“Right across from where I'm standing, on the dance floor she was landing”

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

She's just a cosmic girl
From another galaxy
My heart's at zero gravity
She's from a cosmic world
I need you, I want you to be my cosmic girl
For the rest of time

Another year has come and gone. I don’t feel like I am 28 today. Life is good though…no complaints other than the distance thing with the hubby which will end soon. I’m happy to have another year of good health, a wonderful husband, great friends and family and hope that it continues. Hopefully I will be dancing the floor off for the bday celebrations ;o)

Thanks to everyone who remembered and called/emailed with all the heartfelt bday wishes. You are all so…..cosmic!!

“We do what we do and we do what we live”

Monday, November 26, 2007

The scent of a room that reminds me of u
A hint of perfume it remind me of u
Take a look at the moon it remind me of u
Hope the stars and the gods
Align me and you

Happy post Thanksgiving! I hope that all of you had a wonderful, safe and food filled thanksgiving. I am currently reeling from a 4 day food comatose and missing a house filled with kids. Sigh. After every Chicago trip…I miss my niece and nephew like crazy. I sometimes think I hear my 3 month old niece crying or my 3 year old nephew knocking on our door around 9.00 AM asking us to play with him. Ahhh I love kids! Although I am not ready to have my own just yet, it’s good to know that I will enjoy parenthood when the time comes. But as of right now I am enjoying just being a couple.
Recently I was looking at my group of young friends and family that have moved for college and Post College for jobs. I must say that I give all of them credit for building a new life in a new place. Some have friends in the areas they end up moving to, but some actually know no one and start a new social life. I have realized that building a new social scene is very tough….especially because you don’t know venues to meet new people or are afraid of being the new face trying to break through in an already existing clique. Most of all it is hard to find one or two like minded people who you can go out with and expand from there. Bhatji and I were thinking recently that we are lucky that we have each other….we can chance going to a happy hour or to a bar and even if we don’t meet a group, we look at it as time well spent together. So far Bhatji and I have a few couple friends in the NY/NJ area that we know from each others past. But I can see the challenge in meeting new people if we moved to some random place like Ohio, Georgia etc. I think it’s hard to meet couples but it’s definitely harder for single people in new areas to meet other singles. Is internet the only way to connect with folks? Or are you doomed to the option of finding someone in college to date and marry? Or is the ever popular bar scene still a venue to meet young interesting people? When I was single…I was always out and about. Every opportunity I got to go out, I would. I would be the event planner of my group. Even if it was me and one person I would make the best of it. I would look at every outing as a possibility to grow in to a group or meet someone. I have a few good friends that are single and well….a little bitter. Past dating experiences have left them jilted and or they have given up all hope of trying to go out of their way to meet new folks. Some also feel that their friends don’t take the initiative to go out either. I have thought about setting them up with groups or some potential dates but…I myself don’t have a big single group to dip into. So here is my question to everyone who had the fortitude and energy to move to a new city, new coast or a country: How do you get out and meet new people? Where do you start…especially if you don’t know anyone in your new surroundings? Are joining new activities and clubs the way to go?

“Oooh what’s the fun in playing it safe? Oooh I think I'd rather misbehave”

Monday, November 19, 2007

I've got a bad boy and that's alright with me
His dirty laundry is nothing that I can't keep clean
And when he needs an alibi
He can use me all night

Where the heck did fall go? I mean we had a gorgeous summer and then an abrupt onset of winter! Its 40 degrees every morning when I leave for work; I feel unprepared for the frosty winds. Most of my sweaters and winter wear are in NJ…so I keep borrowing long sleeved shirts and sweaters from my sis. Luckily we fit into each others clothes for most part…but I am sure she’ll start getting sick of me going through her closet. Damn you winter! I guess on a more positive note…winter also means the beginning of the holiday season. Thanksgiving is this week and by the time you finish basting that turkey and gorge on all that wonderful thanksgiving sides and desserts, its time for Christmas. Usually my mom would host thanksgiving but my folks are attending weddings and enjoying a much needed vacation in India. So this thanksgiving Bhatji, Mswats and I are all going to Chicago to spend time with my sister in law and her 2 lil ones. I sometimes wonder…if I’ll ever grow up and host thanksgiving dinners myself. I really doubt it though…my mom and my sister in law are fabulous cooks, so I actually enjoy doing the eating rather than the cooking. I play a pretty good chef’s helper :o)

What do you guys think of the new blog design? My sis was gracious enough to take an hour of her time and redo it for me. She thought it would be neat to go with a foodie style theme to match my foodie style blogging personality ;o) I am really envious of her talent…this probably would have taken me weeks. But she sat down and typed up a whole bunch of code gibberish and voila!! A new foodie blog is created. God, I love being connected ;o) Let us know what you guys think.
Now on to our recipe corner of this blog.
Bhatji loves Garbanzo beans…..he loves any kind of beans but I have noticed that Garbanzo/Chickpeas are by far his favorite. Garbanzo beans are a great source of proteins so I try to make as many dishes as possible with Garbanzo…especially if I am not preparing any meat dishes. One such simple yet an Indian favorite recipe is Channa Chole. Chole is very popular in Punjab, India and is actually consumed as a breakfast with Bhatura and lassi. Although we never eat it as a breakfast since it’s a lil heavier for our taste….we still enjoy this dish for lunch or dinner. Here is a simple Chole recipe that my mom gave me. It’s quick and absolutely delectable.

Ingredients:
1 canned garbanzo beans
1canned tomato
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 ½ tsp of Shaan Punjabi Chole Masala
1 tbl spn olive oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

To make:
Heat the oil in a deep pan and add the onions. Sauté until the onions are a little browned. Add the canned tomato and sauté until the juices start to let out for about 5-6 minutes. Add the Garbanzo beans and fill the empty garbanzo beans can with water about ¾ ways and add to the pan. Add the Punjabi Chole Masala and stir until the Masala is mixed in will all the ingredients. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes. Add salt to taste. Take off the heat and garnish with coriander. Serve with rotis or toasted bread. You can also make channa chat but I’ll save that for another post.
Try this yummy recipe out! That’s all for this blog entry; till the next time, bundle up!


PS (Love this band called Bitter::Sweet. And its founded by a fellow desi who also plays the keyboards and electronic instruments for all the songs. Check them out!)

“I feel like I’m drowning in the ocean, somebody come and take me away”

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Uh uh uh uh oh ooh
why’d you have to go-oh
away from home
me love

I figured that since its Diwali and all, it would be a good time to jump start my blog again. Also some of you have emailed and Imed me to check and see where I am and what I’ve been up to. First of all thank you for all those who were inquisitive enough to motivate me and tell you about my whereabouts and such.
Before I left on vacation I had told everyone how I was going to be moving to NJ with Bhatji in Oct and that I would be able to work from home. Well after we came back from vacation I was sad to hear that the project that my team was supposed to start on was given to another group. My boss basically said that there was no chance that I was going to be able to work from home. Instead he said that I might have to stay for a while in the DC area and finish off a project before I moved anywhere. After some discussion with Bhatji, we decided that I would stay back in DC with my folks….temporarily…until the end of Nov and he would move to NJ. I will be joining him in NJ in early Dec but as of right now we are doing the distance thing again! All through summer I was miserable because of the distance and I can’t believe that I am going through it all over again. The only solace is that I am not living by myself this time around. I am surrounded by family and I don’t really feel the loneliness that I felt during the summer. This also means that I have been spending tons of time with my sis and my folks until they left for India this past weekend. So it’s not all bad. However it’s Bhatji who is feeling lonely in a new city…all by himself. Every other weekend he comes down to visit and I go up weekends as well. But no matter how wonderful each weekend is….come Sunday, both of us are miserable knowing that we will be away from each other for a full week until the following weekend. I am counting days when I will complete my project here and head up north. In other news…I am working on a project in Germantown which cuts down on my commute time immensely. There is nothing like getting to and back from work in 10 mins and going against traffic each time :o)
I will be writing another entry soon containing recipes and such but for now I had promised that I would share pics from my Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand vacation; I have finally uploaded my pics from Singapore. I will post the pics one country at a time…so for now check out the pics from our Singapore vacation. Enjoy!

PS (I know the pictures are kinda small and fast so just double click on the slideshow to see the pictures in a larger format and slower speed)

Happy Diwali to all my fellow Desi's!!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram
Patita Pavan Sita Ram






I pray that this new year bring you all prosperity, knowledge, good health and peace. Happy Diwali!