The Golden City...

The golden sands, the sandstone lined walls and homes, the glistening sun bouncing off the lake, the glowing fort walls as the night sets in... Jaisalmer does live up to its name "The Golden City"! The rustic charm of Jaisalmer left us wanting more of it! Considering it is in the middle of the desert, there is a lovely breeze greeting you through the day that almost dissipates the heat (almost but not quite). The evenings and early mornings are actually very cool and our sojourns at these times (we reserved the mid afternoon for languishing in our air conditioned rooms) were absolutely wonderful. The people are so warm and hospitable.. as you can probably gather, I fell in love with this quaint little place!

We stayed at this charming hotel called "Shahi Palace" that has a great view of the fort from its very inviting roof garden! Owned by 5 siblings/cousins, it feels so much like home! Their warm hospitality and yummy home cooked meals, helped us to fall in love with Jaislamer.. and when we had to leave, it was with the resolve that we would come back and stay longer! They were really sweet, on the first night as we hung around on the roof top, one of the brothers kept us company, relegating tales and imitating accents from around the world. Another, cooked up some desert mushrooms (he had picked just that day) and gave it to us for a taste. It was almost like the way your mom/ grandmom tells you.. taste this,this is so yum! If you do go to Jaisalmer, this is a good place to stay!

While the fort and the numerous havelis with their intricate craftsmanship holds a unique charm that only those ancient relics can hold! And the glistening lake where we pedaled a boat was simply a wonderful find in the desert, the highlight of our visit was the desert safari! But before we go down that lane, I must stop to talk about the lake. We were very excited about the prospect of getting on the lake.. and with child like delight naively looked forward to exercising our legs! However as we endeavored to get some pictures of birds flocked on the banks we hit something and could not move!

We were a good 20 feet from the banks, and so we were really bewildered! Trying not to panic we called out to a guy rowing a oat nearby with a dozen passengers! He quickly reached us and took off his footwear, rolled up his sleeves and I had visions of him diving under the boat and laboriously extricating us from whatever tangle we had got ourselves in! Instead the guy got off the boat into ankle deep water and pushed our boat off from where we had struck land! As you can imagine, all of us, including the passengers of the other boat had a good laugh!!

The next day saw us pottering about in the wee hours of the morning as we prepared for a early start to the deep deserts! We drove off to witness the sunrise among the sand dunes.. but we fell short by a few minutes.. so had to watch the sunrise well before our rides arrived.. still it was an awesome sight!! And then we saw them at a distance.. our majestic rides... as we straddled the camels and rode off into the dawn a thrill went down my spine! We had a breakfast of toast and tea in the wilderness... sitting on a colorful mat.. on the glistening dunes, camels chewing off the desert plants on one side! It was absolutely exhilarating! And at this time of the day it was nice and cool! We were joined by a group of European tourists who had spent the night under the stars in the middle of the desert! Wish I could have done that!! Except I would have not had a wink of sleep... the images of dung beetles (they feast on the camel dung.. hence the name) a la matrix style kept interrupting the pleasant images of solitude on the Desert!

After a trek on the sand dunes.. did you know that Jaisalmer was once a sea? They have fossil stones of sea creatures! And here is what we found in the middle of the arid desert .. yes shells! Anyway after a trek on the dunes, we hopped on our rides to head back to the village! The nice camel caretaker, invited us to see his home and village. We bid goodbye to our fellow tourists and headed back (oh yes this was a special privilege he said.. because we were the only Indians he had seen in months... that was surprising!). Although our camel "Tola" insisted on brushing against every shrub and thorn bush along the way.. not to mention backs of other camels, this was an experience we will carry with us for the rest of our lives! Cheeky was sad to leave his friend "Tola" behind.. and promised to come back soon with Daddy!

We left Tola in good company though. The gaily dressed village folks in their cool sandstone homes, celebrate everyday with music and dance! They take good care of the camels. The village children skip school and hang around the village. A few of them followed us around and even took some pictures with us! As we left we handed out our stash of Candy and Cookies.. they only wanted more!! Growing up in a land surrounded for miles by arid desert must be hard! I was told the kids don't even get to see candy and cookies for months! The land had not seen rain in 3 years and even food was hard to come by! So luxuries were unheard of! Their only snack is husk from the grains.. We wished we had known.. we could have taken more goodies for the cheerful, smiling little friends we made!

After taking a stroll in the fort, seeing the palaces and the city views.. not to mention shopping for souvenirs it was time to leave! And we hoped we had planned to stay longer! I am sure the pictures speak for themselves and my ramblings in this post are superfluous! Jaisalmer with its rustic appeal is a must see.. As we left I promised myself, I will be back to stay for a week or two and experience the rustic charm yet again! But for now we were off to the Pink City!

Are we there yet?

I have this annoying habit, I like to get to every airport/ railway station/ bus depot ... (you get the drift) well ahead of time! In the same habit.. I dragged everyone to the station a full hour and a half ahead of time! The train did not seem to care to arrive till it was almost time to leave, and then it left in its own leisurely pace about 30 minutes late!! While the train took its time.. we stood at the railway station under a precious spot we had grabbed.. so while others jostled us to look up the waiting list for the train.. we stood our ground.. surrounded by our baggage's and looked longingly at the fan above us that ran in full speed! Yet the rivulets of sweat flowed down our faces and backs.. and we downed bottles of ice cold water... that seemed to just evaporate from inside our body!!

We spotted a peddler adorned in chains and padlocks.. Suddenly struck by paranoia and visions of men in masks taking away my bags of clothes.. I insisted we buy a padlock and chain from the guy! While a German couple haggled with the guy... without speaking a word of Hindi .. they got the chain and padlock for Rs. 25. While we the big Hindi speaking peasants.. paid Rs. 40 for the exact same thing!!!

After a night of restless sleep, we were up bright and early in eager anticipation. However, there was more ground to cover! The journey now seemed endless... after stopping at every inert village on the way, where throngs of villagers dressed in white clothes and colorful turbans, while the women dressed in rich colors, covered their head and face with the colorful dupattas; and stood around without a care in the world! The sole purpose of their rendezvous seemed to be to watch the trains go by.. considering that there seemed to be only fields nearby.. it must have been quite a hike! We on the other hand sat in drab railway boxes, wore dirty stinky boring clothes and wondered why the throngs existed.. looking around for a reason.. maybe a festival? a fete? a carnival? a temple.. anything? No? All this hike and finery just to see us? Really?

After acres and acres of arid desert that seemed to go on forever! At least half a dozen people in our railway car trying to keep us entertained with loud music from their mobiles! Did any of us tell them that they were all causing our heads to split and ears to cry.. playing 6 different songs on their mobiles? No!! We just put up with it and lamented about it to each other! While at it.. we tried the subtle glances, the pointed piercing looks, the threatening glares.. anything but open our mouth and say something!! The noise continued! Not to mention, there was a 4 yr old spider man jumping around on our feet, backs, laps, hands and heads! As long as it belongs to one of the Cheeky family, it was fair game I suppose! Given all this, we were just about ready to jump out the train!! Really!! However we stay put in our a/c chariots and worried about stepping into the heat of the arid desert outside while the train still rode on stopping every few minutes.. and one imp whined " I don't want to be a passenger anymore!!" At least it was a relief from "Are we there yet?"

Remember the story about the padlock peddler? When we finally after having fought every instinct to unlock the chains early.. remember the masked bandits? .. well we finally decided, might as well unlock, for we would have to take the baggage with us after all eh? {ding!} We found that the lock and key having dispensed their duty were now headed to the after world..
However we had more adventures in store for us.. We had arrived at the Golden City!
Disclaimer: I am not whining about India.. I absolutely love India even with its little idiosyncrasies.. but I also was born with a sarcastic tongue!! :P

The Golden Triangle and some...

Last year when we were on our vacation to India.. we had only one agenda, to meet people and introduce Cheeky to his myriad relatives.. a vacation from the vacation did not seem necessary.. and we were happy enough to spend a couple of days in Ooty.. and kid ourselves that we had spent the best part of our vacation there!

However this year we were fore-warned.. so we started planning the break well in advance! My sister was longing for a break from the Chennai heat.. and we were not really prepared for another Indian summer.. so we chose to go north.. We decided to go to Himachal Pradesh.. and head to the Himalayas. After scary stories of the monsoon rains and land slides, that plan was dropped and instead Rajasthan was picked! Yeah I know more fool we.. we were hoping that with the monsoon rains Delhi and Rajasthan would be cooler than usual. The dates were decided and tickets were booked.. and the wait began!

On the day of the travel.. everyone was rushed.. bags packed, tickets printed, doors locked.. check check check.. we were off to the airport to board Indigo airlines to Delhi! On the flight, as we took off, I could be heard praying fervently.. I always knew that Indigo had cheap tickets and they saved by not serving you any food! However as we took off, the rickety plane made creaking noises.. the engine roared while the plane did not soar.. vroom vroom the sound said as the flight made its slow ascent!! It seemed like going in an auto rickshaw as against a BMW 5 series!!

However the flight was smooth and we made it in time (well just over time) to Delhi. And we were hit by a blast of heat.. coming from Chennai it seemed even more hot and humid.. we were so surprised.. and we thought it was monsoon season! So now none of our clothes in the 3 jam packed suitcases could work.. we needed more clothes!! yay!!

Early the next morning (that is if you will let me consider 9 am early), we hit the roads to explore Delhi.. We were awed by the Parliament, the Presidential Palace - Rashtrapathi Bhavan, India gate and Janpath... as much as we were in awe of the structures, the roads were duly admired too.. Despite the facts that no lane rules were followed on the wide roads, let alone the fact that sometimes there were no lanes even marked on the roads.. Still Delhi has the infrastructure to implement roads of international standards! We then headed to the highlight of our Delhi tour.. Qutab Minar! While the minar itself is awesome.. it is surrounded by some really awe inspiring pillars and statues that are breathtakingly awesome! I seemed to be transported in time to the 1100's... as I traversed the walkways and admired the workmanship!!

By mid afternoon though, after lunch at some obscure place suggested by the taxi driver; we headed to red fort.. the long lines and the heat had us rushing back to the car after taking some customary snaps of red fort and us in front of it.. Now we can say we have been there! Soon it was time to head to the railway station.. we were going to begin our soujourn in Rajasthan! So with eager anticipation we headed in the heat of the day to the railway station! How did that turn out? Come back and read the next part of the Adventures of Cheeky and Mommy!! Meanwhile I leave you with some pictures from Delhi...

M and the laddle!

VJ tagged me (of all people) to write about M (M the Hubby dearest for the unintiated) ... If I could really get sentimental ... I would probably wax long about how much he means to me or how much I owe him for putting up with my scatter brained self! But I probably couldn't keep a straight face while I wrote such stories.. for if this is true, then the reverse is the harder truth (my putting up with him of course!!)... so in the true spirit of this blog let me tell you a story..

About The Man and the ladle!
I had heard stories about how in the "Bachelor days" in a remote corner of Arizona 2 roomies would make a mean rasam and aloo fry sabji and actually have lunch from home everyday! And I chose to believe this tale! So when after boring each other to death with emails, one of which relegated the tale of this culinary hero making Payasam (Kheer, a milky relish) on his birthday! We finally met each other.. and I (so naively) asked about his culinary proficiency and decided from the stories I would never have to learn the elusive art of cooking! The first few months were actually close(r) to what should have been reality.. while the self proclaimed Chef did not cook everyday.. he did party catering and provided tips and advice... and I held that stupid sweet smile of the new bride in denial!!
But on this day 7 years later I have decided to finally bury that feminism hatchet, heave a big sigh of despair and declare that the man and the ladle don't go hand in hand.. and the Culinary hero of the yester years and his tallest tales remain a distant dream! Maybe for this vacation I could pack this man and his ladle to a culinary camp!! What say? (Images courtesy: http://www.cksinfo.com/cartoons/miscellaneous/education/index.html, http://www.reverendfun.com/?date=20000724)

Keeping it real!
As many of you know it is very hard for me to write sentimental tales.. when my friends would narrate stories of sentimental trysts with boy friends/ finaces/ husbands.. I would supress an involuntary laugh and wonder if that would ever change.. Maybe when I got engaged I would sprout two angelic wings and a angelic halo and start cooing and blushing!! But unfortunately.. I waited and waited and the change never came.. I remained the tom boy that I always have been!! But then M takes it a step further.. if you think I am funny (alright I am fishing for compliments now.. come come on.. do your bloggerly duty and pour them in) , you should see him!! Between us we have never been able to hold a serious conversation for more than a few minutes... but then life has been all about laughter and fun!! Having said that I am gifted with the guy who keeps me real and doesnt take me too seriously.. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I wonder!! With that note I am on the verge of losing my edge and actually those wings seem to be sprouting.. hush hush Preethi.. get a grip!!

Cheeky.. the true story!
While M's family choses to think that I am the one Cheeky gets his bratiness from and my family rushes in to confirm (what an ungrateful family I have.. after all that I have done for them!!.. As if being born in this family and gracing them with my presence was not enough...) Anyway, having said that, the true story behind His Cheekiness is the Papa bear with the innocent face lurking in the picture.. while it appears to the rest of the world that it is this silly momma who does all the talking and has the claim to blame for the Cheekiness.. today let us set the records straight and let them show that it is the Cheeky dad to blame!

The Blog Patron!
I work hard to write this blog.. that I borrow from the stories of my life.. and go on to add spice to reality.. not to mention chronicle the life and talks of our joint venture.. The Cheeky Brat; is immaterial! There is a lurker here who comes to see what else I have blabbed about.. and who seems to take pride in my writing and tell the rest of the world about my blog!! But I have this inkling of doubt.. are you trying to tell them "Look what I have to live with?" that is the question!!

Considering...
I actually seem to have run out of sarcasm.. I need to check with magnifying lens.. is that a halo over your head? Is it possible or have the 7 years of blissful ignorance dulled my otherwise razor sharp perception? Or have I sprouted 'em wings?! (image courtesy: http://images.clipartof.com)

The Indian Journey.. so far!

While the fear of the wet bathrooms seem to have only aggravated over time.. they have been temporarily suspended with a pair of bathroom slippers/ flip flops... that cost me a headache. The guy at the store insisted on showing Cheeky pink slippers, and when the guy was told that pink was big NO.. he went on to blue and green with shiny tassels/ pink flowers/ barbies and princesses! Seriously I am not sure what was with that guy... finally we found a boring gray and black one for 200 bucks (an average flip flop costs about 40-50 bucks!) and received an exasperated look from the bewildered guy!! Later that day I spied a kids tooth paste pack with princess on the top cover and spider man inside!! I had to suppress a laugh!! I can't remember how it was when we were kids.. were we equally confused?

The lizards are back too... while visiting family recently, I spied Cheeky looking intently at a point in the wall above the television.. while the rest of the household watched yet another soap on the TV. Confused I asked him what he was looking at .. there it was a huge giant lizard!! Cheeky was curious "Why do they grow lizards in India?" Try as I may I just couldn't explain to him why they did not voluntarily grow these lizards, or why the lizard and his friend did not really care about migrating to California (I wonder where that came from!!??)

Meanwhile the flip flops have been bought and we have been exploring the fantasies of Indian Railways, Spluttering Autos, and bumpy roads! Everything is met with the same aura of surprise and awe. For example on our third train journey, I asked Cheeky to go to the restroom before he went to bed. He was heard loudly declaring to anyone that would care to tune in "You know mommy, in the train when I pee, the pee pee falls on the tracks! That is so eewie!!" Oh well.. I could send him to pick a bone with the railway minister! That should be fun!

The next morning we took a ride in our yellow chariot.. down the beach road in Chennai! It was 6 am and there were people strolling/ jogging and amidst them a couple holding hands and sharing a cup of corn! I looked closely and they seemed to be married! I wonder what the story is.. {wink} The beach beckoned to me that early in the day... try going there in the evening and it drives you away with the stench and the crowd!

Last week, we went on a trip around south India.. and it was there in a small village that Cheeky grew enamored with India.! A few months back we had been to a place in Charlotte, called Lazy 5 Ranch.. as we drove through the park, deers and ostriches, zebras and emus walked up to our car and greeted us while they searched us for food! Now in a small village in south India, the goats and cows arrived at our doorstep in the same quest! And Cheeky just fell in love with the place! A mahout with his elephant had me take a picture and promise to send him a copy! Watch him stand there in all splendor with his dear friend the tusked beauty!

Still later in Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India we experienced the Indian Carosels while I devoured on the yummy mangoes in its raw splendour with just a sprinkling of salt and chilli powder.. mmmm yumm!! The Mango vendor and the peanut vendor pose for the pictures like that is part of their daily routine! Judging by the throngs of tourist, I bet it really is!! As the waves beat up the rocks and the winds blew our hair around, we sat on a ledge and watched rich colorful shops with the bustling melee of people .. we were experiencing the true spirit of India!

As I don my wings...

We are now officially in the land of the wet bathrooms (gasp!! there is one little irate 4 yr old who is so annoyed and goes around policing/ educating his aunt on how to keep the bathroom dry... aah the worries we have!). Why officially you ask? Because the days of the jet lag (zombie-land) are finally over.. and we have learnt to deal with the rivulets of sweat with a nonchalant dab and the flies and mossies with a casual (almost absentminded) swish of the hand.. However this land has its own surprises for the (not so) little Cheeky... the lizards for one.. for some reason he thinks they are stationary, and wants to show them off looking sneakingly in their hiding place ..behind the couch. But (surprise) they are gone!!

So how was the long trip some might ask (I would have added home, but for now I am so confused on where home is.. sometimes referring to India as my home and sometimes to my actual home in Charlotte.. that I am ready to reserve judgment for now!!). Its no longer a shock/ surprise .. my trip! It is just my very matter of fact expectation that my every trans-Atlantic, across the world trip would be adventurous and exciting! But shouldn't I actually feel frustrated or worried or something? Instead I had an our of the body experience where I looked at myself as I levitated above (who am I? really?)... and I actually had the audacity to laugh!! Just think about it.. once is a mishap, twice is a freak coincidence.. but thrice? Are you kidding me? You would think I would freak out and go berserk.. but not me, I sat stoically and experienced the moment that brought me closer to my God (remember his comic relief?) .. also look at the bright side, I have yet another story to tell!! So the day dawned perfect in Charlotte, contrary to my expectation there were no thunder storms or other freak weather conditions, nor did the alarm malfunction. I actually got to the airport well ahead of time .. the check in happened without mishap, no messed up tickets this time! The line at the security check in was short and my flight was on time too! Except for the case of the breakfast that tasted like sand paper and lumps.. (to those of you who want to know.. it was toast and eggs from SBARRO.. but the eggs were like nothing I have ever tasted.. there were lumps of dry yellow tasteless thing.. wonder what it was!). Anyway, so far so good.. and now I was worried! Whats it going to be this time? The anticipation was killing me...

But I did not have long to wait.. the flight landed a good 45 minutes early at New york (or New york, New york like Cheeky likes to call it.. how fascinating!). This was when I had my deja vu... I had to change terminals to take my next flight.. and my flight was hours and hours away... so I wondered if I should just hang in there and experience the terminal 7.. which was bustling and had some cool fun things to do (read foot massage and shopping options!). But then that niggling in my brain was put to rest by a quenching need for a tryst with fate.. so I left the airport took the air train and went to the international terminal.

And there I was no boarding pass, closed airline counters, a couple of benches and all the fun stuff to do beyond a security checkpoint (that needed a boarding pass to cross)! A few minutes and a bag of Cheetos later.. Cheeky joined the list. with his incessant questions.. Mommy when will we go in? Mommy when will we go to Chennai? Mommy when will we get on the plane? and the list as you can imagine just wouldn't end!! A few hours later, a tired mommy, a frustrated Cheeky, two hungry tummies and two darned boarding passes crossed the security checkpoint.. and off to the food court.. but of course, Cheeky and mommy wouldn't eat the same thing, or even at the same restaurant ( don't you think gourmet, I am just making fast junk food sound like it was served on a silver platter in a 5 star restaurant!). Anyway, with bags in tow, food bags to carry, not to mention a tray that fit next to nothing and 2 drinks, the credit card was stowed into the pant's pocket and all but forgotten! A hurried lunch and a pouted lip (how dare Mc D give the little dreamer a squirrel toy of all things.. we were anticipating the ice age toys and wanted a mammoth or a saber tooth cat, or a dinosaur.. hell we would have settled for a sloth too.. but Scrat the squirrel? you got to be kidding me.. the pout said!)

Later the Cheeky imp was hurried out of one store after another while the mom and imp took the long hike to the gate. Mommy went to the phone banks to call Daddy and complain and whisked out her credit card, only to find it gone.. a hurried run back to the food court an irate Cheeky in tow, revealed the adventure had not just begun it was in full swing!! But I know better than to be worried, I used CC 2, called M and declared "just cancel my Visa card.. ".. as simple as that? yeah ... who are we kidding.. we knew this would happen right? A coloring book and a very expensive toy watch later (let the records show that the watch was subsequently broken on the flight)... Cheeky was convinced to let the Mc D people rest assured that there will be no small claims court that would subpoena them!

While on the phone yet again to M to make sure that the CC had been canceled, some rain droplets were observed, discussed and pushed away with a stylish flick of the wrist (as if!).. but those very droplets would come back to haunt us.. We boarded the international flight, and found our very uncomfortable seats and had a huge discussion of when we should sleep.. while mommy reconciled herself to the fact that it would still be a while the PA spoke up "There is a long queue of flights to take off, this might be a while, there is a lot of chaos because of the thunderstorm" What thunderstorm, that light drizzle you mean? I swear I looked up at the sky and I could see a smile! While I quickly fed Cheeky his dinner but refused to take off his shoes for I was getting ready to disembark and go spend the night in a hotel in New york, when they eventually announce that the flight was canceled, the flight actually took off a good 3 hrs later by which time the imp was well fed and fast asleep. Dinner and a movie later, I closed my eyes to get a shut eye when I heard the little voice "mommy time to get up.. lets play now!" and a few seconds later two little fingers pried my eyes open and a little face pushed up close!! I gave in to the inevitable.. a sleepless 19 hr flight!

Kids and travel never go hand in hand.. kids traveling for long.. tired and hungry will drive any parent crazy, let alone a inept super mom like me! When faced with that, laughter is the best medicine.. and when that doesn't work, there is always Prozac!

The rest as they say is history.. we did get to Chennai not too worse for wear, and only a few hours delayed while my dad paced the outside of the airport worried sick, and the airline information system read that the flight was on time!! But now we are here and you better get yourself geared up for stories about eewie play areas (read the bouncing castle at Planet yum, Besant nagar which we visited last night.. while a friend's 3 yr old squeezed among the dozens of kids wying for a spot on the bouncy slide, my 4.5 yr old declared "I am not going there"..while other kids jumped up and down amongst the plastic balls.. my kid declared "eew.. dirty" and quickly put on his shoes again") and scary bugs (read lizards and house flies), not to mention the wet bathrooms! All this from a guy who loves sticky hands and seems to have a consistently gooey face!!

Party time!!

Prats tagged me on FB a few days back and in true scatter brained fashion I forgot all about it. She now is following up and making sure that I keep my word. Aah.. talk about a task master! And what does she want me to do.. write any 5 things about myself. Haa that's easy -
1. I am Preethi - See my profile if you don't believe me that's what it says!
2. I am a scatterbrain who is still figuring out what to do when she grows up, besides pondering the nuances of everyday life!
3. I am in possession of the most greasy butter fingers
4. My life is ruled by a little imp called Cheeky who rules the roost and this blog
5. I am God's idea of a comic relief!
(img courtesy: http://www.whataboutclients.com)

Prats I am sure after reading this you are ready hand on hip and belan (roll pin) in hand to plonk on my head. I am going to wait till the crimson wave passes to come by your vicinity {grin}. Having said that I must say my life is pretty much a Hodge Podge of crazy events like you would see in all the links I have posted here. If you think this is my way of making you read more of my posts, you are absolutely right!

This past weekend was proof enough for the craziness in my life. And its not just me, its all in the family. On Father's day we went to a huge work party (M's of course, no one is willing to give me a job.. I must be pretty scary with my incessant baby talk and all, but more on that later). The party was held in a park packed with lot of events for all ages and genders. While the children had a drawing competition the adults had to do more, they had to take part in a tug of war. But first the drawing competition. Cheeky had been told about this on the drive to the party.. and he pondered for a while on what would be the perfect picture. As we got off the car and headed to the shelter where the party seemed to be missing (We actually turned up on time.. who does that? we have to be the most boring people right? And that too on a Sunday morning.. yawn!). Anyway as we approached the handful of people who seemed to be saving us the embarrassment of being the absolute first (turns out they were the organizers... so we were the first guests after all.. at the very least we should have had a big gift to show for that.. but I suppose it doesn't pay to be "those freaks who got here on time"!). I have digressed so much now, that I have actually forgotten (as I am sure so have you ) what I was going to say!

So let me trace back and start at the beginning.. we told Cheeky about the drawing competition and Cheeky sat pondering on what he could draw. I was determined not to offer advice like I was itching too...so I tampered down that inherent competitiveness and said "You draw whatever you want to". To which Cheeky replied "I know, I will draw bubbles"... so we trotted off all set to see a paper full of circles! However good sense prevailed amongst the organizers and they actually had a topic for the kids to draw based on. More on the inherent competitiveness, scores of parents sat next to their kids pushing, prodding,helping and actually drawing for them while I abandoned Cheeky and went off to lose the tug of war (so much for trying to walk off with the mommy award.. but then who's to know?) ! And when Cheeky got the third place I sent him off all alone to receive the award while I sat and polished off my lunch. The other kids of course had parents accompany them and get the award! So while the other kids got their gift and walked off stage, Cheeky stood there posing for pictures! He topped the act too.. He unrolled his painting and held it up for the camera to see so there could be a clear picture of the proud beaming cheeky and his winning drawing! So much for my parenting.. my only defense is I am trying to make him independent. That part was very evident when Cheeky actually went around introducing himself to all parents with kids and asking them their kids names and ages! Not to mention when one of the organizers had the audacity to announce "Please don't leave the water bottles lying around throw them in the trash can", Cheeky had to intervene and say "Don't you mean recycle bin, if you throw it in the trash can it will remain for tens of thousands of years on the ground!" Phew.. they got a taste what I have to live with!

While Cheeky was cementing his claim to fame with his work of art, M was flexing muscles and pulling at the rope while he dragged entire teams down to dust! Well he and his well picked team! Then M belted out a nursery rhyme for father's day.. yes you read that right M and not Cheeky! While the other father's were being shy and timid.. M sang "Baa baa black sheep" like it was a rock rendition with clapping hands and tapping feet, and actually won the first place for that! Look at what I am surrounded by? Do you blame me for blogging? After all I need a vent for belonging to this revved up household don't I!

And just so you know.. my mid life crisis is back.. and if I survive you will hear about it soon!

Chicken Monkey Shoes

I was randomly whiling away time while I sat rooted to my PC. Looking to the rest of the world like I had something important to do. The glasses perched precariously on my nose and the slight crinkle on my forehead, not to mention the grim faced mouth and the straight back completed the picture! As I checked my emails (yeah I have not 1, not 2 but 3 email accounts.. the rest I am not revealing), checked face book and orkut again for the non existent messages. Do these people know I exist? When all the status messages scream for attention and no one bothers to respond, you are in big trouble! Maybe I should say I am hanging off a cliff and see if people care to respond to that?

Anyway, so there is not much to do on the social networking sites if your 164 + 87 (account for some repeats) and counting friends do not respond to your desperate call for attention. And I am so tired of playing all the word games that FB (aah I am learning the lingo...) has to offer! So I decided to read my blog yet again. I installed the Feedjit live traffic feed and look red faced when it keeps popping up Charlotte NC for every other entry!! But if I don't go back and read my blog (at least 20 times a day) then who else would right? So I unabashedly was back again reading the old entries.

For those of you who read me know that very I can be found often on the periphery of sanity.. what with my overactive imagination and a God who (I am often found asking "Are you mocking me?" ) uses me for comic relief! I might have mentioned it in the past, but if I haven't here are a few samples!

I was the chosen one.. I cut my tendon on a regular kitchen knife which every woman (and the occasional man.. I mention that so I am not accused of being chauvinist.. but if you are married and live in the real world, you sure have a touch with reality.. anyway that is the topic for another day) across the world uses everyday. While many of you would recognize this as yet another testimony to my culinary expertise, I was merely surprised (or like M would put it I had the audacity to be "surprised" after cutting my left thumb inches deep). Anyway, the point of this story is I was the one the big Almighty chose to bestow this blessing on. And the icing on the cake, M was having (or at least pretending very convincingly to have) a crisis at work which took him away at 6 AM only to return at 11 PM.. maybe he was just avoiding his "disabled" wife? I will never know. (just wait till he comes home tonight.. something is about to explode... and that something may be my head!) But there was cherry on the icing too a 1.5 yr old toddler who had to stop to talk to every moving thing on the road be it a human or a dog or a car! And every stranger was updated on my entire life history starting from my already forgotten profession to my butter fingers accident! And I must mention that all this transpired when he hardly knew a word of English. Where was I? In the background of course trying to renounce all knowledge of this little imp who was aiming to make me squirm, looking on helplessly with blue casing wrapped hand "Slightly raised above chest level"!

And then there was the time when I decided to take the toddler half way across the world, I reached half point of my journey and promptly got stranded.. and the airline clerk when I reached him through the "lines are busy" message had the audacity to tell me a mother no less that I would have to remain stranded for 3 days and explore London. If this had come at me a couple of years before, I would have said oh well what the heck and toured London.. but I was not willing to do that toddler in tow! No even I am not that brave (I can hear the sniggers at the "even I".. I will choose to ignore that!). The airline clerk and the rest of his colleagues had to face the wrath of the stranded mother when she walked in demanding she be let out of their beautiful city. They packed her and the talkative toddler on the next flight out, let alone the fact that it was not going to their destination country. Who cares, as long as the lady was out of sight they were safe...

And then there was the time I decided to do the journey in reverse this time with a 3 year old. Billions of travelers, millions of travel agents and I had to be the chosen one again. My competent travel agent messed up the tickets so that Cheeky had 2 tickets (while I can understand the reasoning behind that.. after all imps have to jump from one seat to another you see) and I had none. And when did I have to find out, already miles away from home, 30 minutes before boarding the international flight at the check in counter OF COURSE! And wait there is the icing of course.. and that is a backpack of toys the only possessions in hand, light summer clothes on us, the wind swirling up the snow outside and the clock strikes "MIDNIGHT"!

And what was my friend GOD doing on all these different occasions? Laughing I am sure.. remember I told you I was his comic relief? This is not Blasphemy.. the God and I have a good thing going.. he toys with me and I call him out!! Where is your sense of humor?

Anyway... I can see you going.. "Will you get to it already?" yeah I know I have a tendency to run off with my words.. So back to why I have bored you with my long narration. If you remember I was talking about my attempt to while away time. And how that led me to blogger , only this time instead of reading my old posts as always, I popped into my profile and asked blogger to give me a question that I could answer. While many bloggers get decent questions like

"What spells can you cast on a magic marker?"

or

"Your hand has been replaced by a rubber stamp, what does it say?"

or even

"Never mind the turtle, don't you think you are sure to win?"

But when I requested a question I had to get "Chicken Monkey Shoes", and its not even a real sentence! And oh just wait.. here comes the icing.. I am supposed to write the answer in just 400 words.. Chicken Monkey Shoes indeed! Needless to say my blogger profile still appears question-less! I am sure you wil now agree with me when I say... I AM COMIC RELIEF to a guy up there for sure! But my mission has been accomplished, I have spent a good part of my morning typing up this rant looking for the rest of the world like I am rapidly racing against a deadline! HAHAHA! (that was my sinister last laugh)

Hijacked!

The word hijacked has taken a new and more personal meaning today. I will not say that I have not seen the signs of the coming era.. just that I did not expect it so soon. A couple of years back, I would drag a toddler down to the local library. While other kids tapped on the mouse and keyboard this one would look on with avid interest. The minute he found an empty spot he would toddle up to the chair, pull himself up and rapidly proceed to strike on the keys of the keyboard humming to himself for lack of anything to do.

However the computer at home was still off limits! Then I succumbed and bought him one of those toddler laptops.. but after a few half hearted attempts at playing with it that was relegated to a quiet corner, only to be brought out for pretend play. The little computer engineer brings it out to type status reports for his boss!!

Friends however were plotting to destroy this peace in my household. They got him a computer game last year.. but again mommy has managed to lose that in the move. Not that the game was a regular thing.. it was more like a special treat. However despite these precautions the results have been imminent.

The fact that I am yet to listen to a single song of my choice in my IPod must have meant something. The fact that I am yet to sit undisturbed in my couch or sleep un-kicked for one night must have warned me.. but the slow poke that I am I failed to notice the signs...

The little imp is now a rookie reader and in my enthusiasm to encourage the reading, I might have let the grip slip.... What grip you ask? the grip on my life line the computer.. and now I have competition! I have a 4 year old who has an email ID and has email conversations with his aunts and grand dads. I have a 4 year old who can get on skype and make video calls, who can turn on the chat window and type things to them. He can get on yahoo messenger and doodle and was found experimenting with audibles and emoticons last evening.

This afternoon DH asked Cheeky "Whats your email ID"
He not only rattled it off "cheeky.nantu@gmail.com" but then went on to say "I need to go on orkut". (for those of you who haven't heard of it, its google's version of facebook - social networking!!)
DH was shocked.. "You have an orkut account?"
My eyes were falling off my head..
Cheeky "Yeah .. I like to click on the photos and check all the pictures"
No he doesn't have an orkut account and I intend locking up my computer in a safe safe place till he turns 18. Just tell me please what happened to my blissful little toddler who was content to be swinging off furniture? For all you know Cheeky might start blogging soon!

The votes are in...

Summer is here and so is the season of bathing suits. With that comes the sudden urge to lose weight. I have tried to find an easy way... I tried green tea and benefiber. I tried sweet n low and brown rice. I tried the waist belt and the tummy trimmers. Anything that would do the work for me.. but I haven't had the chance to verify their real capability .. for on the side I also gorged on the muffins and doughnuts, the ice creams and chocolates, the samosas and fries. Not to mention a sedentary life style of adorning the couch!

Not that I ever intend wearing a bathing suit.. yikes who wants to swim really? (the case of the sour grapes?) But still I would give anything for some killer abs... except maybe give it some pain! Like I say if you need me to choose between the fat and the pain, I choose the fat of course! For who would have a sore tummy all the time from all the crunches, or hurting muscles from all the running. If anything can be solved from a stroll down the treadmill, count me in!!

For years I was the thin one.. and I looked like I had been rescued from a famine stricken land.. then America happened and with that arrived a plump Preethi. Following that Cheeky happened, and with that whatever else remained of the thin mirage disappeared! Since then I have been the butt of every heavy weight joke in my never forgiving family! I have threatened with force and tears each equally powerful weapons but they are undettered!

Finally I decided to take action and stopped eating out.. while M and Cheeky seemed to evaporate in front of my eyes, I seemed to be inhaling all the weight they were losing and only seemed to get worse. That this was a testament to my culinary skills is no doubt, but lets leave that discussion to another day!

At the end of the day here are the tallies
Weight Lost - nada, zilch
Weight gained - ahem ahem.. lets just say that is a secret
The pleasure of eating what you want and doing what you do best - lie around - PRICELESS!

I have a new excuse now.. settling down in the new house.. never mind that our friends put everything in place and all the boxes and bags have now gone missing, and the place has a semblance of a home. I still have the audacity to claim that all the settling in chores are keeping me from the gym! And with that note.. let me go try that new flavor of ice cream... slurp! slurp!