More College Nostalgia

The last post received good response. Everybody could relate themselves somehow. So here are some more moments of nostalgia.

Awaiting for a break to rush to the coffee outlet and grab a cup of coffee.
Taking turns to xerox all study material.
Getting caught for some stupid reason and the whole class writes an apology letter.
Paying fines for being late, as a whole class for some silly thing.
Change of building and parking lots.
How we always planned trips and never worked it out.
Field Trip to Tidel Park.
Lucknow trip for Quality Circle Convention.
Leo Club meetings.
How my friend's mobile was seized and she retrieved it after final year only.
How people used to stand outside Princi's room late hours.
So many days of wearing saree and a day of half saree. - There was no dress code for our batch.
Numerous photo sessions.
How the boys got caught for playing holi.
Buying birthday gifts from DOK's dollar shop
Treats around our college area.
Copying so much lab observations, records and assignments.
Sample classes by new lecturers.
Seminars
Alumni Association Initiation - All girls bought same kind of saree.
Sad Ending to our Farewell Party.

Please add more to this list whatever you remember... :)

Gals Grow Up !!!

Recent developments amongst my girl friends inspired me to write this post. Guys, I m sure this post would n't make any sense to you :) .
Back in college first year, friendships formed on where we found our seats, how we met up on Day 1, who will sit next to whom, who they decide to share their secrets with, their lifestyles, how they dress up, common interests so on. Some used to hang out with the other in station or bus stops to wait for the other to get their train or bus. Sometimes two or more would plan and wear the same colour dress or buy same pattern of dresses. Some were close enough that the mothers would pack up an extra lunch or buy the friend too a dress after a vacation. Some stayed at other person's house just for fun or in the pretext of group study. Outings would be planned as a gang, but people would pair up on reaching the destination which would irritate a few others. Lot of petty fights - who would stand next to whom in a group photo or why din't you tell me first or why did you spend time with her or why dint you buy me that gift so on. By end of Year 4 of engineering, lot of things happened. Possesiveness prevailed amongst the gang, there was no Gang effect achieved. Inspite of the efforts of few members of the gang, there were individual friendships formed. The "GANG" remained a namesake.

After engineering and as years passed by, everything was changing. People who were not close became close; and thickest of friends had problems in understanding each other. Some became dormant and cut off from other - no one knew what goes on in their lives. Some worked together in the same company but instead of becoming more closer, that made their friendship worser with no one to blame but office gossips going around. Some became closer with just email contacts; some catching up over the phone once a while. It takes years to know who your true friends are. We grow up as individuals and experiences teach us to see our friends lives in a different perspective too. What we thought they did was wrong back then seem perfectly fine now and vice versa.

Even though each one strived to keep their secrets within just their close friends, the rest of the gang eventually would come to know. After all, we were girls and were friends. Secrets such as their crushes, friends and boy friends, getting jobs, when they are getting engaged, break offs if any, when they are marrying, who they are marrying.. the list goes on. The latest in the list is being pregnant. Pregnancy is such a nice thing and discovering that you are on the way to be a mom is a happy moment. To share this life changing event with girl friends is the best thing to do. But what's happening is some try to hide it, some let a few know and the few who know try to show off with the others that they know first or they keep it as a big secret. How does it matter who became pregnant first or who came to know first about the new joy. But some do seem to make it a big deal. :(

So I just have to say this to them: Gals grow up..!! We were friends coz we are here to help each other, empathise and lend a listening ear to sorrows and joys. To make life easier. There isn't any jealousy involved here. So what if you are pregnant..or your marriage is fixed or anything of that sort, let your friends know. They will be more than happy for you. And to the people who know the secret - we don't care if you knew first. Coz we too know now through some other way.

What are girl friends for if they are not when commitments happen, or relationships break off, taking part in the weddings, sharing daily life events, sharing most wonderful phase changes of life, understanding the other's feelings... and friendship is not certainly to gossip about others, or wondering about the other's life or showing off that they know something first; or to probe what's going on in their life or passing rumours or chatting to get information or just inviting others to every damn irrelevant functions just as a formality!! If you are a friend, you will get to know direct from the person. And if you are the one who came to know first, let the others know in a nice way. Don't ruin friendships.

Here is the nice forward I received. Dedicated to all Girl friends in the world..

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

Don't forget your girlfriends," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to
the bottom of her glass. "They'll be more important as you get older. No
matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the
children you'll have, you are still going to need girlfriends. Remember
to go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember
that "girlfriends" are not only your friends, but your sisters, your
daughters, and other relatives too. You'll need other women. Women
always do.

What a funny piece of advice,' the young woman thought. 'Haven't I just
gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake, a grownup, not a young girl who needs girlfriends! Surely my husband and the family we'll start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother; she kept contact with her girlfriends
and made more each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she
gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was
talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries
upon a woman, girlfriends are the mainstays of her life. After 50 years
of living in this world, here is what I know about girlfriends:

Girlfriends bring you curry when you need help.

Girlfriends keep your children and keep your secrets.

Girlfriends give advice when you ask for it. Sometimes you take it, sometimes you don't. Girlfriends don't always tell you that you're right, but they're usually honest.

Girlfriends still love you, even when they don't agree with your choices.

Girlfriends laugh with you, and you don't need canned jokes to start the
laughter.

Girlfriends pull you out of jams. Girlfriends help you get out of bad relationships.

Girlfriends help you look for a new apartment, help you pack, and help
you move.

Girlfriends will give a party for your son or daughter when they get
married or have a baby, in whichever order that comes!

Girlfriends are there for you, in an instant and when the hard times come.

Girlfriends listen when you lose a job or a friend.

Girlfriends listen when your children break your heart.

Girlfriends listen when your parents' minds and bodies fail.

Girlfriends support you when the men in your life let you down.

Girlfriends help you pick up the pieces when men pack up and go.

Girlfriends rejoice at what makes you happy, and are ready to go out and
kill what makes you unhappy.

Times passes. Life happens. Distance separates.

Children grow up. Love waxes and wanes.

Hearts break. Careers end. Jobs come and go. Parents die.

Colleagues forget favours. Men don't call when they say they will.

BUT girlfriends are there, no matter how much time and how many miles
are between you.

A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

So my dear girl friends, please GROW UP and be a true Girl friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And to all the new moms to be, Congratulations and wishing you Good Luck. May God Bless You!

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon - A rugged beauty and a remarkable record of Paleozoic Era. This post is about our trip to this beautiful place. I remember this place as shown in "Hai Rabba" song from the movie Jeans. To cover this place by car would take 4 days; so we decided to take a flight to Las Vegas, stay there and then take a tour arranged by http://www.grandcanyon.com

We started on a friday night and reached Las Vegas in an hour by flight. We had to stand in queue at the McCarran Airport for a taxi as Vegas is a very happening place and crowded, not to mention on a weekend. The taxi charges were pretty high. Our hotel was near by; we checked in and had a good night's sleep. The next day, after having breakfast at the hotel, we left for a nearby resort where the Tour bus would pick us up.

At 10 am, the bus took us from the resort to the Boulder City Municipal Airport, where we had a mini flight (which can carry up to 14 members) waiting for us. This flight was 30 min long and we could see Lake Mead very well. My husband and I got seats 2A and 3A; adjacent to the window. It was awkward to board this small flight and settle down; too small that one couldn't even stand up straight.

After we were dropped at the Canyon Airport, we were guided to a helicopter which took us for a flight into the Canyon. It was a beautiful experience to watch the majestic Canyon from a higher altitude as well as near it; this being my first helicopter ride (I got the front seat besides the pilot - an added excitement), I enjoyed it a lot. You can see the different shades of colours on the Canyon and its minute layerings formed by the river along millions of years - simple soil erosion yet so beautiful.

The helicopter dropped us near River Colorado. We walked down to the river where a boat was awaiting us. The boat ride was pleasant. It was serene atmosphere except for the occasional helicopters flying around. From the boat, we saw the highest point of the Canyon which is about a mile deep i.e. this is compared with the 3 times the height of the Stratosphere tower in Vegas!

The Canyon is occupied by the native tribe Hualapai and you could see signboards mentioning - "No trespassing- Hualapai Nation". The Hualapai people believe that the rivr water brought luck, our boat driver gave a bucket of river water and asked us to apply afew drops on our cheeks. The river water was cold and refreshing.

After the boat ride, we walked back the small path from the river to a slightly higher place to board the helicopter. Then the helicopter dropped us back at Airport from where we took the bus to The Eagle point. It was named so as there is a formation on the Canyon in the shape of the eagle. The majestic Skywalk is the major attraction here because :

It can withstand the weight of 71 fully loaded Boeing 747 airplanes
Can survive an 8.0 magnitude earthquake within 50 miles
Suspended 4000 ft above Colorado River on the edge of the Grand Canyon
Immune to winds in excess of 100 miles per hour

The floor of the Skywalk is made of glass alone and when you walk over it and look beneath, its a thrilling experience. The Canyon is a natural wonder ; along with it, the Skywalk stands as a man made wonder.

After that, the bus took us to The Guana point, where you can see a different part of the Canyon; it is another view point. Then back to the Airport and to Las Vegas. What we covered was the West Rim of the Canyon. There is the South Rim of the Canyon too to be explored.

You can stand in the Canyon and keep viewing it and it will never be enough; such is the beauty of it with brilliant colours, its sheer majestic size and the layered patterns. You get a different experience in different point and rides - the boat, helicopter and by walk. It was never enough for me, however we had to catch the flight back to Vegas and so had to leave. The Grand Canyon - beautiful indeed and a must see place!

More pics here

Golfing!!!

What's the most posh game that's played? Well, it is the Golf. And a common man's version of it "The Mini Golf". On a weekend, we went to a park where there was this Mini Golf facility. There were few other sports too. Mini Golfing was a first time experience for me. I used to think what's the big deal in hitting a ball into a hole. But learnt the mini version of the game and had a fun experience.


There are various mazes and a hole in each. There were 3 courses and each course had 18 holes. We should attempt to hit the ball into the hole within a minimum number of strokes. They give a score card per group. A group is limited to 4 people. People come here , have casual talk, linger around and play the game too. Some very small kids just hit the balls and have fun. I noticed that a lot of adult groups too do not keep score; they play for fun.

Nothing more to say, have a look at the snaps. Click on the images to see the enlarged version. If you get a chance, try this game. Happy Golfing!

This evening...

We have been planning to visit Costco since long. We need to have a member card to go there. After applying online and a wait time of two weeks, the card arrived finally and we decided to go shopping this evening. My hubby reached home by six;, we had crackers and tea; got ready and reached there by 8 PM. Unfortunately we couldn't even go through the whole shop as they started closing by 8.45 PM. We wasted quite some time in the clothing section as there was no trial room. After picking up whatever we could, we went to the billing counter. The number of items were too less after having come to Costco. We had found the place today; quite near by and decided that we will come again soon.

We thought of having dinner outside but the fact that there was Dosa maavu and sambhar at home tempted me a lot. And so headed home directly unusually (We mostly end up having dinner outside if we go shopping). Quickly made coconut chutney and had dosas along with sambar. Was a wonderful satisfying dinner.

I was so happy as yesterday too I got Jalebis and Mini rasagullas from an Indian sweet stall. Today's lunch was also good ; Drumstick sambhar and Sepangkelangu fry followed by vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberry pieces for dessert. It's been treat after treats for my taste buds since yesterday. My husband also got me a three fourth trousers and a matching top for our on coming trip from Costco. I think I can call it a wonderful day. I do wish to make another trip to Costco and have a detailed shopping. Looking forward to that day soon...

Cheese, grease and peace

This is another of my experiences in the kitchen as you probably might have guessed from the title. You know, I love to cook and do all the associated task that comes with it, grinding, chopping etc. But the thing I hate is to clean up the stove top which has got all of the stuff sticking to it like glue. Even my dearest hubby refused to take up this chore who usually helps with stuff in kitchen. So I had to do this all by myself on this Sunday night. Generally I keep postponing this stuff for as long as I can. I certainly would have loved to watch a movie after dinner than doing this but the sight was too pathetic that I decided to take it up right away. After using a good cleaning liquid, I finished up the task. Then the stove top looked nice and clean and would be a welcome sight for me when I start to cook Monday's lunch.

It reminded me of my grandmother and mother. My mother; no matter what starts the day after cleaning the gas stove every morning with a detergent followed by cleaning up the slab where the gas stove is placed and then boil milk for coffee. I was in awe of her patience coz I do this task once a week; twice rarely.

My grandmother's routine too would be to get up in the morning do the "vasal kooti, kolam pottu, adupu moluvi" and then start making coffee. In those days, she had a stove made of mud(she used a kerosene stove in the last few years of her life but kept using the mud stove also). Wood was bought and stored in the backyard, dried in the sun if there was a rain. Every morning, after removing the ashes of the previous day, the mud stove(mann adupu) would be dusted with a broomstick followed by a coating of water in which cowdung was dissolved.(Cow dung is used to line the floor and walls of buildings owing to its insect repellent properties, with some types of insects). Then it would be left to dry and over this she would do kolams. And then start the mud stove with few fresh wood and the rest the previous day's wood. The wood would be turned on with some dried coconut shell broken into pieces and dried cow dung cakes, dipped in kerosene and lighted with a match.

Reminiscing the above ,cleaning my electric stove top suddenly felt as a 'no big deal'. In my childhood, I got very few opportunities to stay with her as we lived far from home town. But in those few days, I have seen her daily regimen. She used to do it dutifully and with no complaints and with all sincerity. She is no more and there is no ancestral house anymore. But the memories are still afresh.

I know you must be now wondering about the title. I just did not find anything else.. meant to say the cheese on the stovetop turns greasy and takes away my peace. Now don't sulk, will find a better title next time :)

My experiences in the US kitchen :)

Like most city girls, I too was not a great cook. My visits to the kitchen were very limited. My mother was a very lenient person; never insisted us to cook. She used to ask us to study or go to some useful classes and encourage us in everything but cooking. And we too never found time - lots of playing as a child, tuition and special classes while in 10th and 12th, then college - unfortunately I ended up being in a first batch and we were treated like school kids and then a career demanding unusual work timings and long hours of work. Of course I know these are lame excuses because one can always find time for something that they are interested in. So basically I had little interest in cooking and hence I was in kindergarten as far as cooking was concerned and used to cook only if need arises or when I find some recipe really interesting.

Then I got married, had to live so far away from home and had to cook myself! Thanks to Skype and my sweet amma - she used to tell me one recipe per day and I used to note down meticulously every thing she said. But for her, I never could have cooked so many yummy dishes. And these days I also refer to the net for new recipes. There are good sites with videos too. I got very inspired from all these sources and now I have developed keen interest in cooking. I also discovered that the secret to good cooking is a good recipe, lot of time and patience.

But let me tell you some of the experiences I had while in the kitchen. Here there is no gas stove but the heating source is an electric filament. It was very new to me. I used to keep forgetting that it is a stove. Somehow without real fire or flames, it didn't appear to me as a "Stove".

One day after grinding, I just kept the small mixie jar directly on the stove. Only when the plastic melted and the smell of burning plastic came out, I realised that I had kept the jar on the stove. The stove wasn't on but it was hot. I felt so bad because I didn't have my little jar anymore. And we had brought it all the way from India. Similar incidents are - plastic jars, spoons loosing their shape as I had kept them close to the stove.

There are four stoves and even if few are not heated, the radiation keeps other stuff on those stoves hot and I once ended up burning my fingers by touching a plate on another stove which was not at all turned on.. but was very hot as the stove next to it had very hot oil in a kadai.

Then we had purchased wooden ladles for cooking. I washed one to use for tempering/seasoning. As you know for seasoning the oil will be hot and the ladle should be dry, otherwise the oil splutters. I felt the ladle was too wet and thought I can dry it by keeping it in the oven for a few seconds, but it turned out to be a bad idea.. it got burnt and the ladle broke. The oven was filled with so much smoke. I got very tensed but acted calmly and cleared of everything.

Another incident was like this.. quite of stupid of me though ; I tried to melt the butter along with the butter paper wrapped around it and it started burning. I panicked but I quickly turned off the oven, put off the fire and cleared up the mess.

That is how I had successfully filled the oven with smoke and fire. And after that I learnt to be more careful with the electric stove and the oven. I am very cautious when keeping stuff in the oven. I also keep the cooking area clear and with lot of space so that I don't have to end up keeping stuff on or near the stove.

Thus ends my experiences rather experiments in the kitchen :)