Her whole life in two suitcases

They were a young couple with a small child. They rented a room and started their first "shongshar" in Dhaka. That was 1973. Next week, she will be reaching USA with her 36 year old "shongshar", packed in two suitcases. My mom. A teacher. A grandma. A great mother. A widow. I still can't think of her as a widow.

I think relationships between parents and children change as the children enter different stages of their lives. I feel like I never got to know my parents as an adult myself. I left them in 1992, barely out of my teenage years. I didn't spend more then 6 months in a row with them since then. Now I would never have that chance with Abbu. That's why I am really looking forward to my mom spending some time with us. I've heard stories here and there, but this time I want to sit down and ask her questions, get all the details and engrave them in my memory.

Good thing memories don't get put into suitcases.

Syriana, a wounded chin and motherhood

When Batman came out, George Clooney's mother said he has the sexiest chin in hollywood. From then on, I always look at GC's chin first whenever I see him. However when we went to watch Syriana the other night, there was another chin on my mind - Raffae's.

He ran into the couch right when we were about to leave for the movie. Got a big cut on his chin and was crying. He is such a strong kid that usually when he gets hurt, he just gets up, says "oh sorry" and runs off. So when we hear him crying, we know he got really hurt and its bad!

We had already gotten the tickets, so we left him in my mother in laws capable hands and left for the movie. I was feeling really guilty about it. Then came Syriana. Heart wrenching, disturbing, thought provoking, tear jerking Syriana. Made me feel even more guilty about leaving Raffae behind after he got hurt. Also made me think what kind of a future is ahead for him, for his generation.

My day today

6:21 - Got out of bed without waking Raffe up.
6:45 - Got out of shower.
7:00 - Made coffee and listened to the morning news.
8:30 - Left for work.
2:30 - Got a call from Fannie Mae. I got the job !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-D
7:22 - Still can't believe it! :-D I'm very excited about this job. This is something completely new for me. Can't wait till march 13th! I am Fannie Mae's newest Senior IT Policy Analyst! Hehehehehe

The Flying Tomato

I can't wait for the Winter Olympics to start this Friday. Looking forward to seeing the flying tomato in action!! Some time ago, Tanveer and I were watching some show on TV where he was skating down the slope of a mountain! We talked about getting Raffae into something like this when he grows up! Something to channel all the energy he has! Wish us luck!

Blog find of the day

40X365

Sounds interesting! I think I'm going to try and see if I can remember 365 names from my past! Writing 34 words for each would be hard. Maybe I will refine the laws a little! ;-)

What are you afraid of?

Did you hear about the guy who jumped off of the Empire State Building yesterday!?? My mom always says "If someone is brave enough to jump in front of a train or jump off of a bridge/building to commit suicide, what on earth is there that they can't face?" I totally agree with her. He was quite young, 20 I think. What a loss!

The love of my life

Scenario 1: Trying to select which pictures go up on pbase from Tanveer's brother's engagement party, I came across a picture of mine.
Me: "Oh my God! Look at my shoulders! I look like a quarterback!!!"
Tanveer: "Nah... You look like a linebacker".


Scenario 2: Couple of weeks ago I was sick as a dog. My throat was hurting like anything.
Me: "Baby, look! I think my throat glands are swollen!
Tanveer: "That's just your double chin".

Scenario 3: I was two days overdue with Raffae.
Me: "I look like a whale!!! :-("
Tanveer: "No you don't! You look like a baby whale! :-P"
May I remind/tell you all that Raffae was a 9 pounds 3 ounces baby and I am barely 5'2" tall!

Some random updates

• My sister is reaching Toronto on Feb 9th! Yayyyyy!!!


• I've become addicted to food blogs!! Doesn't bode well for my resolution of "eating well/healthier and finally loosing the pregnancy weight"


• Raffae is just becoming too cute now that we can really communicate with him. He doesn't throw as much tantrums. Becoming very managable(!!). Those of you that know him know it is still a lot of work!


• I don't have anything definite, but recently I just feel like Zoya is making a lot of progress. She babbles lot more (probably because she doen't have the pacifier in her mouth! She strictly gets it at night), she is becoming more and more active. No new dance moves recently though.


• I so want that job I interviewed for!!! They are going to interview an internal applicant and then decide! I hate inernal applicants! I'm just trying to get my foot in the door, but this guy is alreay in! That is just not fair!


• Next month, we will be celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary!!!! 9th!!!!


• I don't think I can finish reading "Shalimar the Clown". Too slow!


• I got a new laptop! I'll be downloading all the hindi/bangla songs I want on my iPod this weekend from questionable sites. I'm sure I'll be downloading some spyware too which would be driving Tanveer crazy! ;-)


• I am very hungry! Arthur (our intern) better be here with the lunch soon! ;-)

HR people are cruel

I interviewed for a job last Friday. I got really positive vibes from the 4 people that grilled me for 2.5 hours. I thought I'd definitley know something by today! The lady from HR just called me to update me about their position! Turns out, she had to reschedule someone else for the interview and wouldn't be able to make a final decision until next Friday (hopefully!)!!!!!!!!!! WHAAAATTTTT!!!!!!!! Next Friday is like 2 years away from today!!!!!!!! What am I going to do till then? Twiddle my thumb?! I need a short-term project....

Any suggestions?

I want my mommy ......

I hate being sick and I am sick! My throat hurts. I am completely exhausted. It took all my willpower to get out of bed this morning and drag myself to the shower. When drinking my morning coffee didn't help, I figured it's time I go to the doctor and find out what's wrong with me. Turns out, I have both ear and throat infection!!!!! Now I am all drugged up, waiting for Tanveer to bring me hot soup so I can have my soup and go to sleep and get some much needed zzzzs. I need some serious TLC from mommy. Maybe I'll call her up and get some TLC over the phone!! I also realized why Raffae calls out "mommy" every 10 seconds when he is sick! I'll try not to get too annoyed next time!

Help me!!!!

I'm gaining weight just by looking at these pictures! If I ever go to Philippine, I'm hooking up with Lori so she can take me to all these cool places!! Yummmmmmmm.......

Yipeeeeee

This just made my day! ;-)

De-Lurking Week

Hehehehehe! I hear through the grapevines that this is the de-lurking week and I know there are couple of you out there from my sitemeter report! So ..... fess up and leave a comment.

Thank you! ;-)

Ramblings on a dreary day

Eid Mubarak to you all. If you are on the east coast today, does your brain feel as foggy as the weather?! I had to drag myself out of the bed this morning. I felt like I was going to die. I had a splitting headache and my throat was hurting like it was no one's business! Feeling much better now after a long, hot shower and a big, yummy lunch! Here are some links that caught my eye in the last couple of days:

• Update on world's first face transplant recipient


• A Million Little Lies


• Found an interesting blog


• Another blog

Have fun!!

Update at 4:30: Just saw this article on MSNBC. Wonder if Oprah is going to say something about this!

Damn I am beautiful!!!!

I've finally fixed it! Here are my results from myheritage.com

   
I do look like Saif Ali Khan! Atleast in this picture! I wonder if I put in a different picture where my head is not tilted like his, would myheritage still think I look like Saif the most?! I guess if that means that I look like Sharmila Thakur, I'm ok with that!!!:-P

   
I think she is absolutely breath taking! I am glad myheritage thinks I look like her in some way!

   
Hmmm... I always complain about my eyes being slanted! Here's my proof finally!

   
Whoa!!! I think she is one of the most beautiful woman in India! I have been told by a guy who had a MAJOR crush on me since 4th grade, that I look just like Madhuri!! I ofcourse thought he was just making it up. Maybe I shouldn't have thrown away all the letters he used to write to me! Or read them out loud to my friends!!

   
Need I say more! Not sure why heritage thinks I look like her though!!

   
If this is how I am going to look when I age, then I want all the plastic surgery and botox and what not!!!!

   
I think my brain looks like his! ;-)

Other honorable mentions are Catherine Deneuve, Shirley Temple, Gwyneth Paltrow! I think there's a big flaw in their code somewhere, but I'm not complaining!

Zeenat 101

1. I am full of contradictions.
2. I've never broken any bones.
3. I was a sprinter at high school.
4. Lugging the kids around is pretty much all the exercise I get nowadays.
5. I've taught myself to cook.
6. I love cross-stich projects.
7. I sometimes think out loud.
8. I like watching chick flicks every once in a while.
9. I wish I didn't care about what other people think about me.
10. I don't have too many friends, but I do have some great friends.
11. I think of my father everyday.
12. I am an early-riser.
13. I can't swim or ride bicycles.
14. I feel dumb around some people.
15. Putting pineapples on pizza should be outlawed.
16. I never had a dollhouse. I still want one.
17. I want to grow my hair really long but never have the guts to.
18. I love dill pickles with my sandwich.
19. I want to learn knitting, crocheting from my mother.
20. I want to be physically fit without any effort on my part! ;-)
21. I read more than one book at a time.
22. I am a big Harry Potter fan.
23. Celebrities that I think are extremely sexy: Pierce Brosnan, Ralph Finnes, Bono, Heath Ledger, Ajay Devgan
24. I've never been to any casinos.
25. I love kissing my kids on their noses.
26. I cry watching movies/documentaries/news/talk shows.
27. I cried all night after 9/11.
28. Even though I respect their decision, I do not understand how someone can decide to not have any children.
29. I used to watch Young and the Restless regularly.
30. When I was in 4th grade, the boy who lived next door, showed me some porn images. I used to avoid him. We became good friends years later.
31. I look like my father.
32. I was a goody two shoes back in middle school.
33. Over a period of one year, I dated an american, two pakistanis and a bangladeshi guy.
34. I own more shoes than clothes.
35. I am not much of a chocolate or icecream person.
36. Tanveer proposed to me in a bookstore, without the ring. I accepted.
37. A lot of people don't know that I was married once before.
38. I am happy in my marriage.
39. I smile a lot.
40. I type properly on IMs with the right cases in the right places.
41. I can't save money to save my life.
42. I should have studied something other than Computer Science.
43. I am scared of roller coasters.
44. I sometimes feel like I am an unfit mother.
45. I can be very stubborn at times.
46. I am clean, but messy.
47. I hate houses that are always tidy.
48. I think Bono has the sexiest voice ever.
49. I can say one whole sentence in Spanish: El drive-through es para clientes solamente.
50. I love crossword puzzles.
51. I think my best feature is my skin.
52. I love chocolate cakes!!!!!!!
53. I admire successful, intelligent women.
54. I wouldn't mind living in Manhattan if I could afford a penthouse in the city.
55. I once stole a book.
56. I am a converted coffee drinker.
57. My mom had Eclampsia when she had me. She was unconcious for three days and wasn't aware of my existence until I was three days old!!!!!!!!
58. Some people say my sister and I look like twins. I disagree.
59. I came to US in 1992.
60. I am a beer girl. White Russian too.
61. I want to learn to cook all types of food.
62. I believe in karma.
63. I love good food.
64. I don't know how to put make up on.
65. I cook with recipe books in front of me.
66. I wear perfume all the time.
67. I want to live in Europe at some point in my life.
68. I think Snape will be redeemed in the last book.
69. I cringe when I hear my voice on the answering machine.
70. Even after 10 years, I sometimes still feel like an outsider when I get together with all my in-laws.
71. I don't think I'll ever wear a bikini.
72. I am very very temperature sensitive!
73. Rather than being good at a lot of things, I wish I were great in one thing.
74. I learnt to read when I was four.
75. I am a very patient teacher.
76. I hope my kids turn out to be very well behaved kids.
77. I got glasses when I was in 5th grade.
78. I am mistaken as Filipino, Indonesian, Latino and ofcourse Indian.
79. I want to drive a racing car someday.
80. I envy those who are always well groomed.
81. I stood fifth (among girls!! :-P) in HSC!
82. I am still scared shitless about natural childbirth.
83. I hardly ever swear.
84. I only got drunk once in my life. Even then I was able to drive two other passed out drunks home. So technically I probably wasn't drunk.
85. I have very small feet.
86. I love boardgames.
87. I used to have a Salma Hayek figure. Now I look like Homer Simpson. :-P
88. I would like to complete my Tintin collection this year and start on the Audrey Hepburn movie collection.
89. I have a cousin who had a huge crush on me for the longest time. I thought it was absolutely gross!
90. I hope and hope that the kids grow up as nice people.
91. I love wrapping gifts.
92. I can't wait to braid Zoya's hair.
93. I am anal about a lot of things. Other things, I couldn't care less.
94. I can not imagine what I would have done if we had lost Zoya.
95. I would have joined the "Mukti Bahini" if I were old enough in 1971.
96. I like driving stick shifts.
97. I have a high IQ, but most times you wouldn't know it.
98. Raffae is stronger than I am and he is 2 1/2!
99. I get embarassed by compliments.
100. I can't stand summer in Bangladesh anymore.
101. I am a good person.

Ten thousand blistering barnacles!!!!

Jellyfish! ... Tramps! .... Trog-lodytes! ... Toffeenoses! .... Toads! .... Baboons! ... Pockmarks!

Yeah! That's really how I felt last night! Mad as hell like the Captain! I saw Katie's post on myheritage and had to, had to do it for myself. I saved all the pics of the people that website said I look like and had a witty (!!) post all written up. Then when I published it, it showed up with a mile long white space in between the title and the post! Being the anal person I am, I could not just leave it as it is after trying for almost an hour to get behind the mystery of the white space! Anyone else had this problem? Any pointers for fixing it?

A to Z

"Tuklified" this from Rezwan. Got to his blog from Katie's recent post. Very interesting blog. Will have to read all the old posts this weekend!

• A - Age: 30+ :-P
  
• B - Busy-ness! : Those darn kids!
  
• C - Chore You Hate: Folding laundry!!!!!!!!!!!
  
• D - Daily Routine: wake up, try to wake Tanveer up, make coffee, get the kids ready, try to wake Tanveer up again, get myself ready, pull Tanveer down from the bed, drag tanveer to the bathroom, leave for work, work, come back home, eat, play with kids, get them ready for bed, watch a little tv or read a little, sleep. yeah I know! Boring life!
  
• E - Essential Make-Up Item: Deo, perfume, eye-liner and lipstick
  
• F - Fave pastime: reading, watching tv/movie. Would like to pick up knitting, sewing again.
  
• G - Gold or Silver: Whichever hubby feels like buying for me :-P
  
• H - Homeland: USA and Bangladesh.
  
• I - Instruments You Play: Harmonium!!!!!!!!!!
  
• J - Jinx: None
  
• K - Kids: Two. Son: Raffae 2 1/2 years old Daughter: Zoya 15 months old
  
• L - Living Arrangements: At home with hubby and two kids and soon to be joined by my mom! Yayyy!
  
• M - Marvels: My kids! Can't believe they grew up inside of me!
  
• N - Number of Women I have slept with: None!!! ;-)
  
• O - Obsession: the length of my hair.
  
• P - Phobia: None.
  
• Q - Quote You Like: Too many to mention here.
  
• R - Religious Affiliation: By birth Muslim.
  
• S - Siblings: 1 sister.
  
• T - Time You Wake Up: Whenever one of the kids wake up!
  
• U - Unique Habit: I always have to start cleaning a room from a corner!
  
• V - Vegetable You Refuse to Eat: None.
  
• W - Worst Habit: procrastination!
  
• X - X-Rays You've Had: Teeth
  
• Y - Yummy Food You Make: I make a mean beef curry!!!!!!!
  
• Z - Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
  

My Marriage

My marriage has been taking the proverbial back seat for the last three years almost! We went through two pregnancies, new jobs, longer commutes, two moves, Zoya's surgeries, my father's death, my somewhat depression, and now the kids! We hardly have any time to spend with each other! We used to be called "joined at the hip", and now we barely get to do the things we used to enjoy together. Hopefully 2006 will be the year where we will get our acts together and take some of our life back from those adorable little pests! :-P

Any volunteers for babysitting??

Funny little guy

My friend Jill's four year old son Logan is hilarious!! When I say hilarious, I mean hilarious! He says the funniest things and delivers them like a pro!! Logan took a good look at his weewee the other day and was convinced his was broken! (He is circumcised). This is the conversation between Jill and Logan that followed this incident:

Logan: (screaming) mommy it's broken! Fix it!!
Jill: (Dying from all her effort to not laugh in front of Logan) It's ok Logan. It's not broken.
Logan: Is it going to grow back?

He was crying so hard that he was shaking. Then after Jill told him it would indeed grow back he whimpered his little "oookkaaayy"

A typical guy in the making if you ask me!!!!!!!!

Then, yesterday, he went to see Santa. Jill asked him later what he asked for. He said, "I asked santa for an umbrella but he didnt give me one!"

Watch out Chris Rock! Your days are numbered!