Ages and stages

That that age, that that likes and dislikes!! How?? Recently my parents suggested I watch this series "Kalangalil avan vasanthan". I must've listened to those songs mentioned there a thousand times over in my younger days. B/W, TMS, old songs were a turn off in those days! Those same songs made a different effect this time and I'm digging for more now! 

In the good old DD only days, I used to be glued to the TV even watching 'vayalum vazhvum' but not the news. I couldn't even stand the few minutes of 'seidhi surrukkam'! That was then! Now I'm bugging the kids turning to NPR on the car, checking bbc news, twitter news, google news... eppdi irundha naan! 

Karma is real, beleive me! I am begging my teen to watch my favorite Kamal movies with me and she acts the way I did to my mom's Sivaji movies! Age is catching up at the tastebuds level too. After years of abusing the system with sugars, norukku theenis & stuff, the lowly upma seems heavenly now!

Unnoyers!!

The Unplanners won't have a plan for themselves, won't follow plans made for them by others and on top of all this would look down upon planners!! Pongada!!

Old school girl!!

On a North Indian friend's high recommendation that I would absolutely love "2 States", I decided to overlook & tolerate its hero to watch the movie. But before that, like a periya pista paruppu, decided to read the novel. I have to admit that it was mostly hilarious if the author's digs at Chennai city, Tambrahms are overlooked! Nice quick read and a timepass book but nothing spectacular that I had expected from India's best seller! After reading couple more of his books, realised he is like the junk food that is popular and everybody's favorite these days! That's so clever of him to write his autobiography in installments!

Next bulb was at the hands of "Tanu weds Manu (again!??)"! Enjoyed Kangana's hangam-ous performance and nice songs and what was the point of the sequel? Oh, just a time pass movie? Oh, ok!  Poor, old Madhavan!

Do you hear the younger generation singing to me,

vayasukku mele ulagathil ulla nallathu pidikkathu
amma nallathu pidikkathu 
vayasu pillaigal pudhusa perusa vaazhvathu porukkathu
amma vaazhvathu porukkathu 

Seri, aththa vudunga, iththa kelunga....

Sad, sadder, saddest

After all that hype about the Shiva trilogy from folks in India, very excitedly started "The immortals of Meluha" but ended with disappointment! Don't know if it was too much expectation on my part or my tastes don't sync with mainstream now! Sad!

After seeing the book "A history of the world in 10 and 1/2 chapters" in the must read list at a local book store, gave that a shot and ended up sea sick!

After all that sogam, I don't know how I landed with the "Light between the ocean". I mean, it is an excellent book but I am not ready for this kind of sadness now! I was vaguely reminded of an old Banumathi Tamil film called "Annai" but the setting, an island in Western Australia in the early 20th century was new and unique. The two main characters, Tom and Isabella were such an adorable couple! Just couldn't digest the ending. The author could've atleast let her see her once before her, you know! Pch!

To get out all that depression, I aggressively turned to humor of the highest order. With high ratings on all websites and the authors belonging to blog world(orey the kinship only!), started "Let's pretend this never happened" and "Hyperbole and a half". The first chapters seemed ligthly funny. And I get so angry with Athaan when he reads a few pages and gives his verdict when I endure the whole thing hoping (& failing) to disprove him!

Kids broken-hearted over school's Valentine's Day candy ban

Orey the outrage(grown-ups more than kids!) over the decision to ban candy this valentine's day at a school in Connecticut! With left over candies from Halloween still lying around and the prospect of more sweet stuff coming home during Easter looming threateningly, this would be a welcome relief if everyone followed suit. And who cares for warnings like this - Cancer 'tidal wave' on horizon, warns WHO

Seri, namakku edhukku vambu! Lets enjoy this 'out of this world' video! 

Revival

Yesterday was one of my friend's daughter's birthday but my friend was busy with her younger one's activities that the older one got upset! Quite a familiar situation in most households including ours! In all this tug-of-war, my other child, my blog is the easily sacrifice-able!

After many attempts to watch a meteor shower, atlast hit jackpot in December with the Gemind meteor shower! Though the happiness was short lived with all the horrible events in the following days! And I thought seeing shooting stars was good luck! 

It is 200 years since the publishing of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice! With the way, A1 devours books, though she is still stuck on mystery and magic, I am sure the day is not far away when both can discuss Darcy and Elizabeth! 

Hinglish Vinglish dekha but paarkanam Tanglish Vinglish! As part of vacation homework(!), A2 had to watch  "Children of heaven"!  It indeed was wonderful movie and true to the words of her teacher, "it beautifully emphasizes on sibling relationship, sharing, goal setting + determination and (above all) cherishing the little things in life"! IMO, It was a bit too much for 4-5 yr olds but it touched & affected me and A1. The movie helps with the things I am struggling to teach my kids in the land of plenty! A1's only peeve was the subtle ending! 

Choice

Choice, such an adorable, favourite word! Be it in exams(especially), in menu, in clothes, in transportation. Though in those good old days, choices ranged from synthetic or pattu for Deepavali, Science or Commerce group in +1, Masala dosai or channa batura, cinema or beach, bus or train, Ilayaraja/SPB or others, Kamal or Rajni. In most cases, with some clear favourites the choice was always easy. Life was too! Nowadays, in the name of choice comes so much confusion. True, variety is the spice of life but which variety of spice to choose is the question!

When I have some time in my hands, I spend or rather waste time wondering which genre books to pick, which blogs to browse, what cuisine to try or what type/language music to listen to. Especially the Indian music industry has grown tremendously in the last decade with so many talented singers, music directors that it has been hard to have any one particular favourite. But for now, Karthik's out of the world voice is my choice!

Kaatril eeram

Vizhigalile

Nee korinal

Ennodu vaa vaa

Iravugalil

Behne de

and
Mokka manusha
(not a melody but chumma for fun! The credit shows Karthik, is it really him or someone else?) ;)

Expectations!

Even if 'millions' and 'kodis' are getting seepattu-fying in all of the available media in today's world, everyone's "if only I had a million dollars/oru kodi rupees" is a big dream. For a Math project, when A1 had to pretend to spend a million dollars, I didn't think it would be too hard. But with parents like us, poor thing, she was buying $10 tops, $20 bags and stuff. Even after buying a house, a car, TV, iPad, kindle and other basic necessities(!) she was struggling to spend the entire amount! Guess, dreams may be hard to handle in reality!

A very good friend of mine has this bad habit, punctuality! She is always on time or before time everywhere! When she was carrying her second child, I consoled myself, once the baby arrives, then she will become like me. But now that the baby is born, even now she is on time or before time. Enna manushanga pa! 

In this brammanda Universe, are we just an accidental speck of dust or are we the unique special living creature?

M&M&Ms

Math(s), Music and Motherhood
- Love, adore, crazy about ....
but untameable, unconquerable and "pidi pada maaten"-able
to me!

Para(web)sites

Last Saturday was one of my friend's birthday and I meant to send her a wish all weekend, only I never got around to it. On Monday morning I was greeted by a thank you msg from that very same friend on facebook and I was wondering if I sent her the wish after all or does facebook even read my mind?! After probing my facebook page, I realised when I accepted a greeting card from another friend a while back, that greetings app(or whatever!) had got stuck to my page and sends cards on my behalf!! Phew!!

Youtube is my best friend now! Any old, new, in-the-middle song, show or any audio/video of the past, present or future I just go scratch the youtube genie and lo! Recently I found a song so divine that I picked up courage to hit the 'like' button! The next day all our hotmail inboxes had extra junk mails! I was like "How?"(like Varun(Nagesh Kukunoor) says with a stress on the "H" in Hyderabad blues!)!

My latest research... Extroverts have twitter accounts and post one liners all thro' the day. Introverts have blogs and write paragraphs after paragraphs! You ask what about people who tweet as well as blog? I am working on that for my PhD!

Nerudals!!

On a perfectly ordinary, uneventful day sometimes a teeny tiny insignificant incident happens and ruins the entire day! These nags are nothing serious but yet sits in the back of the mind and rolls to the front of the mind now and then bringing that same sinking feeling that was felt at the time of the incident!

During the Christmas party at A1's school, there was this great(or so I thought!) activity called book exchange. Each kid brought a wrapped book and the class played a game by passing the book right and/or left based on a poem. At the end of the game each child was left with a wrapped book present. All was wonderful until that point. Since each kid's reading level is different, most kids were disappointed with whatever they got. Such a wonderful idea flopping left me upset the rest of the day!

T is A2's best friend in school. She talks about her all the time. Once I met T's mom and during the conversation, my mind went blank and I couldn't recall the name, T! I tried my best to substitute "your daughter" whenever possible but at one point I had to say the name and I just paused and the lady had to fill in the name! And here I was telling how much A2 keeps talking about her daughter!!!

Of the many botherations as a grown-up, the formal, customary chats one has make with some unwanted parties is another big prick. One such sweet talking hypocrite who is ever ready with her "vazhapazhathula oosi" talk wrecks my day almost always! When there are so many kind hearted, genuinely affectionate souls, why-o-why do I have to deal with such creatures!!!

Ennamo yedho...

Manam oru kurangu.... literally translating, Mind is a monkey!

After roasting 3 hot, hotter, hottest months of summer (same dialogue every summer!), karichu kotti'-fying the weather when atlast (tropical storm)Mr. Lee broke the sun's stong hold and brought in some drizzle, suddenly the gloomy-cloudy weather and approaching fall and winter weather gave me the shudders! Soon I can start complaining about the cool, cold, icy weather!

When cooking for guests I am always jittery about the amount! It's in my genes to cook exactly for n numbers for n number of guests! Unusually my hand became 'dharalam', a couple of guests canceled out and there was quite an amount of left overs during a recent get-together and eating the same for next few meals was no fun! I am going back to my n-n ratio!

After complaining endlessly about kollywood's obsession with running around the trees, unrealistic dishoom dishoom, other commercial ingredients etc., now when realistic movies are taking over, I'm hopelessly digging for chick flicks! Now you know the "ennamo edho" title link! Idhukkaga dhaan indha post-ey! ;)

Tech Takeover

We got a scrabble board game for A1 right on time for the summer vacation. All was well until a cousin introduced us to Word with friends and now all of us are hooked onto it. No set up time, no clean up time and the board game has just joined our "can't throw away - will be of use someday" collection!

Once upon a time, I was the (only)one to surprise, embarrass, torture friends, family, acquaintance with my phone call/email/in person wishes on their special days! With social networking, electronic reminders, now everyone is stealing my thunder! Also, there is hardly any news to exchange these days as it is all posted on the web that I am not able to start any sentence with "theriyuma...."

I bow to the team who uploaded the whole 5 volumes of "Ponniyin Selvan" in tamil on the internet!! Now I join the elite fan club! No doubt that reading the print form wins hands down against the electronic form but I don't know how long I would've had to wait for that to happen.

Like many, Kalki's description of the land and its beauty makes me yearn to visit those places. But I also have to admit that many times I just wanted to skip the descriptions and race through to read what that chapter was leading to! No wonder none stops reading it just once!

I wonder if Kalki named the novel so just because he was the great king Raja Raja Cholan for he hardly qualifies to be the hero! Vandiya devan is a jolly good lovable fellow but it's Aditha Karikalan who really fascinated me! Is Kalki the trendsetter for cinematic situations like the first meeting of Kundavai and Vandiya devan, sidekick Aazhvarkadiyan popping at the right times, twins, look alikes etc.?

Lot of unanswered questions at the end, why? But all said and done, this is my first attempt at a full length novel in senthamizh and my first historical novel. It's helped me get over the mind block I have had against historical novels that I am starting "Sivagamiyin sabadam" next.

aaargh!!

- to find that you share many things in common with the person you dislike!

- that any junk left on the kitchen counter would disappear in seconds while anything remotely healthy will be left to rot!

- that no plans/schedules/routines ever work as per plan/schedule/routine during vacations!

- that compromise and not 'getting even', is the only way forward in life!!

A good friend called after a very long time. As soon as I answered, she seemed bewildered! She had called me by mistake! Though she talked a while having called, I felt so bad that she hadn't meant to call me, that she has time to call others, that she has other friends now. Though all that applies to me too, it just bothered me the rest of the day. But lately, this kind of mistaken calls and mails are happening too often. Someone left a message on our answering machine who I couldn't recall for a long time. After much racking of brain, I remembered the acquaintance and called back only to find out she had called the wrong no. Another time, a mom of some old classmate of A1's sent me a menu list for a party. Only she had included my mail id by mistake! Suddenly my name seems too common. And in my childhood I was so angry with my parents for giving me such an uncommon name that there was not one store named after me! And is there a chat etiquette? Some people send a "hi" and then disappear. With all the latest mistaken identities, I wonder if they pinged the wrong person!

Till preschool, the parents had the choice to make playdate plans. After entering elementary school, the kids are making plans themselves! Initially, whether the playdate was in our home or not, I called the parent to confirm and verify. But it was always me who was making the calls. Either they seem disinterested or just want to drop off the kid! In a latest incident, I didn't make the call and we found out at the last minute that they didn't even have our address or phone no.!

The news about playback singer Chitra's daughter's accidental death is heart wrenching!

Big Show(s)

Atlast the purpose of getting Vijay TV got served! After indha round andha round-nnu round round-a suthi Super singer Junior got selected!! Alka Ajith deserved to be the winner but seemed like the kids(& the viewers) were drained to the last bit! Shravan, Priyanka and Srinisha were my other favourites! It is amazing to see such talent and zero stage fright in today's kids!

Once upon a time, these once-in-a-blue-moon shows were exciting and interesting. But these days, there seems to be one almost everyday(and is Karthi, the official representative for these Vijay TV functions from the Sivakumar family?). I am glad I can forward, skip, personalise and finish it in 1/2 or 1 hr!

May be I am old fashioned, but seems to me that these Orey the celebrity treatment, grand finale(y) thingy( and I thought the 9PM timing was not suitable for juniors!), beg for votes are a little too much for kiddies? The juniors, suttigals were all nice in the beginning. But now with the kids acting(or trained to?) like adhigaprasangis and with jodi no. 1 juniors, please let kids-b-kids!!

UPDATE

Ok, Vijay awards - check!

Though orey Deja vu! Adhey aattam, pattam, Gopinath(Vijay TV can soon change its name to Gopijay TV!), Kamal, Surya(are they introducing new categories just for Surya?), Sasikumar and Co. But I am not complaining!

Amarikan Inglipish!

Recently I met an old acquaintance and when I went up to her and said, "remember me? we used to meet at our daughters' football practice sessions"? She had a big question mark in her face, "football practice... oh, soccer practice, you mean?" Can I get anymore superbowled!!!

I've always admired people who become Roman as soon as their feet touch Rome! Amongst friends who in just 3 months of landing in foreign shores could talk about cabs & cardigans in ishtyle, here I am, a thirundhadha case, even after a decade, still filling petrol, eating and feeding biscuits instead of cookies/crackers, getting rose/violet colour outfits! Recently, A1 added a new word, comforter, in her vocabulary cos' we still refer to hers as 'blankie'(btw, a diploma course is required to understand bed linens)!

Some words like 'trash', 'elevator', 'bell pepper' didn't seem that hard to get used to. But words like schedule, bath etc. confuses my brain and the outcome will definitely be the Indian way to Americans and vice versa! Same with direct, vitamins etc. And bike, scooter, jeep are quite deeply etched that the substitution is still a WIP. Apartment was easy but when I had to answer which floor, I always wished I lived in the top most as I bungled with all others. Shortened versions are to make life easy. But I kashtapattu, vedhanapattu, thindadi, theruporukki somehow manage to say 'condomonium' in full cos' a couple of times, my mouth(with help from brain or not, I know not) mysteriously adds a 'm' to the end to its short form!!

Recently a desi asked me if & how I pronounced my name Americanized. After reading thro' this post, you might've guessed that like the Doordarshan TV times palmolive shaving advt. dhadiwala(beard) guy, my answer was "who, me?" ;)

Okieee!!

One of A1's friend's mom happened to tell me that on a discussion about idlis, A1 remarked, "My mom makes the best idlis"! No doubt I came back home all smiling ear to ear and thinking, not all hard work goes unnoticed, unrewarded. While I was sharing this proud moment with hubby, A1 appeared from nowhere and said, "I didn't say that. I just said my mom makes idlis too"!!

(okie, okie... aall iz well, aall iz well)

From the time I wake up in the morning to the time I go to sleep, my mind transistor always remains on(especially with all my favourite radio stations vanishing one by one(thendral.com, aahaafm etc.)) with some song playing all day and some are picked up by the mouth! Now that A2 is old enough to have ideas and opinions and realised the utility of the mouth other than eating & crying, uses it to command "Amma, no paat!"

(okie, okie... aall iz well, aall iz well)

Atthaan is orey the narcissist these days, all the time only I-phone, I-pod, I-app... But I dare not open my mouth about it or orders will be placed on the I-net for me too and/or the chotoos(I-yo!)

Ada, Raamaa!!!

Good - Healthy diet containing fruits, vegetables

Bad - Junk foods

Ugly - Pesticide/hormone added produce/dairy

Good - Bathing/Showering preferably everyday

Bad - Not bathing/showering

Ugly - Taking showers can make you ill

Good - Natural breeze through open windows

Bad - Artificial air conditioning

Ugly - Keep windows closed, use air conditioning

Vattam, Maavattam!

The Appas, Ammas, Athais, Mamas of desis who come to visit the states spend most of their time converting $ into Rs or vice versa. But as a pudhu ponnu in the states, I appavi-ly use to exclaim, "haiyo, tape recorder 55 dhaana! Vangidalamley?" much to the horror of Hd! Then came the icing, sales tax! Especially with all prices ending with a .99, the final payment always seem a mockery! To my knowledge, I always remember paying either the MRP or sticker or the kadakaran sollara price at stores in India. Or if one is really lucky with no 'no bargain' signs, can even come out of the store with a big grin having saved Rs. 2!! Here in the States, if one is lucky enough to live in a no sales tax state or even in the vicinity of such states then orey the alattals dhaan!! To save 5%, we used to drive 50+ miles in the North East! 

It was a revelation that not just the tax, driving rules, immunizations, speed limits and many other things varied from state to state. And when we moved here, it went another step further,  the county level! With our city lying across 3 counties, it took me a while to understand the county level rules, tax(take the right turn and save 1% sales tax!), school systems etc. Anyway, all this build-up is for my latest bungle. 

As a pudhu ponnu in the states knowing nothing about the big deal about long weekends and the mandatory big plans for trips that one has to make and with an absent-minded professor hubby who might thankfully remember on Sunday evening that the following Monday is a holiday, I took over the holiday planning committee chair(wo)man post. All was well until this past President's day long weekend. With hubby having a holiday, relatives' kids having a holiday, Balavihar on holiday and even the stock market enjoying a holiday, not in my wildest dreams did I imagine A1's school district county would be sincerely working on President's day! Now hereafter, every holiday I will be subjected to the "Are you sure its a holiday for me today?"