1.1.11 - Happy New Year!

Aaah, the feeling of the new year. A new leaf turning. A fresh page. A clean slate. It's great!

I'm really looking forward to this year's new developments. I'm anxious, and I'm also excited. The feeling of what's unknown did worry me at once, but my resolution is to let it not worry me anymore.

2010 was a great year. Lots of happy times. Lots of challenges as well, but it feels rewarding to know that I've overcome them. The holiday break from work was very relaxing and productive at the same time. I got done what I needed to get done (well, almost!).

I wish 2011 turns out to be happy, healthy, and prosperous for not just me, but also my family and friends. I think I have the world's most supportive and loving family, and the best bunch of friends. I couldn't be more content with the company of those I'm amongst today. Really, I'm lucky.

So, Hello 2011 - and I'm looking forward to see what you bring on!

Long Time!

I haven't posted in a while, and I guess the motivation to write comes from the fact that I have to jot down some of the things that I've done the past few months. Nothing great or extremely exciting, but these years down the road, I'd like to look at this blog and remember these times!

I went on a road trip early October to see autumn colors with some of my friends. It's great to go on impromptu trips and make new friends - especially those that will last for the many years to come. Ever since this trip, I've shared many great times with SE and NP ... and now, a day without a chat or a phone call without them does not exist! :-)

November reminds me of the long Thanksgiving weekend, which was very relaxing and unwinding. I guess you realize how hectic life has become when being home and doing nothing feels like a vacation in itself! Thanksgiving day was filled with fun times with friends, and cooking some awesome Italian food (Spinach-Chick Pea Soup, Lasagna, and Garlic Bread... and then a home-made chocolate fondue to top it off). I was happy to be in the company of friends as my folks were out of town.

The first two weeks of December have already flown by so quickly. My birthday falls during early December, and this year was a big 'milestone' birthday. I took the day off from work and relaxed at home with family. My birthday fell on a Friday, so I made a nice birthday weekend out of it and celebrated for three days instead of one! I got some awesome gifts too - an iHome, a Max Brenner cookbook filled with the best chocolate recipes, a Hug Mug (yes, I'm now the proud owner of a Hug Mug), and DVDs of my favorite seasons of Friends and How I Met Your Mother, a quarter (don't ask), and a hug (again, don't ask). It was a great birthday weekend, and I spent it with those who mattered, which is what matters the most.

That about wraps up the last three months. I'm looking forward to the rest of December as Christmas holidays are coming. So the plan is to live it up and that sums up the agenda for the month! :-)

Bibimbap and Zetinz

No, I'm not going crazy, nor am I speaking baby language. Bibimbap is a Korean dish, and the word literally means 'Mixed Rice'. I was recently exploring Midtown Manhattan, as this is where I work now (new job). While walking to the New York Public Library after work one day, I saw this really cute-sie café called Zetinz, which reminded me of a similar one that I had been to in Paris. I went in to see what they have, and oh my, the spread was so eclectic! All the way in the back, I saw a huge table with a ricecooker that had steaming hot Jasmine rice and nicely-arranged colorful arrangement of various vegetables, tofu, bean sprouts, sauces, fried eggs/meat, etc. On top of that table was a huge sign called 'Make Your Own Bibimbap!'

Perplexed by the name, I googled it on my phone and read that it was a Korean dish. You put the hot steaming rice on the bottom of the huge bowl they give you, and top it with all those delicious-looking vegetables and other toppings, sesame oil, hot-sweet soy sauce and some ginger paste. Then, you mix everything and in go your chopsticks.

I'm eating my very own Bibimbap as I write this post, and it's hands-down delicious. All the flavors blend in together so well.

The sum of the toppings is definitely tastier than the whole!

Who Am I?

I lure you towards me,
I control your day.

You'd be all over the place if you didn't have me,
I'm a necessity, I daresay.

I can be chunked up, or one whole thing,
I tell you whom you need to email or whom to ring.

I know you're running out of milk and bread,
I know I'm the one thing you dread.

I'm emotionless and void of feelings.
So, stare at me all you want, or pretend I don't exist.

Who am I?
I'm none other than your to-do list!

Missing Mumbai, Missing Home!

Exactly three years ago, right after finishing my undergrad studies, I set off to India for about two months to spend the rest of my summer there. Hands down, it was the best summer I've had to date. No two months have ever been so relaxing and fun. I can't believe it's been three years, because it feels like yesterday.

Summer 2007 -

I was eating my Aaji's homemade Amti-Bhaat, Daalimbyanchi Usal, Kadhi Khichadi, Solkadi, Anarse, Satorya, Shrikhand, and other countless awesome Maharashtrian delicacies. Not that Aai doesn't make them here, but authentic Indian food in India is something else all together. I can't help but think about how 'chilled out' I was, after accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish during my undergrad years.

I was in Mumbai, jumping off and on Churchgate Fast locals. Street shopping. Eating Chhabildas' Batata Wadas. Drinking Piyush at Panshikars. Hanging out at Bandstand. Sleeping with my head in my Aaji's lap. It was all a great time. Ever since I was two till when we came to the US, I've spent every summer in Mumbai, but this one had it's own charm; one which I can't express in words.

I visited to Goa for a holiday within a holiday! I went to Pune and Aurangabad to visit my relatives. Tulshibaag in Pune, Panchakki in Aurangabad, and beaches in Goa. It was bliss personified!

I'm longing to go back home right now. It's weird, my friends call me crazy because I live with my family, yet call Mumbai my home. I guess it is a little off-beat. I'm yet to decide where home is. NJ or Mumbai?

Arabs Crossing The Desert by Jean-Leon Gerome

This past weekend, I had a great time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. I love anything that has to do with Art, so this was a treat for me. I visited the MET after almost 10 years, so I noticed quite a bit of change, of course.

My favorite from this trip had to be Arabs Crossing the Desert by Jean-Leon Gerome. This is an oil painting, and the clarity is phenomenal. The perspective, fabulous and the effect, dramatic.

You can almost feel the scorching heat, the blinding sunlight, and the dust in your eyes.

I'm attaching a snap of the painting. It's a treat for the eyes.

Not Quite What I Was Planning

I came across an interesting book called Not Quite What I Was Planning. It contains six-word memoirs written by a whole bunch of people. Basically, you've got to sum up your life in six words, and six words only. Not more, not less.

My first thought was - alright, seriously, I'm barely 25. Quarter-life crisis, alright, but am I not a little too young to be summing up my life and writing my six-word autobiography?

And then my second thought was - what better have I got to do this second anyway?

So here goes, a few failed attempts, followed by a pretty good one, I should think.

Almost 25. Thirty in 5 more!!
Always happy and always will be!
I have had an awesome life.

And then... bingo!
Adaptation. The Story of My Life.

I'm actually quite proud of my six words, because if I look back, I've always had to adapt to new circumstances, new places, and new people. My dad's job was such that we had to move a lot -within India, across the globe to the United States, and then, within the United States as well. I had no choice, but to be receptive to change.

It was not easy. I realize how crazy it was after talking to some people who have had the same set of friends since they were two years old! My friends pretty much changed every two years, and due to lack of Facebook back then, it was hard to keep in touch. So places changed, friends changed, situations changed... and I had no choice but to accept it.

Looking back though, all the moving around was what shaped me into the person I am today. I'm not afraid of exploring unchartered territories because it's become second nature. I love meeting new people and I make friends easily. I thank my baba now, because if it weren't for him, I would probably not have seen places like Fargo, North Dakota and Boise, Idaho. If it weren't for him, I would have been afraid of failures. If it weren't for him, I would not have learned to embrace change with a strong gut.

So there it is. Adaptation. The Story of My Life.