Today, I've been inspired by friends' facebook statuses. Several of my friends (real friends, not just facebook people you know 'friends') are going to post one thing they are thankful for every day between now and Thanksgiving. I figured I should do that as well, but as a blog entry, because it lasts longer than a status update. So I'll start a running list:
Wednesday, November 11: I'm thankful we have money in the bank. A good chunk of my morning was wasted at the bank today due to incompetence and lies on the part of one bank employee. The upside of course, is that we have money to actually do banking with.
Thursday, November 12: I'm thankful for the safe arrival of babies being born to my friends and family. Just in the past few weeks my cousin Carla had a little boy, friends Tony & Liz had boy/girl twins and so did friends Rob & Alejandra! And there are more babies on the way!
Friday, November 13: I'm thankful that Bill arrived home safely from Paris.
Saturday, November 14: I'm thankful for the opportunity to meet new people, share stories, laugh, eat, drink, and be merry and to have a great driver to bring me home.
Sunday, November 15: I'm thankful that my girls are such good company and usually well behaved while eating in restaurants.
Monday, November 16: I'm thankful that some of the most wonderful people in the world are members of my family.
Tuesday, November 17: I'm thankful that my kids are healthy and happy
Wednesday, November 18th: I'm thankful that in the US, tap water is clean and safe to drink.
Thursday, November 19th: I'm thankful for our expat community, which is full of fun, happy, interesting people from all over the world, and who are quick to become friends.
Friday, November 20th: I'm thankful that I speak another language. It really can enhance your life and expand your circle of friends.
Saturday, November 21st: I'm thankful for the warm winter weather in India, where we can swim outdoors at Thanksgiving time.
Sunday, November 22nd: I'm thankful for a roof over my head and food in my tummy. There are so many people here in India that can't even imagine the things I take for granted.
Monday, November 23rd: I'm thankful for family days when the four of us spend time together.
Tuesday, November 24th: I'm thankful for the times when you laugh so hard that you cry.
Wednesday, November 25th: I'm thankful for my best friend in the whole world, who I'm lucky enough to be married to.
Thursday, November 26th: I'm thankful for my family and friends both new and old. Every one of them has helped to shape the person I am today (wackiness and all)
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Cool as a....what? A chili pepper?
I think we all must have visions of how we'd expect ourselves to act in different situations. For example, in an emergency we'd like to picture ourselves like the doctors on ER taking control of the situation, calling for the necessary tests, procedures, and instruments to control whatever trauma has come through the doors. Unfortunately, the reality of my levelheadedness under unexpected situations is less like ER and more like America's Funniest Home Videos, where freak-outs and screaming are the norm.
My first glimpse into the reality of my less than stellar reaction was in college when a fellow student had a seizure during a quiz. No sooner had the professor left the room (honor system here folks) than a guy sitting right near me started to moan, shake and convulse. Other classmates jumped into action. One grabbed his pencil from him so he wouldn't hurt himself, another ran down the hall to call the University EMS, and I, who always assumed I'd be the one jumping to action, froze. Completely.
So I really shouldn't have been surprised by my reaction when the unexpected came flying through the girls room as I was reading a bedtime story. I looked up, initially thought it was a moth, but in one flap of wings my brain registered: BAT!!! AAACKKKK!!! Now you need to use your imagination and picture me trying to grab sheets to cover my head while screaming hysterically at top volume "BABE THERE'S A BAT IN HERE! AHHHHH!" Keep in mind that the girls were still in the room with me and weren't freaking out. Then the bat dive bombed me and landed right between Sammy's pillow and the wall, which was about 3 feet from where I was sitting. Bill, by that time, had come into the room to see what was happening thinking that one of the girls was gravely maimed or injured, based on the intensity of my screams. With the bat so close to me, I took off running (screaming all the way) into our bedroom. Bill had seen the bat fly up over my shoulder as I flew past him, realized what the heck I was screaming about, and was sensible enough to scurry the girls out of the room. I however, was in "Save Yourselves!" mode. The girls and I hid in our bedroom, Bill in the guest room. The two of us guarded our doors while peeking out as the bat did laps around our apartment, and you better believe that we closed our doors as it approached.
Bill: What do we do??
Me: (from behind my bedroom door) Open the doors!! (meaning for HIM to open the double doors that lead to our balcony and outside)
The man of action, quickly left the safety of the guest room to fling open the balcony doors and was back behind the guest room door before the bat could finish its lap.
Another lap.
And another!!
Me: Go outside you stupid thing!!!
Two more laps around and...stillness (!) except for the pounding of my yellow-belly chicken heart.
My first glimpse into the reality of my less than stellar reaction was in college when a fellow student had a seizure during a quiz. No sooner had the professor left the room (honor system here folks) than a guy sitting right near me started to moan, shake and convulse. Other classmates jumped into action. One grabbed his pencil from him so he wouldn't hurt himself, another ran down the hall to call the University EMS, and I, who always assumed I'd be the one jumping to action, froze. Completely.
So I really shouldn't have been surprised by my reaction when the unexpected came flying through the girls room as I was reading a bedtime story. I looked up, initially thought it was a moth, but in one flap of wings my brain registered: BAT!!! AAACKKKK!!! Now you need to use your imagination and picture me trying to grab sheets to cover my head while screaming hysterically at top volume "BABE THERE'S A BAT IN HERE! AHHHHH!" Keep in mind that the girls were still in the room with me and weren't freaking out. Then the bat dive bombed me and landed right between Sammy's pillow and the wall, which was about 3 feet from where I was sitting. Bill, by that time, had come into the room to see what was happening thinking that one of the girls was gravely maimed or injured, based on the intensity of my screams. With the bat so close to me, I took off running (screaming all the way) into our bedroom. Bill had seen the bat fly up over my shoulder as I flew past him, realized what the heck I was screaming about, and was sensible enough to scurry the girls out of the room. I however, was in "Save Yourselves!" mode. The girls and I hid in our bedroom, Bill in the guest room. The two of us guarded our doors while peeking out as the bat did laps around our apartment, and you better believe that we closed our doors as it approached.
Bill: What do we do??
Me: (from behind my bedroom door) Open the doors!! (meaning for HIM to open the double doors that lead to our balcony and outside)
The man of action, quickly left the safety of the guest room to fling open the balcony doors and was back behind the guest room door before the bat could finish its lap.
Another lap.
And another!!
Me: Go outside you stupid thing!!!
Two more laps around and...stillness (!) except for the pounding of my yellow-belly chicken heart.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Potatoes, Spinach, Mustard Seeds...then Repeat
Now that we no longer have a cook & I'm back in the kitchen, I bought a cookbook entitled "Complete Indian Cooking". So far this cookbook has been fantastic. Without even looking at recipes, this book met my formatting criteria. There are photos of every recipe, logical ingredient lists, and even step by step directions with photos! It has the exact same format of my favorite French cookbook (no it's not Mastering the Art...but I do own a dogeared copy) "La Cuisine Francaise" which I purchased at La Librarie Gourmande in Paris. Being in India means that some of our 'normal' ingredients are not available, so when in Hyderabad...do as the Hyderbadis do-eat (and cook) Indian food!
I've been thumbing and skipping around my cookbook and while making dinner this evening, I discovered 2 IDENTICAL recipes (with the teeny tiny difference that one calls for 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and the other calls for 2 tsp vegetable oil. That's not really a difference, since no one measures the oil going into the pan anyway. Isn't that cheating??? Shouldn't the cover say "324 deliciously authentic receipes for the adventurous cook"??
Recipe #1 (page 318) is located in the Vegetarian Main Dishes chapter and is called "Spinach and Potato Curry". This one calls for the Tbsp of oil.
Recipe #2 (page 407) is located in the "Rice and Vegetable Side Dishes and Light Snacks" chapter and is called "Golden Chunky Potatoes with Spinach and Mustard Seeds". Maybe the 2 tsp of oil makes it a "light" recipe!
I will admit that the photos are different, and the directions are worded differently, but they are definitely the same recipe.
Once I finish making the Spinach and Potato Curry for dinner tonight, I'll let you know how both recipes turn out.
I've been thumbing and skipping around my cookbook and while making dinner this evening, I discovered 2 IDENTICAL recipes (with the teeny tiny difference that one calls for 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and the other calls for 2 tsp vegetable oil. That's not really a difference, since no one measures the oil going into the pan anyway. Isn't that cheating??? Shouldn't the cover say "324 deliciously authentic receipes for the adventurous cook"??
Recipe #1 (page 318) is located in the Vegetarian Main Dishes chapter and is called "Spinach and Potato Curry". This one calls for the Tbsp of oil.
Recipe #2 (page 407) is located in the "Rice and Vegetable Side Dishes and Light Snacks" chapter and is called "Golden Chunky Potatoes with Spinach and Mustard Seeds". Maybe the 2 tsp of oil makes it a "light" recipe!
I will admit that the photos are different, and the directions are worded differently, but they are definitely the same recipe.
Once I finish making the Spinach and Potato Curry for dinner tonight, I'll let you know how both recipes turn out.
A Child's Insight into Driving in India
Traffic here is nuts. Plain and simple. That's why so many people (us included) have drivers. There are no rules, only suggestions, and smaller vehicles yield to larger ones,and everyone yields to cows. That's about it. I hadn't realized how much Cory had noticed about the crazy traffic until she said something that summarizes a lot: "Red means 'GO' too!" Yes, here it does mean go too.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
How do you like those....um...apples?
The availability of fresh and exotic (to me) fruit has been an unexpected and incredible perk of living in India. We arrived during the extreme heat of summer, but also during peak mango season. (salivation in progress). Just the other day, I was introduced into a new and wonderful new fruit: the custard apple. This is not a shiny smooth apple like we would expect, in fact, it looks more like an artichoke without spiky leaves. It's no wonder I never paid attention to them in the shops until Prasad, our driver mentioned them to me.
You pull apart the green exterior to reveal a soft white interior made of small pods of flesh covering black smooth seeds. The taste is not easy to describe. When the first pod hit my tastebuds I immediately thought of summer. In particular, summers when I was about 8-10 years old and mom, brothers and I spent our days at a local swim club out in the rolling farmland of Central NY. One taste of the custard apple and I was 9 years old again. It was like a gorgeous summer day in your mouth with tastes/smells of: wildflowers, sunshine, clean air, and honey. Not quite what I expected from a lumpy, bumpy green fruit.
I mentioned the custard apple to some expat friends who were passing around a sweet lime, which, for the record tastes like a not so sour grapefruit. A Brit quickly replied "Oh yes, they're like apples in custard!" Not being a custard connoisseur, I really didn't know how to respond. Just the sound of the word custard really couldn't do these little guys justice.
So if you're even in the exotic fruit section of your grocery store and see custard apples (they are in season now), give one a try.
You pull apart the green exterior to reveal a soft white interior made of small pods of flesh covering black smooth seeds. The taste is not easy to describe. When the first pod hit my tastebuds I immediately thought of summer. In particular, summers when I was about 8-10 years old and mom, brothers and I spent our days at a local swim club out in the rolling farmland of Central NY. One taste of the custard apple and I was 9 years old again. It was like a gorgeous summer day in your mouth with tastes/smells of: wildflowers, sunshine, clean air, and honey. Not quite what I expected from a lumpy, bumpy green fruit.
I mentioned the custard apple to some expat friends who were passing around a sweet lime, which, for the record tastes like a not so sour grapefruit. A Brit quickly replied "Oh yes, they're like apples in custard!" Not being a custard connoisseur, I really didn't know how to respond. Just the sound of the word custard really couldn't do these little guys justice.
So if you're even in the exotic fruit section of your grocery store and see custard apples (they are in season now), give one a try.
Friday, October 30, 2009
The TP Situation: All Cleaned Up
My apologies for not giving a prompt update to the TP situation. Arguing over stupid things can really take a lot out of you. And so, the long awaited outcome: I am pleased to report that the morning following the insane phone call with the school's director, there was a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. A simple solution to a simple issue, I'm so glad I thought of it.
Monday, October 12, 2009
A Monday Down the Drain
I'm not good at arguing. Even when I'm right, eventually my emotions get the best of me, my voice gets louder and louder, and on more than one occasion tears of frustration have appeared. Today I had a phone call with the director of Sammy's preschool, a Montessori school, where she will be the first foreign student. I wanted to talk to him about a few issues, which shall hopefully be all resolved, but the one that really got me riled up was our discussion of toilet paper.
What could possibly get me so riled up about toilet paper you may ask. No, it wasn't the over-under debate as to how to mount a roll onto the toilet paper holder. Instead it all began when I made a statement (not request) on Friday while visiting Sammy's classroom before she actually started school. "There is no toilet paper in the bathroom. There needs to be." To this, her teacher replied "We have it, I will talk with maintenance about it." Let me say now, that toilet paper is a new thing here and is not commonly used. In a typical toilet stall, there will be a hose with a sprayer, very much like one that would be mounted on a kitchen sink to spray dishes. Apparently after using the toilet, spraying occurs, some shocking use of the left hand and then ...(perhaps?) dampness removal, via handkerchiefs or something non-disposable that people carry around with them.
So today, Monday morning, I took the opportunity to sneak into her classroom to check out the TP situation. None. Sigh...I spoke with her teacher again who replied that she wasn't the person who could get that done and that she had to talk to management. Huh? I truly didn't expect toilet paper to be a management decision.
Later today I called to request a meeting with the director of the school to go over a few other concerns, and obviously discuss the toilet paper situation. Rather than a face to face meeting he gave me a call since he was heading out of town. Yes, he had been informed on Friday that I required toilet paper in the bathroom stalls, and he and the staff had a half hour discussion about what to do, and came to no conclusion. (!!!) So he sent an email to the local Montessori training instructor to ask advice. He went on to explain that the school needed to take into consideration the effect it would have on all of the other students. I truly and to the bottom of my soul do not understand how on God's green earth the presence of toilet paper can have any effect on 2 & 3 year olds (or anyone for that matter), so much that the advice of a third party is needed to help evaluate the impact. I begged for explanations and clarifications on this ridiculousness, and was not impressed with the responses. (I think this was the point where my blood pressure and volume began to escalate out of control). I even pulled the money card: "You're a businessman right? And you want Westerners to send their children to your school, right? So you HAVE to have toilet paper. Period." It was at about this point where Bill started chiming in. "Just tell him if there is no toilet paper, we won't send Sammy and we'll get our money back." (Can you imagine having this conversation in the US?)
Thankfully Bill swooped in and took the phone from me before I came to full out screaming (although I was pretty close), threw his years of consulting experience at the director and hit him with both logic, reason, and softly veiled threats which was a magnificent sight to see and hear.
The outcome of all of this silliness it that this evening, the director and the staff will discuss the means for providing Sammy with toilet paper, whether it be a roll in the stall or if an aide or teacher gives it to her on the way in. Oh to be a fly on that wall....
I am curious to see what kind of looks I get tomorrow when I drop Sammy off. Maybe I should be eating something with my left hand to see who freaks out. Or maybe not. :)
What could possibly get me so riled up about toilet paper you may ask. No, it wasn't the over-under debate as to how to mount a roll onto the toilet paper holder. Instead it all began when I made a statement (not request) on Friday while visiting Sammy's classroom before she actually started school. "There is no toilet paper in the bathroom. There needs to be." To this, her teacher replied "We have it, I will talk with maintenance about it." Let me say now, that toilet paper is a new thing here and is not commonly used. In a typical toilet stall, there will be a hose with a sprayer, very much like one that would be mounted on a kitchen sink to spray dishes. Apparently after using the toilet, spraying occurs, some shocking use of the left hand and then ...(perhaps?) dampness removal, via handkerchiefs or something non-disposable that people carry around with them.
So today, Monday morning, I took the opportunity to sneak into her classroom to check out the TP situation. None. Sigh...I spoke with her teacher again who replied that she wasn't the person who could get that done and that she had to talk to management. Huh? I truly didn't expect toilet paper to be a management decision.
Later today I called to request a meeting with the director of the school to go over a few other concerns, and obviously discuss the toilet paper situation. Rather than a face to face meeting he gave me a call since he was heading out of town. Yes, he had been informed on Friday that I required toilet paper in the bathroom stalls, and he and the staff had a half hour discussion about what to do, and came to no conclusion. (!!!) So he sent an email to the local Montessori training instructor to ask advice. He went on to explain that the school needed to take into consideration the effect it would have on all of the other students. I truly and to the bottom of my soul do not understand how on God's green earth the presence of toilet paper can have any effect on 2 & 3 year olds (or anyone for that matter), so much that the advice of a third party is needed to help evaluate the impact. I begged for explanations and clarifications on this ridiculousness, and was not impressed with the responses. (I think this was the point where my blood pressure and volume began to escalate out of control). I even pulled the money card: "You're a businessman right? And you want Westerners to send their children to your school, right? So you HAVE to have toilet paper. Period." It was at about this point where Bill started chiming in. "Just tell him if there is no toilet paper, we won't send Sammy and we'll get our money back." (Can you imagine having this conversation in the US?)
Thankfully Bill swooped in and took the phone from me before I came to full out screaming (although I was pretty close), threw his years of consulting experience at the director and hit him with both logic, reason, and softly veiled threats which was a magnificent sight to see and hear.
The outcome of all of this silliness it that this evening, the director and the staff will discuss the means for providing Sammy with toilet paper, whether it be a roll in the stall or if an aide or teacher gives it to her on the way in. Oh to be a fly on that wall....
I am curious to see what kind of looks I get tomorrow when I drop Sammy off. Maybe I should be eating something with my left hand to see who freaks out. Or maybe not. :)
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