Graduates

It's that time of the year again. As the leaves turn green and roses in my garden perfume the evening air, I prepare to say goodbye to another set of graduates leaving high school for the greener pastures of college.

More choice, classes that they WANT to be in rather than HAVE to be in (mostly), better parties and by far the most important, greater independence. I think about the places they will go and the people they will meet and I wonder: have I left any impression on their minds? Will they take anything from my classes for the rest of their lives?

Since this blog is one of the multitudes out there and no one really knows I'm writing it, I guess I'll never know. But I hope they will. I hope I will see them again as the years pass. And I hope if they speak of me, they will speak well of me.

Amanda's adventure

Every morning at around seven, I let the dog out into the backyard to do what she needs to do. Every morning, I clean up after her.

This morning, as I made sure the grass is clean and good for the kids to play in, Amanda slinked out from under the gate. After I was done, I called out for her to come in. When there was no sound of the patter of tiny paws I got a little testy and wished she would hurry up. She likes to take time to explore and I was in a hurry. I called a few more times then figured she must have gone inside ahead of me. I went back in indoors and called just to check. There was no answer. Now I was a little worried.

Soon, I was calling for Amanda in the house, not caring that I'll wake up my sleeping children and husband. When I knew she was not in the house, I panicked, woke up my husband and started a real search. Took the car out and drove up and down the street. Imagine my relief when I see her walking as happy as you please a block up the hill from the house.

I picked her up and we drove home. Once inside, I used my loud voice to let her know that what she had done was not good. Mommy was not happy with her little Amanda girl. And now, three hours later I miss my little girl. Can't wait to go home and scoop her up in my arms. All's well that ends well.

U2, WE TOO!!!

Saturday, June 4th 2011. What an unforgettable experience! Hubby and I went to Quest Field to watch and listen to U2. Bono is such a consummate entertainer and had I not gone to this concert, I would have never known!

I have known about and supported most of his causes. But I did not expect him to be so cool and funny. I guess I expected more arrogance from an established rockstar but Bono was just mesmerizing to watch!

Funny side story: Last year, when our friend Tom posted on facebook that his U2 tickets were up for grabs, I immediately jumped at the chance. Then Bono broke his back and the concert was postponed. I didn't stay updated and had no idea that it was still on. When Candi, Tom's wife, emailed a reminder I was surprised and ecstatic. But the weird part was, Parvez didn't want me to buy those tickets! Then very unwillingly, he told me that he too, had bought tickets and that it was meant to be a surprise for me ...:-) what a sweetheart! My heart did a little jig as I looked at my sweetie who would stand for four hours at a rock concert even with a hurt foot. I'm a very lucky gal.

Photos of Amanda

Amanda

On Friday two weeks ago, my husband and I visited the Seattle Humane Society and came home with Amanda. She is a terrier mix and a bundle of energetic love! At ten years, Amanda is a middle aged lady with a strong mind and strong maternal instincts. Shy at first, she has increasingly grown more and more vocal in her protection of her new home. Neighbors are criticised in no uncertain terms for walking on our side of the sidewalk. The rest of the family though, has been smiling more, at her antics and at ourselves for going gaga over our furry new girl. Amanda is her perfect name for she brings joy to all who meet her.

As we go for our afternoon walk/run, I tell her my day and she scolds me for leaving her alone. Feels so good to come home and have her jump all over me, telling me " I love you, I missed you, now can we PLEASE get out of the house?"

Radiation fears

Now comes the second part of the story. After a few hours, news of the blast in the nuclear reactors filtered into the US. As our local and national channels broadcast updates, I looked up how far the reactors were from Tokyo. Then I skyped my brother to see if he was thinking of moving. He told me not to worry, as it was just the shells breaking, the reactors were fine. Although worried, I felt my brother and his wife were in the best position to know what to do. In the days that followed, I had nightly conversations with my mother, both of us agreeing that my brother should move, yet dreading asking him what he thought of that option, because both my mother and I knew what his answer would be.

It was a great relief when I heard his office was moving him temporarily to Osaka. Even better to find out that they were going to Singapore for a while.

It has now been six weeks since it all started. My brother and his wife are back in Tokyo, to their daily grind. I still worry because the radiation levels keep rising from what one hears in the news. I keep telling myself not to believe everything I see or read in the internet or TV but it is hard to be objective and rational when one's own is in danger.

It is still hard to believe that Tokyo, that great machine and success story of modern technology is living through a crisis it is ill-equipped to handle. No one seems to have a handle on the reactor situation. Maybe there isn't an immediate fix. But let's hope that things will improve in six months. I never want to relive the anxiety, the fear and the constant worry of not knowing and not being able to help in any meaningful way.

My Tokyo Earthquake post

This post is over a month belated. The Tokyo earthquake of March 14, 2011 destroyed thousands of lives and the tsunami redrew the coastline, killing thousands more. The resultant damages to nuclear reactors created a radiation hazard that continue to plague the lives of people in northeastern Honshu.

Not many people in my immediate circle know that my brother, my only sibling, lives in Tokyo. We have rarely spoken to each other. There have been times we've been estranged and the physical distance, the stress of modern living, jobs exacerbated the gulf between us. But the news of the earthquake was troubling. I remember telling myself that if any country in the world is equipped to handle an earthquake, it is Japan. Then I tried calling my brother and sister-in-law's cell phones. No connection.

I kept calling, while telling myself that things are fine. But it was getting harder to keep the tears at bay. My morning classes started, and I still had no word. I could not reach any number in Japan, in any area. After two hours of non-stop dialling, my tears were falling pretty fast. I did not care that my students saw me in this vulnerable state. I was doing exactly what I try not do in a crisis: panic.

I called my parents in India, to see if they had heard anything. All they could tell me was that they had spoken to my sister-in-law while she was still in her office, but that the phone had disconnected during their conversation. Hearing this made my fear the worst.

It was my husband who was finally able to make contact through Skype, to find out that everyone was safe. My sister-in-law walked home. There was a food shortage brewing as people were stockpiling food. But other than that, things were normal. Heaving a sigh of relief, I went back to my usual day.

Success!!

Super successful auction!! After six months of sleepless nights, constant planing, countless phone calls coaxing donors, the verdict is in: the auction raised $120K for the school this year.

Not an all-time high, but definitely a record in recent years, given the dump the economy's in. Feel good about selling a classroom art piece for $4000. That's some serious marketing.

Also happy about the dining frenzy going viral in the live room. People buying $50 restaurant certificates for three times the price....seriously?!! WTF guys? Annnyway, this auction chair is not complaining...show up all your neighbors and tablemates, be the first one to raise that paddle and keep it up the whole night ;-)

Time to move on to the next event, AP exams in May!!

T-5 and counting!

Stress Relief

This post is not connected to any self-help nonsense. Nor am I interested in medical or psychylogical issues and their treatment. One could make sexual associations and under usual circumstances I would be okay with it. But not now. Now I'm just stressed. Not with physical exertion but with dealing with a thousand passive aggresive tiger moms with pta stripes whose idea of fun is to pick apart other people's ideas. For fun. I wonder what they do when they are mad.

Power does make a lot of people feel better about themselves. And to some extent, we all enjoy a taste of power when we look back at our youth and feel happy about how far we've come. The genealogy of power is fun to read about, and power plays are certainly amusing to observe at a distance. But being in the thick of it is just awful. Especially if you're like me who likes to see smiles all around and never mind the world going to pot.

Not gonna happen, you say? I need to wake up and smell the daisies, you say? Maybe I will. Then I will give those daisies a big fat smile for being so darn cheerful.

Life/ Furniture

If you have lived in student housing you know what the room looks like: university issued twin bed with metal frame, sofa bed in a matte brown or some other unbearably drab color, vinyl tiles on the floor and kitchen counter.

Move up to the newly employed singles scene where monochrome rules in black sofa and white or animal print rug. Stainless steel (new) shiny appliances add a bright note. A few well placed knickknacks on low tables speak of a well traveled resident. Books placed strategically scream 'this is an intelligent person who wants you to know they read'. And of course, a large screen TV.

Then comes the family. The white rug is replaced with one in neutral colors, preferably with a pattern of some sort to hide the stains. The knickknacks are replaced with boxes of tissues, always within quick grasp. Crayon doodles on walls mark the creative genius growing up in the household. Plastic covers on antique wooden tables, locks on toilets and drawers, a swing or a high chair where the wine rack used to be.

Finally, as the locks come off and rooms get divvied up, a well used recliner is placed next to the natuzzi sofa. Look closely and you'll see that the recliner is placed directly facing the TV. Almost as if the person sitting on is o a desert island. Look closer and you'll see the dents in the sofa next to it. Where others used to sit and argue over the remote. Arguments that have now ceased. Seats that lie open.

Photo with said hottie...Geoff Stults for the curious...

Forty, Flirty and the Hottie

This year I will turn forty. I didn't notice my twentieth and the thirtieth barely notched a raised eyebrow. But this approaching birthday and all the jokes, stereotypes and baggage that it brings is giving me the pre-menopausal equivalent of hot flashes.

So what's the big deal about forty anyway? It's not the beginning of life regardless of what diehard optimists might claim. It is not the end, 'coz believe me, the way medical research is going, we are going to be extending this long miserable yet exciting experience called life by many decades. So why are my panties in such a bunch? Is it because for the first time I am looking back at what I have done and how much I managed to leave undone? Promises I made to myself that have been kept and those that have been cast aside with some self-placating excuse? Is it the fact that even if I starve for a whole day, and I mean real starving, without a morsel of food, I still don't look model thin the day after, like I used to in my 20's?

Dickens would have liked that previous sentence. Whatever. The point is, I have been feeling real blue. Restless. As if fun and excitement and real accomplishment is passing me by and I'm just twiddling my thumbs. So I pick up after the kids, yell "dinner time" or "breakfast" at different hours of the day and wonder, is this all there is?

Dear reader, if your mind is wandering in the midst of all this self-pity, fear not. I'm about to tell you the flirty and hottie part. As you know, we were in Miami on vacation and I crashed the set of a tv series. After hanging around like a teenage groupie, I managed to get a photo with the handsome lead character, played by a true hollywood hottie.

I pride myself on looking for substance, not the glitter of outer beauty. But damme if I wasn't all flushed from a close encounter with the hottie kind. Of course, all that hormone activity probably killed my brain cells. Because after the photo, all I could think of saying to this actor was "did you know there's a really good restaurant right behind your set"? So much for oratorial brilliance. He's going to remember me forever.

So there's my story. Still forty, hopefully a hottie though rather rusty with the flirty part. How do I get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice ;-)

Miami mon amour

The sun, the water, the warmth of the people embrace us in a welcoming hug.

Hello 2011!

This has been quite a hiatus. Many changes have happened. In the past six months, I went to India for two months and came back with the realization that I'm significantly different from my mother.

Organized my second International Night at school. Nearly 300 people attended, which might be the entire population of the valley. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but the auditorium was bursting at the seams. And the food disappeared in the blink of an eye. Minus some AV snafus at the start, a pretty good evening. Do I want to do this next year? Hmm..

Phenomenal birthday celebrations organized by my handsome and charming husband Parvez. Three birthday cakes, and never mind the muffin top(s) :-) Yay!

Another Mitra trip to India. This time I organized the trip but didn't actually travel. Again, is this something I want to do every year? Hmmm...

Finally, the best for last: my brush with Hollywood!! While on vacation in Miami, we find out from the hotel bartender that Bones is shooting in Miami and yours truly vows to meet Booth and Brennan. Well, turns out they weren't coming in till the following week (darn it!) but I did meet Hart Hanson. Here's how it went down.

Me (to HH's assistant): Do you think I could say hi to Mr Hanson? I love his show!

HH's Asst: Let me go ask him. (She walks over to where he's sitting, leans over and whispers) There's a lady who wants to say hi to you.

HH: Does she look crazy? (This is probably what he said, I only overheard the crazy part and deduced the rest. Huzzah for years of eavesdropping on whispered conversations in class!)

HH turns to look to where I'm standing, gets up and comes over... I say,

Me: I'm not crazy, you see..

HH: Oh you heard that? (We all laugh a little uncertainly)

Me: I love your show, especially the writing. Great actors too..

HH: Yes, Emily and David are great. They'll be here next week, but I can't tell you where.

Me: Oh that's too bad! We are leaving tomorrow :-(

HH: Where are you from?

Me: Seattle. Any chance you guys will be shooting there?

HH: (Thinks a little)..er, no. I had to think there a little, but no.

Me: Oh well. May I ask, will Brennan and Booth get together at the end? You know, after the elevator scene?

HH: (looks a little startled)

Me: Yea, I like to do research so I read up on the show....I generally don't watch frivolous TV..

HH: (by now he's recovered his poise) Well you know, they started out as a family and that's where they'll be at the end, a family...

Me: Thank you for taking a picture with me, and make more shows!

HH: Smiles and runs to the safety of his chair and monitor. Thank you Hart Hanson, you are not only a genius but also a gentleman!

Up next: Flirting with forty and two minutes with a Hollywood Hottie