Goggles In Space

COVID was a pandemic which turned things upside down for almost everyone - the rich and, the poor, the optimists and the pessimists, the powerful and the powerless, theists and atheists - all over the world. The epicenter was a province called Wuhan in China but the spread was wide with many casualties around the globe. Around Feb'20, India declared lockdown ,excluding only essential services. Masks became a common thing and hand sanitizers almost disappeared from shelves instantaneously due to huge demand. We continued routine as usual - with work and school. However, in March kid's exams got cancelled and the seriousness of the situation was more than we had imagined. Infosys declared work from home and Business Continuity Plan (BCP) was evoked. the husband continued to go to office but kids stayed home with me. Work was as hectic as it could be . Summer holidays started and Appu used to go out and play with friends. However, within few days some super anxious parents felt th...

 And we did it ! 16 years under the same roof and an extra 2 months of long distance courtship ...I can definitely vouch that I coudn't get a better person to live rest of my life with. We both had very different upbringing - While Sree was part of joint family growing up in a country side not far from where i was brought up in a completely nuclear and urban way. His dad was the strictest whereas my dad gave me all the freedom ( within clear boundaries) . My achan never even once hinted that girls are any less than boys, in fact he always stood by me.  Recollecting one of the first conversations after wedding about money revealed that Sree hadn't spent much from his salary and was living on income from Share trading. Quite impressive ! but when he said we start from 0 and gave all the savings to his dad, i didn't have any complaints. We started from Rs 0 in 2004. We both have few things in common -one of them being cautious about spending money and saving for tough times. I...

Corona times taught many a lesson.The COVID 19 breakout started early 2020 in China but spread all over. WHO declared it a pandemic//initial death rates were very high. In Mar2020, husband had to travel to Kerala but just got back home in time...A day after, airports were closed. Lock down of various form and vigor followed. PM Narendra Modi addressed Indians to stay home. Life came to standstill. Maids, construction workers, taxi ,bus drivers , newspaper boys disappeared from the neighborhood as the restrictions set in. Malls and movie theaters closed down. Only essential goods and their supply continued and rest everything was banned. Cops were on roads to fine people who didn't follow the strict rules. Kids schools closed mid March and even annual exams did not complete. It was one of the greatest disruptions that our generation has seen(/would ever see ?) .Everything was being done to prevent the spread, break the chain but little did anyone know that this was to stay longer. B...

Mar 2020 :  Family under roof for the longest amount of time ! That is the best thing about Corona time if you ask me. It was beginning of March and my worry was around how to manage kid's exam and study holidays/exam schedule . Amma had decided to postpone her trip to May due to Hari's vocational training class and both Sreya and Anand had different exam schedule. While it was important for me to be at work (thanks to my role of Service Delivery Manager@LinkedIn) , my family was no less important. I couldn't imagine leaving either one at home all day alone , not sure what they would end up doing ( also exposed to TV and other electronics of course). Around that time, COVID 19 virus and its fatality was making news. Though initially i thought it was happening in Wuhan and was far away, soon news came of a couple who had come to Kerala and was tested COVID positive. Flights were cancelled and international travellers were getting badly stuck. Sree was getting ready to fly...

I am happy and keep telling this to my heart , mind and brain. 2019 ended with a 10 day break in December ..we were in Kerala and unlike the other times we travelled a lot - wedding, Guruvayoor, Munnar and the best was lot of time with the husband which is usually rare. (There was a death in the family too but even there we spent time together !) Perhaps only thing he couldn't fulfill (i pulled him back), was this dish called Kuzhimanthi (a different version of biriyani) ... He was upset with me but I guess we made it up by night ( special hugs and kisses ).. While 2019 ended in a high , 2020 hasn't been going well ( on the workfront atleast). After joining LinkedIn account , I had to come out of the comfort zone at Cisco (my cocoon for 12 years ! ). Everything from client to process to team was new. My stress issues popped up and it was getting difficult again. What I thought was over came back again. Morning walks with the Husband became thing of the past , instead I was al...

Love and colour of my life...Best half ! Nothing is more magical than a surprise from you Nothing more melodious than you calling me ( 'Ammu' ) Nothing more valuable than a kiss planted on my forehead Nothing more tranquilizing than a morning walk with you Nothing more unwinding than a drive with you Nothing merrier than sight seeing holding your hands Nothing tastier than a meal you cook Nothing more refreshing than watching sunrise and sunset with you Nothing more relaxing than sleeping with you Nothing more exhausting than fighting with you and nothing more painful than parting with you ! I want to live every second with you, and grow old with you. 

So i didnt blog for the last 5 years..where was I ? in America ! I travelled, hiked, did excercise, ate quinoa,started gymming and even completed (ran and walked of course) a half marathon ! I cooked and cooked and cooked ! Learnt left hand driving and drove a Toyota Corolla.Started using dish washer and learnt to bake and grill food. How i loved America ! Healthy eating and healthy living was our mantra.  Loved the fall colors, the Emerald blue waters of Tahoe, the motivating Mission peak, the ever challenging PG&E trail, the downtown city walks, Ikea visits ,vineyards of Napa, Chihuli's glass art and what not ! Rewind to 2012, when my H1B Out of Cap visa was initiated by the then Delivery Manager, i never thought i would travel. As it progressed, my mind yearned for a fitting oppurtunity. With little kids, i was apprehensive about travel and knew Sree wouldn't join as he was in an Indian project. I approached my boss couple of times saying I wont be able to travel as kids...