Pyjama mama :).

Saw this today and it struck a chord..



I don't know about you, but I'm always in my pajamas at home. I am comfortable in them and I like being comfortable. Have never really cared too much about my appearance (atleast when I'm home). Being in US, that's not really a problem as I've hardly any visitors dropping in without informing first. Well, that's what has spoiled me. Sometimes I wonder if and when we go back to India, how hard would it be to get rid of my so-called bad habits. When going back itself is a big question, I wonder whether "pajamas" are the real concern anyway :-p. Sometimes I can't believe its been more than 8 years since I've been here. Never thought that I'd be here more than 2 years. We're still infected with the one-leg-on-shore while another-on-the-boat syndrome as of now :-\.

And sometimes I feel we ought to pack up and move to Europe or Australia or some other place than India. Because I have realized that there's nothing like living in a totally different country to give you a whole new perspective on life. And the travel we'd get to do, would be a bonus ofcourse :). But, no plans of introducing yet another boat/shore to the mix right now ;-).

The sickness factor..

Anytime I return from India to the US, I always feel heart sick and you know that. This time the heart sickness came hand in hand with actual physical illness. I fell ill as soon as I got into the first flight - had a bout of diarrhea and fever and by the time I was in the second flight, I was so weak that Sri was managing Snugli completely. So for the past 3 days I have been suffering through both the sickness plus the added bonus of bad wintry weather with 3-inch snowfall (usually I would have worn my coat and gone out to finish my annual snow sculpture, but hey, I'm sick :-p)..

Imagine going from a warm, bright, happy and healthy place to a cold, dull, sad and sick place in a matter of 24 hours :(. I'm too dehydrated for even tears to come out. Depression is in me and around me everywhere. I thought it just couldn't get any worse than that, but well, I thought wrong..

(more to come)..

Up in the air..

Thoughts in my head as we crossed the proverbial seven seas to be back home for a month's vacation:

• How come the increase in the number of suitcases is never proportional to increase in satisfaction? This time Snugli has a ticket and hence an allotment of 2 extra luggage, but still we managed to take the maximum number. Wonder how we managed with only 4 large ones earlier? :-p.


• The guy had to go and try this just before we were about to travel (yeah, I know I should be glad that he didn't try it in our plane :-p) and thanks to him, the security rules, previously indecipherable are now even more confusing, 'cause we don't know what rule an airport chooses to follow anymore. So we went in literally at 7AM for a 10:30AM flight. Thankfully there weren't many people so we were able to be done with the security check pretty fast. That was the good part, the bad - we not only went through one of the checks in Lexington, but had to go through 2 more in our stopover at Frankfurt, Germany!! Now that was loads of fun with a toddler :-p.


• Why are stopovers feeling like fitness tests these days? The terminal to terminal walk at Chicago took over 30 min and the one at Frankfurt was atleast 45 min (please excuse double security checks :-p). We did not carry Snugli's stroller with us, but the poor thing walked with us without any complaints. That almost took away our frustrations :).


• I know I have ranted about this many times, but this is a humble (Bah!) request to airlines. Please think of moms with babies when you are planning a toilet on a plane. Why don't you try this? Carry a screaming toddler into a current plane toilet and help them do their thing and see how comfy the whole experience is. To Snugli's defense, she was scared by the whooshing sound made by the toilet flush and so to quieten her, I had to sing her favourite song ("Aankhon me teri" from Om Shanthi Om) pretty loud (probably all the passengers on the plane can vouch for that :-p). To her credit, the flush didn't really dissuade her from saying "Pee Potty" whenever she had to go and I am so proud of her :).


• Deepthi's theorem of toddlers on a plane - "When more than 2 babies are screaming their head off on a plane, the one baby who is the least heard is automatically termed the most well-behaved" :-D. Yup, Snugli did make a fuss now and then, but she certainly wasn't audible among the other howling ones. So I got compliments on how polite and beautifully behaved she was! Hehehehee :)).


• I have one good thing to say about Lufthansa's food - the rice was soft and the gravy had veggies which Snugli enjoyed. Sadly, as usual, the gravies had the same tastes though made of different veggies. I was glad nevertheless, as I didn't carry anything for Snugli as I heard that people who carried curd rice for their babies were mercilessly asked to dispose them off :(. Shaabaash security wale, no wonder, when you are busy securing baby foods, actual threats are going inside the planes :-p. Anyways Snugli even ate a couple of fruit pieces and I was basically satisfied about her stomach :-D.


• I couldn't see a single shop of Frankfurt as they pushed us into the farthest corner of the airport to catch the plane to Hyderabad locking us in with a security check :((. I thought I'll atleast look at a few German chocolates, well, maybe I have to thank them for the reduction of a few calories :-p. Whats with these European airports and them allotting not even an aero-bridge to planes heading towards India? I mean do they even realize how inconvenient this is for parents with young children? In case of aero-bridges, we get preference and are able to put away the luggage (and the children :-D) before others head our way. With a bus and a staircase, imagine the wonderful organizational possibilities :-p. I have noticed this with Air France last time and Lufthansa this time. Maybe since the planes are filled with more than 90% of Indians, the authorities wash their hands off organization :-p. How convenient for them :-p.


• In this whole story, I had only 2 hours of sleep, which also meant that I got to watch 4 movies on the plane! I saw Up, Harry Potter and the Half blood prince, Julie and Julia and 500 days of summer, interlaced with Snugli stuff :-D.


• About 5 minutes to landing in Hyderabad, I started telling Snugli about how she'll soon meet her grandparents, uncle and aunt in about 5 minutes time and this 5 min stretched to about 2 hours thanks to late luggage arrival and customs check as a bonus :-p (paapa, I kept telling her 5 min, 5 min at every point :-p). We didn't see even a single luggage of ours for more than half an hour, our only solace being that we were not the only bakras - almost 3/4th of the plane was still waiting with us :-p. When we finally got outside after the big fuss, it was a huggggggggge get-together :-D. Snugli, though at first bewildered by the entire herd :-D, soon went to everyone with wide open arms recognizing each person :). Sri and I felt for the first time that our efforts of connecting online through video calls every weekend with both side parents were finally appreciated and rewarded :-D.


• Jet lag, what jet lag? We faced almost negligible lag and what little lag that Snugli had, was blown to smithereens by the now-famous Teletubbies :-D.


• Just one important note to parents travelling with infants - Sri was sitting next to this guy who had a horrendous experience. It seems he bought a ticket for his infant, but didn't get an e-ticket mentioning the infant, though the baby was mentioned in the itinerary. The airline people refused to allow the baby inside, since there was no way to generate a boarding pass for the baby without an e-ticket!! The connecting airline gave him 2 options, the 1st being they'd allow him (with wife and baby) to fly till Chicago, but could not guarantee that Lufthansa would do the same (in case they didn't, he'd have to go out to ticketing and buy a fresh ticket in Chicago which might take a long time) or the 2nd option being he could buy a ticket for the infant with them at the current price which was $1000!! Not wanting to take a risk, he went for the 2nd option thinking he will sort the troubles with his agent. So if you are travelling with a baby, please make sure you have an e-ticket in the baby's name too!!

Right now, the hot lingo in town is Snugli's lingo :-D. Everyone is talking and walking Snugli :-D, so she's fully enjoying the pampering.

Like dis and like dat!

I know its been a long time. Well maybe all the blogging I've done for more than 2 years is finally getting to me. I just don't feel like typing a post. Its not that I don't have anything to say. In fact I have a list of topics hanging on for a while now. Yet, somehow I'm just not able to make myself to get off my lazy butt (:-D) and type stuff. Maybe the lazy bug has bitten me for good. Or maybe I wanted to be bitten bad ;-). Anyways, now that I have recovered a bit, I thought I'll finish atleast a post before I get the next laziness dose :-D.

Today, 13th May 2007, is the 2nd anniversary of my coming to US. Last year I actually celebrated the day by being in India! :). This time our trip to India has been on hold due to some reasons. Hopefully we will be going sometime soon. But this post is not about that. When I first came here to US, I had written a post on my likes and dislikes about this place. Have any of them changed for the better? Or have they persisted to be the same? Find out in this new edition of "Dis I like" " :-D.

1) Cost of Stuff:

I've stopped converting dollars to rupees. Well, last year when I was in India, I was actually converting rupees to dollars ;-). It still sucks when you have to pay 4 dollars for a guava here (they are a bit rare) and I do start calculating that I'm paying more than 180 rupees for a stupid guava :-p. Well, I guess, old converting habits never die ;-) :-p.

2) Sunset at 9 PM:

When I actually mentioned this in June 2005, I still hadn't discovered the miraculous "effects" of day-light saving yet. Just 4 months later I was complaining about the sun setting at 5PM!! Isn't anything normal here?? Even after 2 years, I can't claim to have gotten adjusted to such a major fluctuation in daylight every 6 months. And nope, still don't like it :-p.

3) Restaurant food:

Hmmm there have been a bit of changes in this area. Mainly because of 2 south Indian restaurants that have cropped up in our area. Moreover whats very surprising is that we are able to find Indian restaurants most places we travel to. So that means good food for atleast once a day ;-). I also love that the Tacobell people replace all meat with beans without raising their eye-brows, or that the Fazoli people (Italian food chain) mix various kinds of pasta with vegetarian sauces/toppings though they do raise their eye-brows at the "no-meat" instruction :-p or the basic fact that the Burger King people actually have a veggie burger option unlike the infamous McDonalds who don't have any whatsoever (except the plain bun they give you when you say "no meat" :-p). My all time favourite is the Pizza Hut's Veggie Lovers pizza, but it still sucks that you don't have varieties in any of these :(. Its still not like I can go out and eat a bhel puri on road side. But atleast I have some options when I do want to go out. Summing up, it means my opinion is sorta neutral now :).

4) Ulta (reverse) driving:

I've done a full 360 degree turn (ulta myself :-D) on this. I don't really mind it anymore. In fact I like driving here more than I do in India. Yes, there are accidents here too when some crazy people don't follow the rules. But most of the time rules are followed and that makes driving a pleasure than a guessing game of death. I like it that people leave space for emergency vehicles rather than follow it like mad to get out of the traffic. I like it that if God forbid, I'm in an emergency situation, I'll get medical help as soon as possible. I like not having to change gears and cruising at top speeds on highways which are probably still unattainable in India :(.

5) Self help is the best help policy:

I absolutely hate it, though I vaccum only once a week. The dish washing gets to me, so I try and push that work to Sri all the time and I consider myself very successful at that ;-) :-D. Not only that, but whats worse is that, you have to put the petrol into your car, you even blow air to its tyres! You haul your stuff when you are changing houses. You mow your lawn, trim the bushes and dig up earth for plants. I don't really mind the last part too much, because I'm the one who wants to garden :). But I still get mad at people in India who complain about their maids and don't know how lucky they are :-p.

6) Wooden Houses:

Yup, now I'm totally scared about this! I mean what with the mad tornadoes which demolished whole towns in Kansas and the wild fires in Florida and California, I wonder why people even bother building wooden houses. I mean, are you crazy?? Maybe a brick and stone house will surivive a tornado better than a starving wooden house! Oh well, maybe they will fall faster and cause more injury than the wooden houses, who knows :-p. But there has to be something else than a wooden house, surely!

Thats it! Those were the dislikes I had. I really don't have anything to add to that! My likes haven't really changed. I love the State resort/recreation parks, the hugggge shopping malls (though I usually only window shop as the prices are wayyyyyyy crazy!), the fresh fruits, veggies, milk, curd, the strangers greeting each other policy, the traffic rules, the radio stations, multiplexes and planned roads. I have to add the libraries to this list. I have read more books than I ever have and have had all kinds of helpful books for my TOEFL as well as GMAT studies :). The best thing is that if a book is not available in the Government library, you can actually ask for an Inter-library loan. They'll get it for you for some time! How wonderful can it get :))! I also like it that I can wear anything I want here without being afraid of being constantly stared at. Not that I cross any limits ;-). No American stares at you, but there are Indians here who still do, especially older ones who are visiting. Whats with old Indian men and all that staring?? Crazy, I tell you :-p.

One more thing I like is the safety factor. Well, it maybe limited to my town, but it is extremely safe here. There are no robberies as far as I know and its great that you can just lock up and leave unlike India where you have to have somebody sleeping over at your house even if you are out for a day :-p. Also its really wonderful to have the emergency help 911-dialling if you are in trouble of any sorts. Though I don't really have a personal experience, I have heard they respond very quickly and are there in your house over a matter of minutes (as the nearest police officer/ambulance/fire engine is displatched). This is the reason most old people also have no worries here. They don't really need children around as they have 911 for all emergency situations. I do like the way the elderly live here. I mean, in India, as soon as they get old, they start saying Raama-Krishna and begin their theertha-yaathras ;-). Here its totally opposite. They have their new stylish cars and couples go for long vacations. They go shopping on their own, go to gyms, workout and basically lead a life free of responsibilities :-D. And somehow I love the idea of the sheer ability to do that :).

One more thing I like is that you are able to find everything for anything you want to do. For example, I like gardening and most malls have an entire section dedicated to gardening. You get everything, but you have to do everything yourself. Same is the case with plumbing/car repair or whatever. If you are really into the self-thing, then this is the perfect place to be. In fact some people here like to build their own houses (I mean, everything literally) and you get every item thats required in home-related malls! You don't really have to go to a hardware store for some bolts and nuts and then head over to a paint store for paint. Everything is available under one roof and there are even knowledgeable people who can help you out :).

Looks like my likes have gone up pretty drastically ;-). But what I still dislike most about US is not having my family and friends around me and that kinda negates all that I like about this place. I miss not being able to land at my parents house whenever I want though the technology is so great that I am able to see them online one or more times a week. But just seeing is not enough. I want to touch and hug them whenever I want which is still not possible technologically :-p :(. I dislike not being able to walk into a friend's house. I miss just catching up anywhere with a friend and talking for hours forgetting all sense of time. I still am not able to go out and make friends here in US for making-friends-sake. I really don't understand this rule of deliberately making friends just because somebody is from the same country as you. I mean, do you go and introduce yourself to everyone you meet in a market in India? Why then you do the same when you are in another country? Suddenly a fellow countryman stranger is better than an American stranger? Weird!

Sri doesn't have any Indian colleagues and I'm not a very social person. Though I have met a couple of Sri's American colleagues, they are mainly acquaintances and not friends really (for one thing the age difference is usually too much :-D, for another we do not share common interests). Moreover due to my intense dislike of making friends with Indian strangers here, I don't really have any so-called "friends" here. Except my real friends who are spread over the country so wide that I cannot really visit them. Maybe that'll change sometime. Maybe I'll change. Maybe next time I write a post on this "came to US" anniversary, I'll have some more good things to say. But right now, here I am, this is me..

This happens only in...

See the troubles that poor me has to go through to write something on my blog :-p. I am writing this from a cyber cafe in Udupi and yup I reached safe and sound for a great reunion :))). I am going through the happiest moments of my life right now. Err, except the fact that the heat is so much that I'm sweating profusely all over the keyboard, sheeesh!!

Just thought I'll post a few observations on the trip back to India ;-).

1) We left early on Friday April 28th 2006 as we had to catch a flight from Cincinnati to New Jersey. Cincinnati itself is 1.5 hours away!! So Sri went to pick up a rental car he had booked. Since we had luggage (luggage is an understatement :-p) and no car was suiting our purpose, we got a free upgradation to a mini van!! This surely happens only in America :-D.

2) Ok we got checked in Cincinnati airport and our luggage was sent away :(. They checked it all the way to Bangalore :)). I think this too happens only in America, though me not sure ;-).

3) We climbed the plane and it went till the runway. Just when we thought everything was smooth, the flight halted and we were told there would be a delay of 1.5 hours. The pilot spoke in very low tones (which I thought was deliberate) and I couldn't hear the reason :-p. As for this, you can certainly guess where this happens :-p.

4) We reached Newark and we still had about 3 hours to go for the Air India flight :-p. We went to the counter and were issued boarding passes. It was only later we came to know that my seat was in one row and Sriram's was in another. Well, cursing the lady didn't help at all, but another girl travelling alone helped us by giving up her seat. Thanks lady, whoever you are. And as for the other lady, I wished I could strangle her :-p. Looks like this happens only in Air India!!

5) On aboard Air India flight which left thankfully on time, looks like the only job of the air hosts and hostesses is to feed the passengers. Totally from New Jersey to Bombay, we were fed 2 lunches and 2 dinners full of oil-rich food. It was almost as a witch fattening children for her dinner ;-). Not that I'm not grateful and this, I'm sure happens in all international flights :-D.

6) One of the saddest parts of the flight was the stop-over in Paris. We thought we'll be allowed some time in the airport though the stop-over time was only 1.5 hours. But sadly, they kept us in the plane!! And this was while the cleaning crew cleaned the plane over. I half expected the vacuum to be run over us too :-p. One lesson learnt was that we need some time in a stop-over to stretch our legs and freshen up. And I'm confused where this happens. So I'll leave the choice to you. Your choices are:

a) Only in Air India
b) Only in Paris (as the plane was in Paris at that point of time)
c) In America (as the plane was from America)
d) In India (Going there ;-) :-D)
e) All of the above :-D.

7) Landing in Bombay was one of the best feelings of my life. It was great to feel the balmy air again ;-). As soon as we were out, there were people shouting Hyderabad, Bangalore, Cochin and Chennai :-D. This was to direct people to the connecting flights :-D. Hehehehe. This happens only in India bhai :-D.

8) We were crowded into one place (where we were actually supposed to form queues). After about 15 min or so, suddenly, one lady said that people going to Riyadh had to shift into another line and poeple to Hyderabad had to join our line. One guy shouted that he had been standing in the wrong queue for 15 min and couldn't these people have informed us earlier? Sri and me were laughing at all this and I said to him that I missed all these things in America :-D. Boy, I really did ;-) :).Well, where else can such things happen? :).

9) I have another reason to hate the lady who issued our boarding passses at Newark. She issued passes to the flight from Bombay to Bangalore too. And screwed up again!! One of the seat numbers issued, didn't have a seat on the plane!! God!! After some stress and fuss, we settled down in 2 seats as, thankfully, the flight was not full and there were extra seats available. This was an Air India flight again and I have strong reasons to believe that this happens only in Air India :-p.

10) After landing in Bangalore (my excitement was feverish by this time), we cleared immigration without too much effort. The luggage arrival was a bit late, though the plane was on time. The customs was a breeze thanks to the Rs.100 + $1 note given to a guy ;-) :-D. Poor guy begged for a dollar note :-D. Corruption is everywhere but this happens only in ....

After crossing the customs the first people we saw were our parents. The smiles, the hugs, the tears wow, I can't describe them. And it was 4 AM in the April 30th morning. Parents and sibling coming to receive you at totally odd hours, yup, you guessed it right, this happens only in INDIA :-D.

Nostalgia unlimited :)

Recognize this? I'm pretty sure my mom will be able to name it immediately ;-). I don't know whether this plant grows in places other than Karnataka. But its everywhere in Karnataka. It doesn't even need to be grown. Like a weed its found in empty fields and grows in your garden if you don't take care. Well, I have stretched it enough. The plant is called hulisoppu (meaning sour-leaves) in Kannada. People use it in cooking too. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found it, yup, here in Lexington, in my apartment lawn!!

I went crazy. Immediately plucked a leaf and put it in my mouth. Just like that, at that very moment, I was back. Back in my childhood. Back in the place where I'd use these leaves as a vegetable in my cooking games. Back in the time when I'd pick its tiny ladies-finger-like fruits, divide them equally, eat one half and stuff the rest into Darsh's mouth ;-). If I'd find more than 4 fruits then mom and dad also would get a share :).

Recently when we had been for a trek, I also found a small plant which grows with the grass. When I was about 10 years old, I remember, me and my friends would pluck its tiny pink flowers, put it in the folds of our white uniforms and press. The flower would leave a purple colour mark in that fold. We'd be proud that we had died the uniform a purple colur and mom would always wonder why my unifrom had these marks :-D. She probably thought those were the results of my ink pen ;-). So what do I, the so-called grown up, do when I see this plant here? Yup, I did pluck a pink flower, I did put it in the folds of my shirt, pressed it and was totally delighted at the purple mark it left :-D.

When I was in college studying pre-university, whenever we had free time, we would sit in the lawns at the college. There used to be a type of grass that would grow there. We'd pick the very young shoots of the grass, make a brush with about 10-20 of them and rub it against our cheeks. They'd be so soft and they'd feel wonderful against our cheeks :). Yup, you guessed it, I saw the same grass some weeks ago on a field. Yup, you guessed it again, I couldn't resist picking the young shoots again :).

Its so strange that such small plants have the power to bring back so many memories. But even more strange is the fact that the same plants are available half-way around the world!! I always had this idea that the vegetation here would be totally different. But I found as soon as I came here that the idea was a myth. I found sampige (champaka) trees, bougainvillea plants and many other flowering plants/trees that are found in Bangalore. And yes, they succeeded in taking me back to a world, a world I thought was impossible to go back to, a world I thought was out of my reach. The beautiful world of Childhood :).

Hmm Dis I like!

Well, today is exactly a month since I landed in U.S, the "Land of Dreams" as one of my very good friends calls it (not my land of dreams, thank you very much :-p). So I thought why not have a post which talks about what I like/dislike about this place. Lets start with the dislikes so that I can leave what I like for last :-D

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Dislike 1 - Cost of stuff:

Man!! Its a costly world. I know the dollar-to-rupee conversion plays a major part here but I can't help but crib about it. Can you blame me when a Rs. 20 coconut in India costs more than 3 times here? The cost at Walmart ranges b/w $1.5 to $1.7. If you are ready to compromise the quality, you can go for a $0.99 one in an Indian store, but believe me the quality sucks! Everything from a small peanut to huge furniture seems to cost a fortune. I know, I know that we also earn in dollars, but we don't earn in millions of dollars :-p It'll just take a bit more time to get adjusted. I have also stopped noting the price for stuff I really want, just so that my mind doesn't get boggled :-D

Dislike 2 - Sunset at 9 PM:

It drives me crazy!! The sun is high up in the sky at 8:30 in the night! Doesn't seem like night at all :-p Ok does it atleast rise late to compensate? Nope it promptly does so at 5:45 AM whether you want it to or not :-p

Dislike 3 - Restaurant food:

In one word - SAD!! No spice, no khaara, just bland-tasting stuff you just have to keep on munching to finish eating :-p Spice for these people implies salt and pepper! I have been to several restaurants so far and have eaten at various joints during our trip to Florida. U.S restaurants are NOT a place for vegetarians. Mexican and Italian restaurants are ok, Indian restaurants pretty good, but American is quite pathetic. If you ask for a burger with no meat, you know what you get? Its cheese and some veggies within 2 buns. No patti. If you get a vegetarian patti, its like eating a tyre (not that I have actually eaten a tyre but I have eaten a vegetarian patti :-p). People here seem to live on meat - they eat all sorts of meats and drink hell lot of cola. More than they drink water! I was really surprised at little kids aged less than 6 years being offered cola. Hello!! Cola's not very good for health, people!! And they seem to think salads compensate. Atleast are the salads eatable? Bland stuff again! But life certainly seems better for non-vegetarians here. Yet, I'm gonnu stick to vegetarianism though I am already tired of saying "no meat" at every eating joint :-p

Dislike 4 - Ulta (reverse) driving:

Oh God!! I'll never get over it!! The steering wheel at the left side of the car rather than the right. Driving on the right side of the road rather than left. Free right instead of free left. Why do Americans always have to do exactly the opposite of what the rest of the world does? :-p When I first landed in airport, Sri had come to pick me up. When he went to sit in the car, he obviously went to the left of the car. I almost shouted "Hey pal, that's my seat" :-D Till sometime back, it was almost a constant struggle to find my seat-belt because I'd always look for it on the wrong side. Whenever Sri would suddenly take a free right, I'd be scared out of my wits!! I am a bit used to it now. But doesn't mean I like it :-p Also, I tried my hand at driving here once. Thankfully, our car is an autogear! I dunno what I'd have done if the gears had been manual and had to be put by the right hand that too in the reverse order!!

Dislike 5 - Self help is best help policy:

Clean up the house, wash utensils, clothes, whatever you do, do it on your own! Yeah it does make me self-reliable, but hello!! Doesn't mean I have to like it ;-) Self-help is not out of choice. Its usually due to a cost factor. Labour is hell lot costly and household paid help come with a millionaires-only-tag :-D That reminds me, I still have to wash the utensils from today morning's breakfast :(

Dislike 6 - Wooden Houses:

Houses are made of wood here and not of brick and mortar!! Ok my house is strong. Ok it hasn't cracked anywhere yet. Ok its not easily breakable. But I'm still scared that

A strong wind will blow
and away my wooden house will go.
Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooosh
and craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash!!
It hasn't happened till now, I know
but who knows what's in store tomorrow?

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That's about it for the dislikes. I still might have many but I think I've covered the major cribs. So lets head right on to the likes. I like zis part :)

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Like 1 - State resort/recreation parks:

I love them!! I have already visited 3 parks till now for treks (Will be writing a lengthy picture-pretty blog on that :-D) and I'm just crazy about them. Unused land with forests/caves/river/lakes are all converted into state resort/recreation parks with hiking trails. There are also lodges/cottages and picnic areas created so that its convenient for those who want to camp and stay overnight. The main thing is each and every one of them I have been to till now are maintained very well. There are no charges for hiking, but obviously there are fees for lodging/using the resort facilities like swimming pools/golf courses etc. Special events/tours have fees as well. I basically liked this innovative way of protecting nature, but not restricting people from enjoying it :) Wish its done in India. I have trekked to quite a few spots there too. But its just a self-trek or a group trek. There are no hiking trails as such. It'd be great if such a system is implemented in India. There are so many forests being exploited mercilessly, anything remotely like this will probably save the ecosystem to a great extent and encourage more people to go back to nature :)

Like 2 - Huggggggggge Shopping Malls:

They are huggggggggge and they are awesome! Its really difficult to think of a thing that's not available in one of these malls. The Walmart near my home is something like the whole Jayanagar 4th block in Bangalore put under one roof :) The malls are very easy to get lost in, as Jerry Seinfeld puts it "When a man walks into a supermarket, its with a sense of purpose. But after 10 min you find the same man thinking 'What am I doing in this aisle? Why did I come here?'" :-D You get groceries, clothes, cosmetics, medicines and what not!! And you know what's even more amazing? There are supermarkets wholly dedicated to babies, pets, toys, bedrooms, bathrooms and even maternity!!! Nevertheless, totally cooooooooool :)

Like 3 - Fresh fruits, veggies, milk and curd:

There's no milkman pinging you in the early hours of the morning and making you swear. And, no, you don't have to ferment milk to get curd :-D Milk is available in cans, only problem being that its branded with an expiry date :-p Curd (or as these people say Yogurt) is so thick and again available in cartons. Only restriction being that you buy plain yogurt and not a flavoured one or you'll end up eating vanilla/strawberry/what-not-berry tasting curd :-D As for fruits, I just adore the variety of fresh fruits available - bananas, grapes, apples, pears, cherries, peaches, cantaloupes, wow!! Cost, again, should be scrupulously unnoticed and avoided at all cost :-D Vegetables are the same. You might not get some Indian veggies, which are easily available in the Indian store but whatever is available is really fresh and kept fresh. There are also frozen veggies available, but somehow I felt they are a bit too soggy for my liking. I did like the frozen chopped mixed veggies which means I don't have to look for veggies and chop them up when I am preparing pulav or any rice which requires mixed veggies. All in all, freshies me like :)

Like 4 - Strangers greeting each other:

I absolutely love the concept of 2 total strangers saying hello or smiling at each other. Everybody greets the other, no matter you know the other person or not. Say hello and you can forget the person ever existed or that you ever met him/her. But the gesture in itself is, I think, really nice :) Not very surprisingly, the case is not same with Indians living here. I have seen several Indians in the Indian store, but have never seen anyone greeting a Indian stranger or me for that matter. I guess its because we are a bit more reserved and I can't really complain as I have not greeted any Indians either {grins sheepishly}. Ought to cultivate this good habit :)

Like 5 - Traffic Rules:

Strange but true! I really like the traffic rules they have in place here and what's wonderful about it is that every driver follows the rules. Be it the speed limits, stop signs or signals. Everyone has to follow the rules! Ofcourse there's the "OR-ELSE" factor. If you break the rules, you are given a ticket and its like a "mera-baap-chor-he" tattoo on your arm :-D :)). I would like to mention some of the rules, which I think are really cool. You drive straight and nobody can cut across you. People who want to turn into a road have to first give way to the ones already on the road. Simple, but we Indians never do so in India (me too :-D Been there done that :-D). Also, I like how these people slow down at a siren - be it an ambulance, fire-engine or a police vehicle. Its a rule but they follow it!! And how pedestrians always come first :) If a person is walking across a road, even if there are 100s of vehicles on that road going at more than 50 miles per hour, the vehicles HAVE to stop/slow down for the person. Right now I'm a pedestrian, so I think the rule is cool. After sometime, once I get into driving, maybe it won't be that "cool" anymore :-D

Like 6 - Radio stations/Multiplexes/Planned Roads etc:

Last but not the least are miscellaneous things like radio stations, multiplex theatres and planned roads :) There are so many radio stations - rock, country, pop, rap, top 100s and so on, all English. Moreover, these stations unlike Indian ones, don't have city limits. Say, if you are crossing Kentucky border to Tennessee, then a Tennessee station immediately takes over! Super or what!! And as for the multiplex theatres, I have been to 2 till now. Watched "The longest yard" 2 weeks ago and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" last week. Enjoyed both. The first one I had been to had only 8 theatres but the second one had more than 12!! And all are pretty big and not at all cramped :) More cool than this - NO intermissions :-D Only regret is there are no theatres in Lexington playing Hindi movies :( But you never know, there maybe one coming up soon :)

I also love the planned roads here. The freeways are exactly as they are named - free. That means absolutely no signals :-D The exit roads from the free ways are all flyovers planned in such a way that they join the roads they are supposed to join without any interruptions :) Also in between the lanes with traffic in opposite directions, there is enough space left for any future road extension requirements. Most of the roads have more that 2 lanes in each direction. Even road work happens without the whole road being closed. But the only sad thing is that Kentucky roads are not very smooth and there are dents here and there. According to Sri, these are the worst roads in the whole of U.S :-D But for a person coming from Bannerghatta road, this is way better ;-)

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Ok, so I like all these. But what I like most of all about U.S, is that the person I like best lives here - my Sri. Hmmm all the other likes and dislikes become so, so, so negligible when compared to this major like ;-) :)

Around the world in 34 hours :-D

Lookie lookie at the right panel!! Yup I'm in Lexington, KY and will be here atleast for 6 months :) Wanted to write a Babye Bangalore blog before I left, but didn't have time at all what with all the packing to do, stuff to remember and all that ;-) Ok I'm just giving excuses :-p :) I came to Lexington on Friday the 13th May 2005, 10:00 PM PST. Friday the 13th sure turned out to be lucky for me :) Moreover as my mom pointed out the date was exactly 6 months from the day Sri and I met ;-) :)) Here's an account of my tedious and tiring journey whether you want it or not :-p

Bangalore

On the dark, not-so-cold night of 12th May 2005, I set off to accomplish the impossible task (:-D) of crossing 2 oceans ;-) The first phase of my long journey was to catch a Sahara airways flight from Bangalore to Bombay. As soon as we (me, my parents, in-laws, Darsh, Lekha and my chikappa's family) reached the airport and dumped my two each-weighing-31-Kg-suitcases into the check-in, we found that the common phenomenon of flight delay had occurred. Since I had a 4-hour wait in Bombay which I had resigned on spending alone, this looked like a blessing in disguise as I could wait the wait with my family + had gotten about an hour to spend with them :) After the very sad parting with my family (don't want to go into details of that one, as its still capable of making my eyes water), I was on my own...

Mumbai

At the mumbai airport, I stepped confidently towards the baggage claim. I knew what to do thanks to my hubby and our honeymoon trip to South Africa (henceforth referred to as HMT). Lifting my heavy baggages was not easy done as easy said :-p Somehow managed it and headed towards the door to catch an inter-terminal bus to the international airport :) Imagine my shock when I see almost 80 people waiting in a queue for the same!!! Since the buses were scheduled evey half an hour and could take only 35 people at one go, I had to wait about 1.5 hours for my turn!! By the time I reached the international airport, there was only 1.5 hours for my British Airways flight to leave. As the standard reporting time is about 3 hours before the flight, the airline officials made a fuss. I had to explain and sort things out. Later immigration and security check-in weren't a hassle at all (refer HMT :-D). Only after clearing security check-in, did I notice that there were no STD/ISD booths after that point! How sad can an airport get!! I had promised to call up my parents and I knew they'd be worried if they didn't get my call. Finally, managed to borrow a mobile from some lady and call up. Phew! Thanks lady, whoever you are :) I also had promised Sri that I'd call him up. But he'd told me that he wouldn't expect a call as anything might happen. Oof, glad he said that, otherwise I'd be feeling guilty as hell :)

I had always eyed Boeing 747. This British airways double-decker flight was the one I had wanted to fly in for a long time :) Though the first floor was only for the executive class, it didn't lessen my excitement. After settling comfortably in the window seat, with an Indian couple next to me, I trifled with the monitor in front of me and the channels on my armrest. Was excited but apprehensive at the same time. At the expected time, i.e 2:15 AM early 13th May morning IST, the plane rocketed into the skies tossing me into a new wave of sadness. As I watched the receding mumbai shore, the only thought in my head was "My land gone, dunno when I'll be back" :(

London

The flight to London was a 9-hour one. I slept for more than 6 hours which was good. British airways lived up to its name of being the best flight across the Atlantic, with good food and good service. The best part was that I was able to make out the snow covered alps from the plane :) Landing and formalities at London were no problem at all. The problem was the 5-hour wait to my connecting British Airways flight to Chicago.

London Heathrow airport is sooooooooooooo huggggggge man! I landed in Terminal 4 and since my connecting flight was also at the same terminal, I wasn't allowed to go anywhere else. Terminal 4 itself is sssssssso big! I first freshened up and then window shopped for about 2 hours. God!! So many shops! I had actually told mom that I'd try to call her up if possible. But the payphones there accepted only pounds :( I didn't want additional hassles of foreign exchange. There were a few coin foreign exchange machines, but all 3 of them didn't work!!! And this was London!!! Looks like London bridge is falling down :-p I gave up! Decided to call mom only after I reach Lexington :)

My flight was scheduled to leave from Gate 24. It was a 15 min walk from the main terminal to the gate!! You have horizonatal conveyor belts and beautiful photographs all along the passage way. I was like a kid with candy :-D And man!! The planes!!! There were about 15 Boeing 747s visible together from the lounges. Wow!! Flights taking off 1 min after another, flights arriving one min after another, God!! That was a sight to see :)) I just laid down my head on my vanity bag watching the take-offs and to my shock, fell fast asleep. I woke up with a start to realize that I had slept for 1 hour with my cabin luggage unattended in front of me!! Then splashed some cold water on my face and walked here and there just to avoid sleeping.

There were again no problems getting into my next flight. I was hoping my luggage had also had no problems ;-) I met a nice couple on this flight Sherry and David. They had just spent their 25th anniversary (realllllllllly uncommon in Americans ;-) ) in Paris and were returning home to New Mexico :) Spent a long time talking to Sherry :) Also watched 2 Robert De Niro movies - "Meet the Fockers" and "Hide and Seek" and enjoyed them both. Filled up the I-94 and Customs forms as directed by Sri (So sweet of him to download sample forms, fill them up, scan them and send them across to me :). He had also given me step-by-step instructions on what to do when, where to go, how etc. What more can I ask for in a hubby? :-D) and kept them ready for landing. Had a headache but couldn't sleep at all, except for an hour or so :(

Chicago

My flight landed in Chicago on 13th May 2005 noon at about 3:30 PM PST. The weather was not so good, so we had a couple of turbulences before we reached there. It was as if somebody was shaking the plane like a milk shake :-D Man, that was fun (I said this to one of my friends, Chans, that's you and she said "Lady, your idea of fun is weird" :-D). Once landed, I said my goodbyes to Sherry and David and proceeded towards immigration. I was so excited as now I was only about 5 hours away from Sri :) There was a looooooong queue for immigration, but the I-94 stamping as such didn't take any time at all. Next was the baggage claim. Boy!! Was I glad to see my 31-kg-each suitcases intact ;-) After a struggle to download them (hehehe computer term) into the trolley, I was off towards customs. Didn't even have to go into the green channel. The lady there asked me what kind of food was I carrying (I had declared food in the customs form), I said "processed food, no meat" and she allowed me to pass. Then I had to check-in my luggage in the American Airways counter at the international terminal itself and there was another loooooooong queue there. After removing the locks on my luggages (its a rule here) I waited for my turn and got them checked by the officials there (they wipe a tissue and subject it to some check, guess for some microbes etc). I was glad again to notice none of the uppinakai (pickles) (that mom had packed despite loud protests from me) had leaked ;-) :) Ok luggage dumped. Now had to dump myself :-D

I had to take a transit system to the domestic airport from the international one in Chicago. Which was absolutely no problem :) I loved the monorail. It was way cool, though the trip was very short. After reaching my terminal, had to walk a bit to reach the gate my plane was stationed at. There were huge crowds flying to all sorts of places (probably as it was Friday). Security check-in took about an hour due to the queue :-p. Had about an hour to my Lexington flight. Sri had given me calling card details, so called him up from there :) Also, my flight had been delayed by 0.5 hours then, informed him of that ;-) Spent rest of the time window-shopping. Went to a food court to have coffee and was shocked at the prices (my friends tell me this is the initial dollar-to-rupee-conversion-syndrome :-p). I love Cafe Mocha and was shocked to know it costs almost Rs. 200, while even in the costly Coffee day shops of India its only Rs.60 :-p Had a Rs. 60 worth Espresso :) Will definitely take some time getting used to it :-p. My flight came in at about 7:00PM 13th May 2005 PST. I was supposed to land at Lexington at about 9:30 PM. But the bad weather was continuing and the plane was delayed by another half an hour :( This after I climbed the plane, so couldn't even inform Sri! The plane was a small plane and the seat next to me was empty. So could sleep for about half an hour :)

Lexington

As the plane neared Lexington, I couldn't contain my excitement. I would be seeing Sri after 40 whole days :) Atleast he had gotten to see my latest photos :-p I had nothing but a voice on phone for more than a whole month :( There was a feeling of thrill, apprehensivenes and joy - all churning one-by-one inside me. I got down an escalator towards baggage claim and there he was, my dearest hubby, standing right where he had promised to be. As soon as I saw him, I knew.

I WAS HOME :)