parked yesterday itself in front of the apartment...Huh!

The other roomie in the same house bought the car on the same day in the afternoon...but we were much excited about this car coz it was our own...parked in front of our apartment.

It was raining and Rahul the pujari of our group did Pooja, Did aarthi, put Kum kum, turmeric and rice grains on the car... and I too kept my holy book in it.

The day doesn't end here...Midnight starts the day we were waiting eagerly for, since the time we were in India-'Black Friday'. 

We went to Walmart with our beloved seniors Randeep and Srikanth.. I didnt find clothing very interesting, no brand makes it all dull...so was walmart, they were few good deals on Electronic goods, We had no plans to stay there whole night, but one of my friend stood stubborn there for the Sony Camera, which had a queue and the distribution of the camera would start at 5 AM.
Three in the group were tired and went into the car to sleep...we sat down in the queue for the GPS, few people slept in the queue.

With people the weather too went off the track, it snowed and it was so chilly. I can never forget that frozen moment, where I was just wearing a fleece Jacket, Siva trying to open the lock for five minutes and Shree jumping, to save himself cold, shouting...'Oh man...open it! Open it!!'
We came back at six thirty in the morning, slept for two hours and then again started for shopping-Sommerset Mall...all brands International brands together made confused Nameera more confused and thanks to Siva for holding bags and running across the stores...Others had no patience, my roomie gave up the very first time we went for shopping... :P
Bought few things for siblings... It felt good in buying not big but atleast something from the big stores- Abercrombie, Victoria Secrets. Didn't buy anything for self( no! not gaining sympathy...shopped for self almost everytime we go to a mall...so this times minused me).
Saturday, the bakra had to be halal'd, trapped Siva for the treat for his new car and the fella did pay a huge amount as a newbie; not earning anything.
Sunday, when I got up I found that my eyes were all red and watering...I stopped using lenses a month back coz of the same reason and I used it a day before and it started again.

Everybody had something for thanksgiving, I had Eye drops and and...Pharmacy's here are not like India, limited to medicines...they're huge and have more Skin/Hair care, toilettery than medicines. So, there was a sale on Loreal products and I got a lip color for 2 point something dollars... ;)

Of all things about thanksgiving, If I'd wait for thanksgiving the next year its the thanksgiving dinner/Lunches..I'd like to thank all those who fed me Turkey and yummy salads. I am in love with a salad called 'Coleslaw'...I will make it definitely and eat daily...my senses cant forget that taste still...Yumm!!!

Cutting?Passing?Wasting time!!

Everything’s been so boring these days...nothing much happening..so is the blog today.Past few weeks have just been like play,stop!play stop!Like running the same cassette over and over again..you can take it as cd if you want..(i know it wasn’t that funny).

It’s raining fasts in AP these days, thanks to Sonia gandhi that i didn’t mention Telangana here..The separate Telangana moment, nothing but the change in headlines of news papers, deaths of a few innocent people..publicity to the evil drama king KCR, his son and lime light for few of the long slept MLA’s..nothing else!Ah...Nothing else?nothing else?? Pour a tumbler of water on your face lazy!!ya....this laziness is the aftermath of what i’ve gone through all these days..what happened?oh..what didn’t happen!!

It’s been a long long longgggggg time I went out for shopping...The tickets we booked for Paa’s show, the show got cancelled..EXAM POSTPONED !!twice thrice,everyday!!and its on 2^nd of jan now, means don’t celebrate!You have to study,drop all your plans till 2^nd!! why does this happen to me only? :(

So..I was telling what lazy me’s been upto.. running..running in the morning and then doing some exercise not lying on the yoga mat and sleeping ..ah..I donno what cloud of sadness has been over me it was day before yesterday that i was working out and suddenly this song played on my dvd kal ho naa ho...and I never listen to sad numbers coz i start crying if I do so..but donno..I felt like crying,crying this time..so I didn’t change it, cried cried for what? For I had nothing to do?For I had enough time to cry? : P Arey....!!I cried coz SRK was dying.... :D hmm..i cried coz i was bored! :D hmm..ok ok!i cried coz its good if you cry sometimes..simply for no reason!And then I try to figure out why my lacrimal glands started shedding fluid, then the first and only vision I get is of my sis, I donno if it comes to put a stop on my tears or it’s coz I miss her..ah..no!i don’t miss her..We talk almost daily!may be she comes to put a stop on them...coz ders no such grief for which I ‘d shed tears! thanks to God..Hmm..and on the next number I danced danced :D Then hot hot tea!!thanks to God,i don’t have to do all on my own..and then mast breakfast! then Ma Pa rushes to office putting us under house arrest saying..their’s fuss in the city beta,don’t go outside it isn’t safe!Even after everything's clear,all fine!huhh!Till then I eat my sis and my other online pals heads...Social networking sites were never my cup of tea,since hue left I rarely use orkut and I never liked facebook,dont know for what reason,may be coz I don't get a chance to spy there or may be coz of its boring format!!boredom led me to use facebook too or should I say playing on facebook...the Farmville!what boring game it is!And i wonder, how people play it ..so big big farms..God!My sis and my bro’s too addicted to it now a days.poor people under house arrest we resorted to farming :P

Thanks to HBO and star movies it lessened my grief...I saw the stupidest movies I ever imagined I’d see- Tinker bell,Wanted,Dev D :P,Tum mile,All the best.The only ones I liked were Twilight(I didn’t read the book,so it wasn’t bad for me),The ugly truth and I wanted to see Ni-shabd- from-many-days-its-buffering-now! :D what else can a useless person do??God!!This all scares me of becoming a jobless and of becoming a house wife! :P How do they pass time??

Ah..another thing i’ve been doing..this again brings me to the sad sad mood..I couldn’t finish P.S i love you,since 2 months..!!ah..i read it daily on bed, and not more than a page am asleep..that too deeply!!That sad and boring it is,finally I got rid off the book, how?I saw the movie!!ting!ting!!hahhaha!And now,i’ve started reading Morning Noon and night by Sidney ,the events in this book takes place so quickly that I feel i should return to P.S.i Love you again.. :P .My taste in books too has changed I guess,or I don’t even know what to read? Haaaaah!

Donno why Sis too started writing all sad sad blogs like a sad puppy and one of my favorite blogger Amith,he stopped blogging..it was all sad sad...That’s it!that’s how it went..all these days..

Ah!Nishabd is almost buffered,I’ll watch it before the power woooosss..ok!