Interviews and interviews of November

Being back in Malaysia, it's about time I think of connecting back into my career. It was a wave of interview calls, the November calls.... RW , Fragomen and Infovalley, hey of all I now chose GHB :) Wish me luck!

Home sweet home

Woooshaaa..... after the long years of hardwork, stress and tensions taken to make our home into a shape, we finally rushed out of India on 17th June for our next day grihapravesham. The challenge was running around getting the things done and our last minute cute stove purchase in the Giant Nilai. What a relief, it was almost 3 am!

Bali !

Magical and spiritual is the most accurate word to describe Bali. We are now set for our long awaited break to Bali. Air Asia sucks big time, as usual the flight is delayed. We just had to kill one hour delay by walking around duty free shops. It was almost 11pm we reached the Ngurah Rai Airport and just headed to Legian for a night stay.

The long walk to board the flight.

Progress.......

The work is in progress and it's been quite of stressful months monitoring the work and just can wait to complete the task.

Bhoomi pooja

 Finally a dream come true. Waited quite long to get all the work done and I must admit that today is one of my longest day ever , waking up by 5am to start the day. Reached Nilai by 7.45 am and it's a beautiful morning , by 8.30 am the sun was baking hot and thank god for the Syed Alina's restaurant for a quick coffee grab.

Remembering my Graduation :)

The day I've been longing for...........years passed but those memories do remind you of the hardship you've faced in reaching your goal. This day will be remembered forever, I personally take up the space to thank ( words aren't enough ) my mom and of  course Bee. My BFF.

Give up to be Happy.

We grew up hearing not to give up but life is not the same being an adult. Well , I've always wanted to grow up fast when I was a kid , what the hell I was thinking !! Life in England taught so many valuable lessons and meeting people from different walks of  life , life in Malaysia taught me how can I improve myself  in every aspects possibly , life in India...........you can just describe in one word - Incredible India! It's all about survival of the fittest and life in the USA taught me even more than all of the above said chapters.......... it's all about giving up.

Life is seen as paradise to many people who dream on living a life in America. It's just not a dream, it's beyond that. Life is not easy as what many people think. Many couples fail to make life after marriage not because they are in the US but it's because of  the life which demands a lot of  hard work and sacrifice. When people imagine earning in dollars is all about $$$$$ , the fact is every employee pays $$$$ taxes to the IRS.  You are responsible to keep your home clean , otherwise be ready to face charges by the Home Owner Association :)

Sometimes, giving up can make us happy in many ways. We can never be ALWAYS be right , so give up on trying to be right because being kind is nicer than being right :) Great relationships suffer due to trying to be right.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

Sometimes it's good to let go of control. First of all, there should not be control concepts in relationships , be it spouse , kids or co workers. I have seen wives/mothers who keep on nagging their husband/kids. Finally the relationship gets strained due to this. One has to understand how their behavior will impact another.

Blame - stop blaming and take full responsibility of our life. I see absolutely no point in blaming others. I cant stand it to hear mothers who curse their kids for silly reasons. Remember, being a parent don't give you the automatic right to drive over your child's life. If you cannot appreciate then do not strain the child - parent relationship by verbal abuse. Be careful with your words because once they are said, they can be forgiven but not forgotten ! Ultimately you lose peace of  mind by not giving up blaming others for mistakes they don't do.

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind”  Elly Roselle

Give up on limiting your goals. Once you think positively that you could do something, never look back and immediately your mind will absorb the positive energy and start working to achieve your goal. It's all in the mind set. Don't limit on what you can or cannot do.

"Change is the law of  life. And those who look only to the past or present are only to miss the future." John F. Kennedy

Give up on past. Dwelling on past can never bring us future. I myself  have been there and sometimes it hurts to think that I have actually spoilt my present due to thinking of  past. Everyone have their own regrets in life but living on the regrets are just so unhealthy. Not only we suffer stress and disturbed mind but we are spreading the negative aura around us!

Give up on trying to impress. Sometimes we just want people to recognize us and trying to impress will not really be rewarding. Take off that mask , be real and people will embrace us for what we are. After all , we don't lose being ourselves.

Finally , I've learnt giving up does make sense as an adult on certain notions in my life. I thank god sometimes I just come across wonderful souls in my life.. I am still learning !!

Hello Penang !

I'm not going to speak about the reason  of  visit to Penang. This is my first road trip. It was almost 9.30 am , we started from home. Okay, this is really serious, I didnt know the way, errr............I just took a lucky guess to drive up to Damansara, North South Highway. Yup, I'm right!

Bee's my support , can you believe this, illegal driving on Malaysian freeways by my California driver's license holder - husband! Hello !!!!! We're talking about a law graduate's husband who is breaking the laws! Well..........I studied law to break the law anyway!!! Stop screaming now :)

Reached Penang almot 1.30 pm and ooops............which hotel are we going to locate now!? With all the phone drama's , driving up hill made me like I'm gonna throw up anytime and losing my way, driving up Penang bridge twice........................FINALLY , I made it ON TIME , sharp 3pm , stopped in front of the hotel.





Penang's Little India.

Further drama shows at Pinang Mas apt, we're just relieved that we came to know the REAL history.
Ugghhh.........we decided to start back home, it was almost 5 pm we're on Batu Ferringhi road, searching up for any good Indian restaurant.

With my crazy yet smart driving skills, I managed reaching Little India and we're set for the lundinner at Ananda Bhavan.

Chalo! It's time to start back to KL. All sorts of songs and drama's inside car and Bee drove again for an hour.He's just all excited to do illegal driving here!  I guess I reached Rawang toll and the moment of  reunion happened.

Now, I reached Sungai Buloh toll and had to drop off  Shekar mama at Mutiara Damansara. It was 11pm then! We then reached Brickfields via Bangsar and straight to Sampoorna's.

11.45 am and we're home. Sigh !

Thai Sukravaram , mangalya pooja.

I cant believe we're the first ones to reach Mariamman temple at Jalan Bandar. Thank god I wasn't falling asleep whilst driving :P

5.50 am and we're eveready for Ambaal abhisekam and I'm just so excited about the entire process of the mangalya pooja done (definitely with ambaal's blessings!). My modern Iyer was all set running around temple to purchase garland and milk for abishekam.


I must say, it was one of the most beautiful abishekam and we're just overjoyed! It was almost 8 am when we had good hot ponggal and as usual Bee did not eat as he planned to visit Ramalinga temple. Okay , I'm privilleged now, Parvathavarthini ambaal's blessings came along as it was almost 9 am when we reached Bangsar.

It's wedding season and what can I say about the parking space in KL. Another wedding and guess what, the muhurtham was just came as a surprise or I call magical, right after we completed the archana.

Thank you Mom and Bee!!! Oh...the comedy of the day, mom lost her new pair branded shoes, I had to make another round back to Jln Bandar and discovered Changkat Stadium Road which took me back to Jalan Sultan. Mom and Bee took the mag's prize and it was 10 am by the time we reached home.

Phew.......what a beautiful day and I just zzzzz........mid day , I'm just so tired! Uh........Boy's birthday!

The completed Sashti abisheka.

Finally , completed what I wanted to do (did not expect this) but overall a good day despite not being well. Blame it on the season, everyone around me is down with fever, sore throat and viral fevers!

SAMPAH MASYARAKAT

Sampah Masyarakat is an all volunteer Non Profit Organization, founded in 2008 and is a movement to bring about attitudinal change in Malaysia's littering habits.

Run by the volunteers, they segregate the waste generated on the clean up days, sell the recyclables and pump the money back into environmental initiatives.

Real awesome job done by Malaysians. It's great to be back in my country and I am seeing a lot of things changed. Positive mantra will certainly develop a better society. Instead of  teens wasting their time in FB and internet stuff , it's a better choice to get them moving , meet like minded people and teaching them to love nature! I truly wish that I could be part of this group!

I still have my chance once I'm back to Bay Area, we have lots of  community services around  Alviso / Santa Clara. Cant wait!!

Arudra Darshan 2012

This year I'm just going to make it no matter what ! Woke up by 3 am and was in Sri Ramalingeshwara temple, Bangsar by 4.30 am.


We're truly blessed to watch Arudra darshan ( Arudra means Tiruvathirai nakshatra = a star in tamil ). This is where Lord Nataraja ( Shiva ) performed his cosmic dance in fire. So, we watched Nataraja swamy abisheka and read Tiruvempa verses. It was almost 2 pm we returned home after having lunch in the temple. My only disappointment was Bee's not around.

Beautiful decoration.

Bangsar , early morning!

Nevertheless, I thank god, I've completed this task for 2012.

Merry Christmas !!

Merry Christmas dear readers !! Feliz Navidad!

I truly  miss the European and American's White Christmas ! But that's alright because next year I'm going to have double the fun! (Positive, positive!). Merry Christmas to all of  you ! Here's a good news from my side.


Well................after a real long  wait, Malaysian are now free to visit Israel. Yay! The new rule enacted from 25th December 2012 for all Malaysians.

We have no more restrictions on our passports! Truly a Christmas gift for christians by the government. Just wanna share this. My French teacher is a jew and she's an awesome lady. Learnt a bit of this and that about Israel from her. Thank you Mrs.Wanda.

Seriously..........cant wait to make a trip!

A date to remember lifetime............

Bee's back in KL, as usual the midnight flight is very tiring. It was almost 2.30 am by the time I picked up Bee from Sentral and we had to rush to the embassy row again by 9 am ! Certainly a date to remember to lifetime , beautiful morning seeing our Ganesha and then by 10.30 am we had our flight booked......oh must I say the Austin Chase coffee @ The Intermark was the stress relieving tonic !

Ganesh Chathurthi Sep 19th, 2012

I got up so early , last night I slept off  when the clock  ticked off 3 am. I was exhausted after the shopping @ Little India. Speak about the crowd, I truly miss my childhood place , the people and the decent environment. Cissy helped me to carry the stuffs and by 10 pm we've reached home. Somehow I had the energy to clean up the altar and sort things out.

My second Ganesha

Today morning was quite challenging as cooking naivedhyams took all my time. By 10.35 am I started Ganesha and completed my 2nd Mangala Gauri vratham. I was just tired by noon.

The day's gonna be super hectic later as mom , boy , Sheg mams and myself  went to Masjid India :) Within half and hour boy dropped us off home and rushed for an interview By the time I came home, my first Ganesha wasn't in the right shape :(  No, I'm going to make another one. The white Ganesha , everyone at home just loved him as he looked more of  Bala Ganapathi.

Our head priest Ganesh on chariot, he missed Bee as he wanted Bee to sit on this chariot, Bee you've missed your golden chance! Hope we fulfill this another time soon.

My astonishingly beautiful Pillaiyar.

The evening scenario was - yes, he was offered job in Astro and then Neelacca came, I successfully gave the planned tamboolams and everyone including mom went to Ganesha temple.The final one, okay I am going to temple ( 9 ish then )....... I gave  Sarada's mom! Temple was so crowded and I received a cute yellow garland. Karpaga Pillayar looked astonishingly beautiful, grand. I cant stop admiring his beauty. Since the chariot left at 7.30 pm, I walked all by myself to meet mom at MGS school junction. To my surprise I met my schoolmate Kumoo family, Moorthy aunty and the whole bunch of known faces. We were too tired then. By 11.30 we came home and gosh...........I could feel my bones. End of the day, I'm happy that my vratham completed successfully....the joy of seeing Ganesha in KL, that's like after 5 years....the last chathurthi in 2006 , the day I stepped out of home recovering the viral fever, only to see Ganesha:)


The day is over, here I am writing up reminiscing good old memories of growing pains in Kuala Lumpur , the bitter sweet memories and the glorious days. I first danced at Pillaiyar temple when I was 5 ! We still have the right of first kids of  the temple! Bee just passed on a good news from Phoenix, Az.....:)) Well, lot more good things I'm awaiting for, the recent one is the farewell party of a green monster and yes, I will be bidding her a safe good bye! Thank you Pillaiyar, you've printed a bag of memories this year. Bless us for successful years ahead. Happy Birthday Ganapathi!!!

Merdeka Square and KLCC revisited!!!!

Fun night out, Bee was totally stunned by KL City's beauty as he thinks living in KL is like living abroad in western countries. I know exactly how I used to feel a decade ago, right now we no longer have the great feeling as we see a lot........thousands of new faces in the KL City. Of course, the country requires foreign work force and labourers as part of the human resources but with this has also contributed towards social illness and threats in our country. I truly hope that Malaysia remained as how it was 20 years ago. Oh....what fun ! Childhood memories playing near Dayabumi, the happiness we had going to McDonalds just to purchase the toys :)) The good ol' days!

I just remembered how much I used to think of  working in the Sultan Abdul Samad building   (former center of colonial administration -  High Court of Malaysia) The passion I had towards practising law.......! I have never imagined that I would be married and living in the United States. Today I cannot believe that once upon a time my favourite place in KL is no longer the place of justice. Putrajaya stole the entire KL beauty, memories and the rest are history!



Petronas Twin Towers

Driving up to KLCC where a decade ago the hang out place was so popular for us. My besties and I used to sit in Dome and by the lake....:) I still remember the day Bee bought me a delicious waffle cuppa Haagen Dazs back in 2007. Kuala Lumpur holds a lot of  bitter sweet memories......something I would cherish and share it with my kids! Can you imagine the happiness you tell your kids "this is where momma studied" :)))

We ended up having good dinner at the Sri Lakshmi Narayana Bhavan, Leboh Ampang before proceeding to KLCC. We had quite a bit of fun snapping pics around and it started raining at 11pm. Time to drive back home and the challenge was not knowing the way back, somehow I managed driving around the Bukit Bintang and Maharajalela Road. Phewwwww.........what a night to remember !!

Batu Caves !!!!

 

Batu Caves revisited after a decade.It was an amazing experience to see how things have changed over the last 10 years. I remembered how we used to keep awake and walk along the chariot procession and the pain of the heat in February. The new temples and the golden Murugan statue is a total brilliant idea on enhancing the beauty of the caves and the divine temple.

We had a great walking trip as the KTM komuter costed only RM1 to go to Batu Caves from KL Sentral and another RM2 to return back home. Bee was amazed looking at the trains in Malaysia and the super clean seats. Of course , I enjoyed my McD's sundae cup on our way to the temple.

We first saw the Hanuman statue. Figured this way that way out to get photographed :P , the Venkatachalapathi temple was BEAUTIFULLY built and the weather was just kind enough to let us walk around without disturbances.

Seeing Murugan on tophill is no easy task as we had to climb the stairs and encounter little monkeys who were super human friendly. We minute I completed the stairs on tophill , I was speechless to see Murugan again. It was my dream of 5 years to show Bee the magical temple.

We had good darshan and kind blessings from the priest. We returned back home by 10pm. Zzzz....totally got strained but the happiness - PRICELESS!

Keeping Up Appearances !

I grew up watching Keeping Up Appearances , Mr.Bean on my Brit blood side :) The evergreen 80's kids can never forget the era where we've started getting Americanised in Malaysia. I'm talking about "The Mission Impossible" , "The A Team" , "McGyver" , "The FullHouse" and the ever famous "Beverly Hills 90210". I had huge crush on Brandon ( Jason Priestly )  then *sigh*.

Do you guys remember "The Growing Pains" ? How I wish I could turn back the clock and go back to my childhood! Ugggh..... I cant believe I've always wanted to grow up when I was young......what the........... was I thinking ?

After all these series of  Americano.... as a teenager I was so hooked to FRIENDS :) Who will not love David Schwimmer *screams*. Those were the days I say!

Uncle Onslow in gray suit and Lady Bucket in the pink hat :)

Uncle Onslow ( Geoffrey Hughes) is such an awesome guy......... I've  just remembered the bitter sweet memories of  London life back in 2004/2005. I was back to my childhood routine of  watching him in Keeping Up Appearances.  The Buckets never fail to make us laugh bursting out our lungs!

Certainly the world is going to miss you. RIP Geoffrey Hughes.

I'm brown and I'm loving it !

No one can deny that we're living in a fast moving life where image plays an important role. Women of  today is faced with challenges of  handling too many things at once Human beings, we're all different and unique as god's creation.

As we've completed the first decade of  this millenium, being an Asian (that too of  Indian ancestry) SKIN colour is of  the "main" attraction people see in the society. Well, this conception existed centuries ago. Light skinned ladies are seen as beautiful people.

Indians Asians are very much obsessed with the skin colour and fairness creams. 10 years ago when I was the bride's maid of a relative, I wore an electric blue saree (which my mom chose and she think's I look good in it! ), the story started when the guests at the wedding started complementing me saying that they were not able to differentiate the bride and the bride's maid because we looked equally good. One of  my aunt commented saying that I'm brown and the bride is light skinned :)

15 years ago ( I was in school then ) I played hockey and netball for the school team. Well, I'm naturally born brown and I get tanned and dark very easily exposing myself to the sun. We never bothered about sunscreens and facials. My grandma used to comment on saying that I'm dark and I dont care about my skin. I overheard her conversation with my aunt "dont she know girls should not be long under the sun, these days it's tough to get groom for light skinned girls and she's dark".

It wasn’t the first time I'm forced to listen to comments about my skin , the topic has come up in my extended family several times, usually in relation to beauty, marriage, and the tan I get each time I step out for game. But their exchange also served as a reminder that, despite the backlash in progressive Indian circles, the color of someone’s skin continues to be an age-old point of contention dating back at least to British colonization, and perhaps even to ancient times.

I'm lucky that I've come across many open minded people and like I've mentioned in my earlier write ups, I've been showered in complements. I still remember the day I was out with Bee to the Japanese Garden in San Francisco. My darling Bee does all sorts of comical stuff trying to snap my pic, I was smiling out from ear to ear and a passer by walked in to say that I'm beautiful :D  Well, I believe Bee's quite used to this scenario in the restaurants, shopping malls and at places of interest. My point is, not to speak that I receive complements but the point that we all hang on beauty matter.

Beauty is skin deep. We must be thankful that God blessed us with a capability to lead our lives. Just see a girl who is deaf and dumb, see a boy who cant walk on his own. See a family in America hit by economy crisis and jobless. See the hunger of  helpless kids in Somalia. Have you seen the suffering of  a cancer patient on the bed on death ? My heart goes out for all of them.

The outrage in Indian social media reached it's peak -  FAIR & LOVELY the reigning fairness cream and Indian ad campaigns that try to dispel the myth that the most beautiful women from the subcontinent are the ones who could pass as Westerners.

But then, our obsession with skin color in the U.S. is equally alive, just in the opposite direction. The indoor tanning industry worth billions, surpassing that of China and India combined, and about 70 percent of young and middle-aged Caucasian women use products to make their skin darker. One of my close friend is willing to take the pain of  burns to get her sexy tanned look ! For Americans, a tan is associated with being healthy and athletic; the need to have some “color” in your cheeks, arms, or cleavage has become the norm. In a way, it’s comparing apples to oranges—the social implications of fairness cream in India can be vastly different than tanning in the U.S. But the truth is, such distinctions don't amount to much when people's health and positive self-image in both countries are under threat. 

I'm just shocked to see an Indian ad, Clean and Dry Intimate Wash to lighten up the private parts ! How ridiculous is that ? I'm just speechless as this looked like a real comedy stuff to me as I've seen the good and the bad side of  India. Instead of  improving on life aspects , the social media is manipulating the people to make billions in the cosmetic industry. I just wonder what Mahatma Gandhi thought when he stood by his principles to form India !!

The experience I've gained meeting desi ladies in the US, they'd always bragged about how California changed their rosy complexion to brown :)) Skin colour was the first thing run in their mind to look good. What can I say, the place and culture we grew up certainly influence and makes part of our personality. This inferiority complex or always nagging about self image is a kind of  illness. The thing would constantly hit their mind and make them depressed. It's ridiculous how Freda Pinto was pointed out to be very dark to represent an Indian beauty :)

People, because they think and they have memory, are born to discrimnate for one reaason or another. It's not only lack of beauty, it could be race, religion, intelligence, sexual preference, caste, or whatever. If  everyone on  earth were of same heritage or looked beautiful, we would invent preferences to differentiate one another. While we try to eradicate discrimination for all reasons, we should keep in mind, it's human nature.
We can never change people's thinking but we can choose what we want to be and how we want to be happy. I'm thankful for what I am today and  yes, I'm dark and I'm loving it! Here's the lovely Anu Hasan speaking for the rest of brown beauties!

Romantic walk again!

2010 and 2011 was one of the most memorable years. Despite good and bad, we've understood what relationship is all about  and that we need our "time together". Currently , this is our heavenly place we love holding hands and walking together!