Help!

Lately I have read a lot of books by authors of Indian origin. The books are often set against a typical Indian backdrop and have numerous references to life in the sub continent.

A few years ago, Arvind Adiga's White Tiger was the book that actually set off my journey with this genre. It is a tale about a chauffeur who makes it big in the city with a little help from unexpected sources. I will not divulge any more here because I will be accused of adding spoilers. However, I will go ahead to say that the book had a great account of life in an East Indian state that I was never familiar with and it made very interesting reading. One of the details that stayed with me for a long time was the description of lives of chauffeurs in big cities like Patna or New Delhi. Their daily routine is not just driving around their employers to and from places, it also involves keeping the cars clean and care of pets. The cars are washed everyday and the accessories cleaned. An interesting accessory that I would've never thought of and described in the book is a spittoon. People from that part of the country eat Paan, which is tobacco rolled into a Betel leaf with other spices and hence there is a need to constantly spit out the juice at regular intervals. The spittoon is cleaned out and polished everyday before setting out for the day. This little detail really got to me. I was not only disgusted that the poor chauffeur had to clean the receptacle out but was expected to polish it everyday, only to be spitted into again. How spoiled can one get?

I remember visiting a friend in my own sleepy coastal state of Goa. She had promised a typical Goan fish curry and rice lunch for me and my son. We loved the food, it brought back many fond memories. The fried fish she served as a side had lots of bones and my son needed help with removing them. She asked her maid to bring me a plate to throw away the bones even when I insisted I would pile them in a corner in my plate. Now that a small plate was brought for the purpose, I placed it in between my plate and that of my son, so we would share it to throw away our fish bones. She saw that said- "that's his fish bone plate, you'll get another one. Get her another one", she instructed her maid. Then she turned back to me and said, "we have the luxury of maids who do the washing here, we don't have to skimp on using utensils like you do in the US." That was so unnecessary!

I was saddened to see that my once dear friend had joined the ranks of the elite, never mind if she was making another person work needlessly and using up resources too. I admit I miss the everyday help of maids here in this country, but if I had them, I wonder if I will ever get them to do things for me that I can do for myself, or are just plain avoidable.

Cold snap in January

We had a colder than normal December, but January seemed to be doing okay. Until suddenly they started talking about wintery precipitation. If it is snow, people are excited, but ice and sleet- nah! We didn't sign up for that when we chose to stay this far south.

Schools close as soon they know about ice on roads. They don't want to send out buses into every street in such weather. Offices sent out emails asking employees to report after 10 am or noon. I got to sleep in and that was a very welcome fallout from the situation.

This is what I saw this morning. There was ice wherever rain fell last night. The streets were dangerous as a result. Friends commented how horrendous driving was especially on overpasses. However, when I see what my friends go through up in the north, this seems so minimal.
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My animal friends in the yard haven't been very happy. There isn't much to eat, the worms are all buried too deep or dead, and little else comes by. I like to put fruits outside from time to time. Two days ago, I put out two apples and an orange. The apples disappeared almost instantly, the orange was around for a day. Yesterday before it began to rain, I saw this squirrel sitting in the tree with the orange. It was a perfect camouflage, except for the bright orange spot! I took one picture from inside, through the glass-

S/he didn't know s/he was being watched at the time. Then I opened the door just enough to stick my arm with the camera outside, but that was enough to make her/him hide behind the branch.

After nibbling on the orange for a while, s/he climbed down, dug a hole in the ground and buried the orange. Probably saved it for a rainy day.

Some DIY

Almost every January, we have an understanding amongst us friends. One of us hosts the annual event, a potluck dinner for our families, and the specialty for the evening is that we dress up in our traditional festive best and bring along a token gift for all the friends present. So each of us brings something for all the others. What it is, is not important, we try to keep it small, something everyone will like and use. A traditional sesame seed and molasses sweet is also always exchanged during this wonderful gathering, where food is wonderful and so is the company.

This year, as I was walking though stores looking for ideas on what to get for the others, I stumbled upon mason jars and it was my eureka moment! Why, I could make something for all the gals! A sugar scrub is what I settled on. The thought was exciting. I got the jars, searched for recipes and settled on the Vanilla Lavender Brown Sugar Scrub. With all the necessary ingredients in my basket, I got home to get started.

I checked out the internet for packaging tips, and an overwhelming number of them flooded the senses. After some thought, I decided to design and print my own labels. The jars were ready with the labels glued on after a day of planning and designing.

Then came the actual hands-on apothecary, something I don't suppose I'll do very often. Or maybe I will! Measuring and mixing the essential oils and fragrances with sugar, some stirring, and it was all set to go into the jars.

This was a fun experience. It is always exciting to try out something new.

All in a day's work

This week started off very dramatically for a local school that my son attends. I was out running errands and grocery shopping and I got a call. I was asked to pick up my son from school. Their class was moved to the school next door because of a lockdown at their high school. He was supposed to buy lunch that day and since they were at a different campus, buying lunch would've be a problem and it was best that parents got their children and took them home. This is a special needs class so it was a prudent thing to do. The rest of the high school were evacuated into the football field at the back of the school where they were all having a field day trying to figure out what was going on.

What actually was going on is any school official's nightmare. They got a tip that there was a gun in a students backpack. They had to follow protocol and inform authorities and what ensued was a lot of drama in this small but otherwise quiet community. News helicopters hovering over your child's school for the wrong reasons is not a pretty sight. I got calls from several friends and family asking me what was going on. It was even on CNN. It was a tense time for all those involved. By the end of the day, they had the whole thing sorted out with one young man, a student of the school in custody. It will be a while before people know why he chose to come to school with a gun in the backpack or perhaps never. Things settled down and school resumed the next day to the normal bell schedule.

Today, regular emails that the school sends out to parents informing them of routine matters included this line-

Friday, January 17, is a normal dress code day. Despite rumors to the contrary, it is NOT a pajama day. Students arriving in pajamas will be dress coded.

I was so amused, Two days after dealing with such a stressful situation, they had to send out a notice so trivial. All in a day's work I guess!

People watching

Waiting at the airport for someone to arrive can be quite entertaining, you get to see so many kinds of people. When we got there yesterday, the place looked daunting, like a zoo, what with two extra flights arriving at the same time with two others already on schedule. We saw planeloads of people  walking out into the lounge and a lot of them had someone in the crowd waiting for them. If it wasn't a friend or family member, it was a chauffeur holding up a placard with their name on it.

When I go to receive someone, I am sort of forced to people watch. There isn't much else to do. Folks waiting show a plethora of moods while they anticipate meeting their friends or family as they walk out through those automatic doors. Eyes scanning faces every time the doors open. It is fun to match expressions on faces that light up in the waiting crowd, with that of those walking out.  Is either party equally thrilled to see each other? As trolleys roll out, I check out their emotions- beaming, excited folk, their long, tiring journey behind them, waiting to explore, or tired, jet lagged people simply waiting to get home and put their feet up. Then there is  the business traveler who is eager to get to the hotel to catch up on sleep before getting down to business the next morning. 

Most people never travel light on these international flights, whether it is aging parents walking out with airline provided assistance, or spouses getting back home after a vacation, sometimes with 2 or more kids in tow, visiting family members, or whole families getting home- they all arrive with truckloads of baggage. I know how that goes, I've been one of those people who fill up their suitcases upto the last permissible kilo. Adjusting stuff around in the bags would be one exciting exercise. Of course, that was when my mom was still around. I haven't visited after she passed away.

Interesting encounters between people is the whole reason behind people watching and I wasn't disappointed yesterday. A young family was waiting for someone. Well dressed, well groomed, with one 4-5 year old and a younger one in a stroller. The husband kept checking something on his phone the entire time. The lady guest they were waiting for walked out the door, and towards them. The guy was still on his phone as he followed his wife to greet the visitor. The wife (in green) and the visitor (in black) were smiling, all the time sizing each other up, what they were wearing, and all that. As they neared each other, the host lady in green pushed the stroller ahead, forcing the guest to focus on the child, giving her a chance to size up her visitor some more. Then they finally hugged as the hostess in green muttered- I love your necklace. It was all so dramatic, almost fake- the emotions, the smiles, the hugs. The husband finally looked up from his phone and muttered a hello. Then before the guest could open her mouth, the lady in green suggested they walk out to the car and talk later.
That was a very smart thing to do, unlike a bunch of young guys, three of them, who arrived to work here I suppose, and were received by a couple of their friends. They decided to stand right there and chat like they were home already. They were clearly in the way and weary people had to push their baggage around them to get to the long line near the elevators. The young bunch finally decided to leave only after about thirty minutes of catching up! It finally dawned on them that though the plane had landed at the final destination, the actual place they needed to be at was their home, and not the lounge!
Then there was this senior lady in a very modest getup. She waited patiently, seated on the chairs with her husband. Suddenly, she let out a gleeful whoop. She almost danced to the wheelchair that was being led out by an airline attendant. The lady in the wheelchair was brimming with equal enthusiasm. They hugged and cried at the same time. Maybe they were sisters, or who knows what the relation was. It was very heartfelt.

International arrivals can be dicey because processing times vary. It sometimes takes forever for the person you are scanning the door for finally emerges out of there. It took a good seventy five minutes yesterday. There was certainly no dearth of entertainment at the airport though, there never is.

Surprise on a vacation

Surprise last minute additions to travel plans can sometimes turn out to be so delightful. Last year, while on a wonderfully relaxing vacation to British Columbia, we disembarked from an impressive ferry ride that landed us in Victoria. Deciding to grab a quick bite before heading off to the Butchart Gardens, we stopped at a popular fast food place. While in conversation there with other patrons, a local gentleman shared details of a spot that sounded interesting. A lighthouse at the end of a pier/breakwater- a portrayal enough to get us to drive to Ogden Point, Victoria. I have always been fascinated by lighthouses and sailboats and decided to check this one out. As we walked to the lighthouse, a little kiosk greeted us with several displays on marine life found in the area. There was a lot of activity on the breakwater, some divers were preparing to dive, a remotely operated vehicle/camera was being lowered in the water by some students, while others observed creatures pulled out temporarily from their habitat by divers. In the water, jellyfish were abundant and they glided along in what looked like a lot of a debris. I was disappointed that the place was not well maintained. However, in just a little bit, it dawned on me that it was not trash, they were huge beds of Kelp. The dying fronds looked like trash from a distance. Little fish were feeding on detritus and suddenly, I was going back in time! 20 plus years ago! This was exactly what I had perused scores of times as I surveyed literature for my research. It all came back, our field trips to the mangroves and to Dona Paula, collecting samples, keeping things ready in the lab- the pine pollen, the autoclave, the tea strainer, the bleach, the little grinder and the tiny petridishes, most of all Raghu's patented running seawater chamber for identifying the thraustochytrids under the microscope- that was such a fascinating thing to observe (and no, I didn't forget the rabbits and the ELISA)! My mind was also flooded by a myriad of memories about the people, who in their own little ways taught life's lessons, each adding some zing with their unique personalities. Our lab help's trait of forgetting to label flasks carrying water with various salinities as he autoclaved them in multiples, forcing us to do it all over again, a senior lady's exclusive method of weighing fish on the new digital scale, people coming in early to 'book' 2 hour slots on the computer or the UV chamber. It felt like it was just yesterday. As I looked down into the water here at Ogden Point, I wondered which thraustochytrids I would find in these waters, and what kind of strides the field I had left all those years ago had made. I hadn't kept up with it. My mentors, Chandralata Raghukumar and Sheshagiri Raghukumar, both renowned scientists, taught me to pursue a subject with passion. Thank you! Their dedication to their work was/is nonpareil.

My personal post doctoral research began 15 years ago on a topic diametrically opposite to the one I had worked on. Understanding Autism- an absolutely unrelated but completely engaging field! As I accidentally stumbled into a world similar to the one I had left behind many years ago, a quick recap of how life had shaped up flashed before my eyes, with an important lesson that I learned along the way- life isn't about the destination, it's about the journey! Here are some pictures of the 'marine' aspect of it.

Inspirations

The crispness of the new year is still around, people still talking about resolutions and plans they have made for the year. It's interesting to read about them and take perspective of your own. Winter is slamming down hard and bitter and with one bonus mild day we got today, I decided to make the most of it. Leaves litter the backyard and the next two days are all set to tie or break records with the coldest temperatures recorded. I brought my sensitive plants inside, and hope some in the ground will survive the cold onslaught.

I have a member of my family who is really enterprising and a constant source of inspiration. She is always finding new things to do and follows her heart diligently until she achieves what she sets out to do. She has taken on a challenge that reminded me of the movie Julie & Julia that I watched a few years ago. She has tackled several challenges in the past and I admire her zest as she takes on new ventures. She lived in very arid Tucson, Arizona for a good amount of time. When they bought their first house there, she decided to take a break from work to be with her little girl until she was ready to go to school. Sitting at home for five years with a baby, after having worked for several years is not something that daunted this young lady! She took on the garden, a barren area with rocks all over. Single handed, she moved them all, irrigated the area, divided it into two. She planned a lawn to the left and an English garden on the right, with a birdbath in the center of the garden. She worked so hard to achieve it, she ended up with a tennis elbow and a backyard people would envy. The satisfaction that project gave her was immense though, to see what she had so meticulously planned and executed, the lavender blooming in through spring and summer, the other local varieties following suit. All over her house even today, you get to see numerous projects that have some interesting story behind them.

Several other friends also have some very thought provoking aspirations for the coming year. I will simply make silent resolutions, and hopefully, by the end of the year, have something to show to myself.

It is a time to get inspired, and apply some elbow grease!

Making a difference

The first of January is a day when you usually end up sleeping in late, blaming it on a late night celebrating the new year. Then you decide to take stock of the situation and make decisions about whether you want spend another day lazing around, or get down to business in tackling the never ending list of things-to-do. I decided to put away the Christmas tree, and the holiday decorations to give a crisp new look to my immediate surroundings.

The year ended with a visit to San Antonio to visit my cousin who just moved into his first home. We heard that they had a new addition to the family, a 4-5 year old dog, a Lab. The dog was so friendly, and clearly very fond of the family that adopted him. He was keen on pleasing us as well, who were only visiting. I was wondering about how my cousin managed to get an older dog, and then I heard the story. The dog was apparently found by a neighbor in the other house my cousin was renting, a week before they closed and moved into their new home. The neighbor had three pets already and was not interested in another one. He did take the dog to the vet to check if there was any way of locating the current owner. There was nothing on the dog that helped. He then told my cousin that with so many puppies were waiting to be adopted, this almost 5 year old dog would likely be put down.

That was when I realized that my cousin was indeed a man who cared, he may be a tough guy with a six pack, driving a truck and motorbike, but inside, it was the heart that ruled. He asked the neighbor to hold the dog for a week, and then took him in when they were done with the move. His wife is a wonderful woman who supported the decision. That dog is now a part of that family and is loved, cared for and protected.

One decision and the conviction to stick to it can make a difference, and I was so proud of this young couple who did it. It reminded me of a similar situation many years ago.

We were a young couple then. A new family moved in next door and they had this big cat, black and white and very friendly. Their daughter actually loved the cat and fed it and took it in in spite of the others. One morning, the cat was crying loudly asking for them to open the door for her. They wouldn't. When I asked them, the girl said that cat was pregnant and was about to deliver and was looking for a place in the house. There was no way the adults were going to let her do that. So she had no choice but to turn a deaf ear.

When we were married, my new husband had said he would have nothing to do with animals in the house, so I was torn about what to do. Having grown up with cats and dogs in the house, it was difficult for me to just watch. My knight in shining armor came through though! He asked me if we had a box and some soft cloth. I got it at once, and then he opened the door and let the cat in. The poor animal was so tired by then, she readily walked in. A few hours later, we had 3 lovely kittens (well, they weren't so lovely then, but they turned out to be the most adorable kittens in a couple of weeks). They were adopted as soon as they were ready, but we got to enjoy them for a couple of months before they took off for their new homes.

The family next door went about as if nothing was amiss, and soon they moved again. The cat followed the girl to the new house and so ended our pet keeping phase.