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.

Ends and Beginnings

I seem to visit the blog and get into the writing spirit only at the end of year, and every year end I promise myself I'll do better in the coming year. I have the same promise to make to myself this year. I hope I keep it. 

I was reading my own blog to remind myself what I was thinking of at the end of the year in the past years and I was pleased with myself.  The plans I make for the new year are not always shelved.
I have started reading a lot more with good friends sending recommendations and finding some good books on my own.
I have done some art work this year. It was very relaxing. The good thing was that I did not end up cluttering my home, I gifted the work to friends and neighbors who have been so wonderful, and I feel blessed to have such people in my life. 
Work with the kiddo continues. New ideas and how to execute them is an ever evolving process. You learn as you go.

Some very dear people in the family left us this year. It is hard to imagine some cities without these people gracing them. Each had some special quality that stood out. They will be missed.

The music scene gets better every year. Quite unexpectedly, you run into some new kind of music and sometimes it proves to be so rewarding. There is no dearth of good music out there, it only needs to be unearthed. At the end of the year, I was introduced to Bengali music by my favorite singer Hemant Kumar and a few other singers. It has been such a gratifying experience. It also means I have to understand the language to really appreciate the nuances of a song. Unfortunately, my husband who speaks the language well, is not too great at poetic interpretations. At the end of one such attempt at translation, he told me I need to enjoy the music without worrying too much about the meaning.

I found it so amusing. The poor guy is really not poetically inclined. However, any issues with the laptop or other electronic gadgets in the house, like the Wifi that simply stopped working one day, and he is in his element. He won't rest until the issue is resolved. Everything was running just fine by the end of the day. I guess I should just count my blessings and learn to adjust and find other sources who will help. There have been amazingly patient friends who have done so in the past.

I find our lives like jigsaw puzzles. Every piece fits in the whole picture with it's own little place. People in our lives are also kind of the same. They all fill a niche which ultimately make us what we are. To be blessed with wonderful family and friends is something I am really thankful for. 

Stray thoughts

It's not that I have forgotten about this little venture I started several years ago, it's just that it doesn't get prioritized on the list of things to do. The year was a busy one, and I am thankful for that. The creative side has seen a lull lately, and nothing better than a visit to people with nimble fingers who can inspire you to seek out your niche. 

My succulent garden took off earlier this year. I hope it survives the poor excuse of a winter we are experiencing. With the temperatures touching 82 degrees this afternoon, one had to reminded that it was still December, and that Christmas was around the corner, not Easter. 

The evening news yesterday reported a light streaking across the sky in the early hours of the morning. People thought it was lightning, others thought UFOs were on the attack. Experts said it was probably a meteorite burning off in the atmosphere, or it was an early arrival of the Geminids. 
http://www.khou.com/news/local/Fireball-houston-dallas-texas-sky-friday-182524251.html
Took me back years when I was in college, and my friends and I were sitting outside in the veranda of our hostel, we saw this bright luminous object in the sky, much larger than a star, or an airplane. It seemed to disintegrate after travelling some distance. I wrote to Dr. Jayant Narlikar asking him about it. Was I overjoyed when I saw a reply from him in the mail (yes, those were the days of snail mail). It was a green inland letter, not the regular blue kind. He wrote saying it was probably a meteorite, or a balloon sent up for research that was at the end of its mission. 
I need to dig into my treasures from the past to look for that letter. 

Trip to the Lakshadweep islands

This morning, seemed like everyone had something to do, except me. So I decided to go on one of my 'feel good' shopping trips. My first stop was a store that is a national chain. In the home decorating section, I saw they had corals on sale. I went to check out if it was the real thing and turned out that it was poly resin! I heaved a sigh of relief!

Looking at those pieces took me back several years when I was a Research Fellow at a national research institute. I was working for my PhD in Marine Biology. The institute had two research vessels at the time and going on a cruise was part of the deal when you joined. Within 6 months of joining, my research guide announced that a cruise was planned for our department and he had signed me up for it. I had heard so much about these cruises! Two of my friends who were Research Fellows were also going. The cruise was going to the Lakshadweep islands, and it was exciting because none of us had seen coral reefs before. I dug out the snorkeling gear that I had at home. My dad would always buy stuff even if he was not sure when/if we would use it. We had a tent at a time when no one went camping, we had a raft when hardly anyone used one on the beach which we would frequent almost every weekend. We also had this snorkeling gear, which I was so thrilled about suddenly. Soon, my bags were packed and I was ready to go!

The month was April, one of the worst months on the 'hot and humid' scale. Nothing dampened our spirits though, and we looked forward to set sail. We were scheduled to leave with the last pilot, and that was at about 5.30 pm. Dinner time was 6 pm. My friends and I stood on the deck, trying to get our ship basics straight, port side, starboard side, etc. The ship headed out of the harbor, and had to make a sharp left to start heading south into the Arabian Sea. We were just fine until then, it did not feel any different from the ferry I used to ride everyday until I was in grad school, and every weekend now that I had a paying fellowship! 

That's when it suddenly turned, and my middle ear went for a toss! I did not know what hit me, it felt horrible. My friend and I crawled back into our cabin which we shared, and headed straight to bed. I could not think of sitting up, let alone eating. It was such a jarring experience! I fell asleep soon after. The next morning, I sat up, felt a little better, and went out on the deck. I began to feel queasy again, and I ran back to the cabin and onto my bunk. I got a dozen messages from people telling me I would feel worse if I did not eat anything, so I should head to the dining room for breakfast. I could not even think about it. My roommate seemed to be better. The Purser came by to the deck where I had perched myself a little later, to give me some lime and ginger concoction which he said would make me feel better. I had it reluctantly, but soon I was feeling great! Lunch was at 12, and I went into the dining room so ravenous I could have eaten a horse. I ate heartily and began to enjoy my voyage.

This ship was an improvised research vessel, it used to be a very large barge and hence was not high as the other German research vessel our institute owned, nor was it as sophisticated. The Biology lab was at the back and one had to pass the kitchen to get there, something that always made me a little nauseous. This setting did not help even later as one of the visiting scientists had a live coral with running seawater on one side, and it smelt awful!

I was looking forward to visiting the islands. After about 3-4 days, we were told that we would anchor at Minicoy, the southernmost island in the group. I got to learn a few things about navigating rules, like you do not turn on deck lights unless you are anchored, and when you do turn on the lights, which in our case was just outside the lagoon, you can see the most amazing water creatures that come by attracted to the light. Biodiversity is at its best in this very productive region. We arrived there at night, so we could not see much of the island.
What a sight it was the next morning! The blue color was something I had never seen before! We had breakfast and got into a small boat that would take us to the island for a day visit. These little boats were such a pleasure to ride in. The boatmen sometimes let us take the wheel and it was an awesome experience!

Soon we were on the Minicoy island, which we were told is very different from the rest of the islands. It used to be part of the Maldives before. The people wore colorful clothes. Some young children followed us as we looked around. I found cowries, little ones, and asked one little girl where more could be found, she said she would get me some more if I took her picture. I feel so bad that those were not the days of unlimited pictures on a digital camera, and there was no way I could have sent her that picture later. Language was a big barrier. I took her picture and she let me have a small pouchful of cowries.

I fell in love with the beaches there, pearly white sands, and crystal clear blue waters! I was waiting to get into the lagoon. We heard tales of how you could walk in some parts of the lagoon, but carefully, because one wrong step in the mouth of an open giant clam, and that would be 'goodbye' foot! We never really found out if that story was true, and none of us cared to be mythbusters! We did spend about an hour (at Minicoy, and several more on other islands) snorkeling and looking at this amazingly colorful life underwater. Those memories are meant to last a lifetime!

In the next few days, we visited the Kalpeni, Kavaratti, Kiltan and Chetlat islands.
The smaller islands were a lot of fun. All there was to see were coconut palms, sand and water! You could ask just about anybody for their bicycle and they would lend it to you. We would ride for a couple of miles to get to the end of the island, or to a point where you could see the sea on either side. It was stunningly beautiful! After the ride, you could ask anyone for 'ela neer' or coconut water, and they would climb up a tree and pluck coconuts and offer them to you! Instant tender coconut water! On one island, a man invited all of us to his home. His wife offered us their staple snack, pieces of coconut and dry pieces of tuna! Such friendly people!
Kavaratti is the capital, and is a big island, more city like than any other island. I am talking about 1989-90. Now everything must have changed. We got rice and chicken curry there and nobody would lend us their bicycles. No small town charm here, it was city life! We even saw an auto rickshaw and an Ambassador car. 

At night, back on the ship, we would all sit on the deck and sing songs. My research guide was very good with the harmonica, and he would play tons of songs on it. There was an ornithologist from the Indian Institute of Science who was working on a chapter in his PhD thesis on the birds of the islands. He played the guitar, and we would all sing anything ranging from 'hai apna dil to awara' (very harmonica based), 'yeh raatein yeh mausam nadi ka kinara' (in the middle of  the Arabian Sea.. Ha..) to Simon and Garfunkel's 'Cecilia'! Those singing evenings were so much fun!

It was a trip of a lifetime for me. I made another trip there the next year. That one helped me publish my very first paper in Botanica Marina, a Canadian Marine Biology journal. It was the first for me as the first author, so that paper has a special place in my heart, and the Lakshadweep islands made it happen, so they are very special too!

The corals in their natural setting are a thing to see, with all those beautiful little creatures nestling among them, co-existing for years. They look lovely where they are, and it is best to let them be that way.

Plans galore!!!

The New Year is here! Another one! I plan to not make resolutions this year, I prefer to call them plans. I hope they materialize.

One goal is to start reading more books. I have been reading them but not as many as I would like to. I plan more trips to the library this year, and hope to find a good book club that recommends some fine books. Alternately, I could download books on the ipad, but I am not sure how that will work for me. As of now, I like the good old print on paper medium. (Notice I have left the option open for me to turn around and say... ooooh... reading books on the ipad is super cool!!!)

I have a great walking buddy, we just need to get the act going once again, now that she is back from her month long vacation. Shedding the unwanted and unsightly pounds is the goal here, in case you missed the obvious!

Getting some good plans in place for the kiddo is a mammoth task and I hope to accomplish more in the area of independence in the self help category. Wish me luck, guys!

To be more organized is another big challenge. I am not bad in this area, but the need to unclutter is the daunting challenge. The new rule should be to throw out two things if you buy one!

Well, that's it for now! Hello 2011...

Another end of the year...

I had promised myself I would write something before the year ended. Its now down to the last two days, and if I have to keep my promise to myself, I have to put something down today. There is no dearth of material. A time to introspect will be right at the present time. How did the year measure up?

I guess it was a mediocre year by some standards and really exceptional if you look at it through another angle. I had the opportunity to plan and execute a plan for the kiddo, which did not always go as I had hoped it would, but the experience taught me a lot, and continues to do so. I am amazed at how well some people can work with special needs kids and how some just cannot!

Regarding the teenager I am dealing with lately, he tries every ploy in the book to get away with doing meaningful stuff and expects that I go with the plan. Too bad I am the mom and have to put my foot down.
Just yesterday, to have a conversation, I asked him what he likes to do in his leisure time, he started listing all his favorite things, listening to the ipod, playing with the boom box, recording voices ( he is so obsessed with that), so I interrupted and asked if he should be reading books sometimes! Pat comes his reply... "Good idea"! I laughed so hard, and he did too. That confirms my theory that autistic kids do have a sense of humor!
Then came the speech therapist to work with him, and he said to her, "I feel ill and need to rest", so she glanced over at me. I coolly said I was taking away the boom box, the ipods and the rest of the paraphernalia so he could rest. He suddenly sat up straight and said he was feeling much better! The therapist could not stop laughing. So yes, I am now learning to be a mom to an autistic teenager.
I was trying to tell him the story of the boy who cried wolf. I realized that such stories are really a waste of time, unless one day it is suddenly going to dawn on him! I have done my bit, now the cosmos has to act in the strange way it always does, and make him see what the story means!

I continue to be amazed at the technological advances Steve Jobs and his men are making. The apple store is definitely a fabulous place to visit while strolling at the mall. May they continue with their successes and more and more people will be compelled to sit at one spot and get addicted to their gadgets. Seriously, their gadgets are really really cool! And seriously, more people need to move it and exercise!

Christmas has come and gone. The final week of the year is here. In retrospect, I realized how much one can miss a person and how the realization of the importance of that person in one's life hits after the person is gone. I often wonder if she ever knew how much she meant to me. This year was mostly about learning to cope without a very loved person being around.

A little break and a trip to the past!

We were on a short vacation last week. One that was needed but I did not realize it till we were actually flying to our destination. It was a vacation planned in a way where we would be out of the hustle bustle of cities and where we could go on small hikes and enjoy the countryside. We managed to do just that. Rental car at our service and stocking up on water and snacks, we would set out each morning, and enjoy the landscape of a new region, so different from what we got to see everyday. The mountains are so beautiful, and though I am a beach person, I do feel the second best thing are the mountains. On a two mile hike on the very first day, we saw this waterfall that had three different heights, they called it the little, the medium and the big falls. The quiet and serene atmosphere was just beautiful!

The fall season is here, and the whole region seemed to have these wonderful colors splashed all over the place. Little streams ran almost around every corner, and the place seems perfect for a movie setting. There are scenic spots all over and special parking areas are made so the roads do not get blocked. On one such stop, we parked our car, and the car beside us was the same color as ours. None of the cars were locked, because all of us were right there. Suddenly we heard laughter that did not seem to stop. An older lady was laughing  hard and she and her husband seemed really embarrassed. They had both gotten into our car to drive away until she noticed the jacket on the seat wasn't hers. The guy got out saying, "Soon I will be getting into other people's homes and pretending it was mine". They quickly got into their own car and drove away. It was hilarious!

This place is famous for bear sightings. Black bears call this area their home.Campsites everywhere had signs that said "Is your camp bear proof?" I wonder how one did that. We did not camp outdoors so I guess I will never find out!

The whole region had cabins that were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. People who lived there who had started a sugar mill, built a church, and this was the early start of civilization here.

This little place used to store corn. There were homes too, like in the next picture.

 It all looks so lovely and quaint now. I can only imagine how it must have been, in harsh winters, and hot summers, with bears and other wildlife around. They probably had their share of headaches back then.
We have come a long way in the past couple of hundred years!

Just checking out ...

Google keeps inventing ways to keep up with the times, some changes are welcome as they are for the better, while some have us wishing for the old stuff . The new template design which has been around for a few weeks now has me excited, but I do miss the flexibility of some of the other design elements. Some of the fonts have been eliminated, but the color themes are a lot better. This is just a check on some of the settings.

Firsts in our lives- 1

We experience so many different things in a lifetime. There is always a first time for each experience. Some of these firsts become memorable and stay with a person forever.

One of the first stories I had heard in this regard was the one involving my sister. She was a baby, just a few months old, when a doctor paid a home visit to give her the DPT shot. It hurt and she remembered that first experience with the bearded doctor. The next month, he came again for the next shot. The moment she lay eyes on him, she started to bawl. He was so surprised that she had remembered his beard and associated an unpleasant experience with it.

My first roller coaster ride was an experience I will never forget. It was the Steel Eel, at the Sea World. I had insisted I wanted to go for it. And what an experience it was! It was the worst feeling one can have at the last minute when the car began the descent after slowly climbing up to a height of about 150 feet. The feeling of doom at the sheer hopelessness of having gotten into a situation that only time can get you out of, is not a pleasant one. The strong straps holding you in place will not let you go anywhere. Believe me, I tried to jump off when I saw impending doom ahead of me.

Let me narrate a pleasant experience in the midst of these unpleasant ones. There is a theme park nearby here, which is located near the sea, so the sea breeze is always there to add to the beautiful ambience. There is a ride there called the Aviator, which has seats at the end of a huge circle, that gets lifted up to a height of about 60 feet and goes round and round several times before the seats are lowered back to the ground. That was such an awesome experience. I had seen some people leave their footwear on the ground before the ride began. I followed suit. That was the good decision. To feel the breeze through the toes on bare feet and the hair was just divine. It was as close as I could get, to flying.

Recently, a friend wrote about the first drink he had and how it was memorable for him because it was offered to him in the presence of his parents. That reminded me of a time when I was about 17. It was Christmas time. We were visiting our neighbors who celebrated Christmas. We had had a good dinner, and my father had a bottle of chocolate mint liquor that he had just gotten from one of his trips abroad. It was decided to open that bottle and have it with dessert. Our neighbor opened his cabinet and got the dessert wine glasses out. One was poured for me too. My mother was not happy even with her own glass (she never liked alcohol), and absolutely not happy that one was poured for me. She was assured it was only dessert wine and not a problem at all. A toast was raised and everyone took a sip and praised the liquor. I thought my throat was on fire. I managed a couple of sips, and then all of us teenagers decided to go to the adjacent terrace to chat. On getting there, I slowly poured out the contents of my glass on to the parapet below. I was good at pouring things out of windows anyways. I used to pour out the glass of milk that I was forced to drink every morning which I hated. A neighbor told on me and I was given a long talk about how people did not get milk and how I should not abuse the things I got. I had stopped doing it, but the experience was with me. Nobody suspected anything and I got away with it. That was my first brush with wines. I am not fond of them to this day, except for the chocolate mint liquor kind. :)

End of the first Half of the Year!

It is already six months into the year. I had not made resolutions for this year. The year started on a kind of sombre note and I was not exactly in a mood for resolutions back then. I am not in that mood even today, not that the middle of the year is a popular time for making resolutions. What I just want me to do is make good decisions and spend my time wisely so that at the end of the day I do not end up feeling like I wasted my day doing things that were unnecessary. Believe me, I feel like that many a times.

We come across so many things in the span of a day, what someone said, what someone wrote, and there are a always a few things that stick with you for a while and make you think. I do not have a schedule that keeps me on my toes all the time where I am rushing from one point to another on any given day in my life. I have a fairly busy day, with a few deadlines, that I manage to keep, with time on hand for afterthoughts. For me, afterthoughts are very compelling. I might say something now, but at a later time, a better thought comes to me and I always prefer to have time where I can decide which is the better option.

I also have this habit of working like a horse when people are not looking and then relaxing when they are actually taking notice. The funny thing is even when tons of work is done, people have this annoying habit of making judgments on the basis of what they see. I might have moved the furniture around the whole room single handed and changed the set up for the better. But if I have done it like I usually do, when no one is looking, chances are that the person will think it happened in a snap, even if it took me three hours of sweating it out. When I have to have things ready for meetings, I usually have them going round in my head for quite a while, and then I sit down and put it down on paper in maybe 15 minutes. What people do not see is that the thoughts have been in my head when I am cooking, cleaning, even right before going to bed when my mind seems to be at its creative best. My better half has this ability to look really busy all the time, even if he is going from one room to the next to get something, he hurries to and fro and one feels like something very important is going on. Me, on the other hand, takes longer strides, which takes me the same amount of time to retrieve the thing from the exact same place, but it feels like I am not in a hurry. Okay, before anyone misunderstands, this is not a 'spiritual scratching post' (phrase courtesy- Charles Schulz) for me to complain about my spouse, it is just a place where I put down precious thoughts.

Continuing with my musings, it is just the way you do a certain thing. When I drive and know that my exit is coming up, I make the necessary lane changes well ahead of time so I do not have to rush at the last minute. Well, when I am the navigator, I am expected to stay cool even when the exit is just half a mile away and we still have two lanes to cross before we get there. I wonder if it is a guy thing, because I have heard this from some other friends as well.

What I have written draws a picture of me like I am some meticulous, very orderly person who does things nearly perfectly all the time. I am not like that. I goof up. It takes eons to do things between knowing I have do them and me actually doing them. The nice part is that I am pretty organized and hope to stay that way by making a few mental resolutions and keeping them as I trudge along through the latter part of the year.