I went north and my diet went south

My resolution to eat healthy took a dive over the weekend. We went to the beach this past weekend. I had Ihop for breakfast, skipped lunch and then had Pizza Hut for dinner. But I am not too concerned about the fact that I consumed almost half a pizza in half an hour cause I am determined to get back on track. The mirrors in the store fitting rooms that allow 360 degree views of you were not flattering at all!!!! I am on South Beach from today, with my partner in crime, Andreia. Someone just brought some cupcakes to work. Damn these people! I did have a great salad lunch though.

Abbu

I cry for my father every day. In the shower, in the middle of the night, on my way to work, at work, while doing the dishes. I think of the last couple of minutes of his life, I play it out in my head over and over and over again. I was in the room when the doctors were trying to resuscitate him. All of it seemed to be happening in slow motion. Seemed like all the doctors, nurses were there. They were talking to each other in a low voice. Everyone seemed calm even though the room was full of flurries. Then they seemed to stop doing whatever they were doing in unison. What! Don't stop! I wanted to scream. The doctor in charge stopped next to me, on his way out, and then walked out without saying a word. That's it? I remember thinking. That's how life ends? I remember getting mad, sad, horrified, worried, crushed, lost - all at the same time. I spent the last 18 days of his life with him, but I didn't tell him all the things I wanted to tell him. I was in denial. I was thinking if I say goodbye, it will somehow quicken the process. I regret that decision every day. I wish I had told him more how much I love him. I wish I had told him how much he meant to me, how much he influenced my life. He was truly a great person. The world is worse off without him.

BDay Stats & Facts

1) I've had 34 bdays in my life so far! Wish to have atleast 50 more.
2) Number of people who have wished me a happy bday: 24 (I'm not counting the work people!)
3) Goodies collected so far: a Coach hat, iPod Nano (yayyyyy!!!), a book, a plant, a beautiful clutch
4) My resolution for the coming year (yes, I make my resolutions on my bday): Eat healthy, be more organized and exercise!!
5) I miss Abbu
6) Work treated everyone in the office to lunch for my bday! I picked a thai place. Food was really good

Angela

Let me introduce you to my friend Angela. We went to University of Maryland together. Even though she is about half my age, we became good friends. She is so funny, so much fun to be with! She made all those boring classes bearable! She has been pestering me ever since I started this blog that why haven't I written about her. Do I not like her anymore? She is watching my blog closely to see how long it takes me to write something about her! Well, she provided me the greatest opportunity today to introduce her to the blog world. Here's the link to a card she sent to me for my birthday! It is soooooo Angela! :-D I loved it Little Girl! Thanks for remembering my bday. When was your bday again!? Did I miss it again this year??!! :-O

Awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!

At first, I thought this was a joke!! Turns out, it's not! Take a look.

Click here

Lost another friend to Amway!!

We met a couple some times ago and both Tanveer and I really liked them. We thought this was a couple we could hang out with. They seemed to have the same interests as us. They were both witty, smart. Then they started pitching Amway to us. It got so bad one day, that knowing they were calling, we intentionally did not answer the phone. We were closing on our first house ever that Friday, and they wanted us to cancel it to go away to some retreat in PA or NJ or somewhere. Can you believe the gall of these people!! If we were crazy enough to cancel the closing and go there, I am sure we would have more Amway shoved down our throat over the weekend!

Last month, we were all in IKEA when an Indian girl started talking to me. She said she had seen me couple of times at Target that’s close to my work. She noticed me because I look like one of her cousins etc etc. She was couple of months pregnant and was asking me how I handle kids and work. She profusely praised the kids. (I should have known something was up right then and there! Raffae was having a complete meltdown by then and she was saying how quiet and cute they were!!!) I liked her enough to give her my cell phone number and promised that we will meet up for lunch one of these days. She tried to call me twice, and left messages. I was as usual busy with the kids and work and just wasn’t able to call her back. I was feeling really guilty about it too. And then she called me the other night. Luckily the kids were in bed on time that day and I was happy that I’d be able to talk to her. And then she starts talking about this great business opportunity she just found out about and how she immediately thought about me!! Gawd!! Just send a big bolt of lightening and kill me right now!! Note to my friends: I will be green with envy when you do drive around in Jaguars, wearing Rolex watches that you bought from all the money you made from Amway or any other pyramid scheme for that matter, (Have any of you seen those cheesy videos that they make you watch??!! Yes, we even did that for the first couple mentioned!! ), but if you want to stay friends with me, please don't say the "A" word! (Sudden Paranoia) Question to friends: You do want to be friends with me, right?? You haven't been investing all these years to talk to me about Amway one of these days, have you?!?!?!?

Childhood Memories

Raffae is into choo-choos nowadays. He only wanted to watch Thomas & Friends the other day before going to bed. As I sat there watching Thomas & Friends with him, I started thinking about the trips we used to take by train back in Bangladesh. We used to travel by train a lot, because my Dada (paternal grandfather) used to work for the Railway board. He used to get free passes for the cabin cars!! These were little compartments with bunk bed style seating.

There were rituals to our trips. Bubu (paternal grandma) ofcourse would make sure we had a tiffin carrier full of food with us. Still, we would stop at the Savoy Bakery and pick up pastries, cookies and sandwiches for snacks. Once we got to the station, my sis and I would run up to our cabin to get the window seats. My mom would buy 5/6 magazines to keep her occupied during the journey. My uncle would buy newspaper. He was a student at that time and somehow always ended up accompanying us on our trips to Nanu’s (maternal grandma) house.

Back then, going to my nanu’s house used to take almost a day. We had to change the train twice and get on a ferry too. That was quite a long journey, but we were never bored! We used to stick our heads out the window and look at the scenery passing us by which used to vary depending on the season. In summer, you would see field after field of dry soil. Dry from the heat of summer. During monsoon, the same fields would be under water and little kids would be rowing boats. Sometimes, they would try to keep up with the train. We used to laugh and cheer them on, but usually left them behind in no time. We would see hundreds and hundreds of water lily floating on the water. In autumn, you would be greeted by sky bluer than blue with white, fluffy clouds and “Kash Phool” by the train track. Winter would bring men climbing Date trees for the juice that they store in a clay pot.

We used to play “I spy”. My uncle taught us once that whatever poem you recite on a train, sounds like the train is rhyming away with you. We knew all the station names, big and small, by heart. We knew where to get the best Amra (a type of fruit). The train would get to a big junction right around 6:00 in the morning. We would wake up with all the hustle and bustle. “Deem, deem”. (Boiled eggs. People used to ferry them around in a basket that they carried on their heads) “Cha niben, cha?” (Want tea?) My uncle would jump out and get tea from the station stall and jump back on the train, as it was about to pull out of the station. How scary, yet thrilling that used to be. We were always worried that he would not be able to make it back to the train on time. My sister and I always used to sleep on the top bunk beds at night. I loved lying there, reading a book at night. My body bouncing around with the movement of the train.

We would get glimpses of peoples lives as the train rushed through the villages. Children standing on verandas with sleepy eyes. Men walking towards the pond/river with neem stick in their mouth. Women walking with a clay pot on their head full of water. Farmer pushing his ox and plough in the field under the burning mid-day sun. Bride being carried in a palki, while the groom walked next to it with his umbrella in hand. We would pass by the railway crossings where we would see someone looking up at the train from a rickshaw.

We used to reach Kumarkhali station right around dusk. While my mom and uncle would slowly walk the way, looking at their school, playground where they used to play, my sister and I would run to Nanu’s house. We knew she would be standing there by the front gate waiting for us. Also waiting would be all the fabulous pickles, misti, doi, naru, motka, moa, khoi, ripe guavas, lal shak, dal vorta, bori and lots and lots more.

Childhood. Such a precious time of our lives.

Ode to my lone subscriber

I haven't updated my blog in a while. I feel pressured. I don't want to let down my lone subscriber. Here's to you my loyal reader!!! :-) I hope you will keep coming back to my blog for years to come!!!

P.S. I've just been busy with Zoya's first bday party preparation! I don't even want to think about my state of mind when it will be her wedding preparation!!!! :-D I will either go crazy or I will need to hire an assistant...

I want to kill her!!!

As you are reading this post, those of you that know what Zoya has been through this year, will appreciate that I wasn't actually at the doctor's office when this conversation took place.

Little background info. Looks like she has another teeth coming out. I can see the tip of the tooth when she opens her mouth. But it's been there for almost a month now and she has been a little cranky about the same. She keeps waking up in the middle of the night and starts crying. She won't lay down in her crib at all. We had to bring her to sleep with us couple of days.

Yesterday, I got a little paranoid and tried to feel the tooth. She won't let me! She screams as soon as I touch that area. And it doesn't feel like a tooth! It's soft. So it could be that she has some sort of infection and the puss is what I am looking at and thinking it's a new tooth coming out. I called the doctor's office this morning to make an appointment for her. Here's the conversation I had with the Nurse.

Me: (After explaining the whole situation) So I'd like to bring her in to just get it checked out.
Nurse: What was her name again? (She pulls up Zoya's record) Wait, she was just here for her one year check up!
Me: Yes.
Nurse: She had this then?
Me: Yes.
Nurse: The doctor saw it and didn't say anything?
Me: I'm sure she also probably thought it was a tooth. That's what it looks like unless you touch it.
Nurse: Is it red and swollen?
Me: No, it's white! I told you it looks like a tooth.
Nurse: I think it's a tooth. Give her some Tylenol.

Do you think I was wrong in thinking that I would really enjoy bashing her head in with the phone?