Greek Festival - 2016

Also, our last one :(

But, at least this year they did it in May and not October like they did last year, when I couldn't go (I was in Austin for the Family Girls Reunion). If they did it in October again this year, I wouldn't have been able to say my goodbyes. Small mercies. :)

Greek Familiarness :)

On Saturday, we started with the Gyro and Sunkist, our tradition from the first Greek festival we went to back in 2007, 10 Greek festivals ago! 

Gryo Fixings - Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Feta, & Tzatziki

Gyro Cookin'

Gyro, Fries and Sunkist :)

We also went, for the first time, and looked at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, it is beautiful!! 

Saint Sophia Cathedral

Then the skies darkened, and large drops of rain started coming down, so we headed home for the afternoon. 

We returned for dinner and lamb! :)

Roasting Lamb - Teeth, Eyes, & All

Roast Lamb (the lemon marination was so perfect, the skin tasted DELISH!), Manestra (SO DELICIOUS!) & Buns

On Sunday, we went back for lunch. Some more gyro, and some lemonade the kids sell every festival.

Lemonade - This little boy walked around announcing the lemonade and he had first pitch and time down perfectly. Saurabh just loved him! :) He's been imitating that kid all weekend. Sigh.

After lunch, we went to the indoor food buffet and got Pastitsio and Manestra for dinner later this week :), before going back home to rest for a bit

Pastitsio and Manestra

The day we moved into Chancery, we found out about the Greek Festival. We passed by the festival in our cab from Columbia Plaza, saw the crowds, and our cabbie told us about the delicious food available there. The next day, we were there for food. Since then, every year, if we are in DC at festival time, we are at there. For the last 10 years, this has been a constant feature in our lives... The Flower Mart, and the Greek Festival are the beginnings of the lasts for us with regard to our lives in DC. It is bitter sweet, and I deal with it best by not dwelling on it. Good times! Good memories! What will life hand us as we move on...?

Transporting A Barn!

We were driving to Thomas, and this was in front of our car! A barn was being transported. We, eventually, saw it pull up in a clearing on the side of a road where another truck had also pulled up. Wonder why?

Raindrops on my Umbrella

Sometimes...okay, many times, the rain is annoying with the wetness and cold it brings. But, sometimes, when you stand under your umbrella, waiting for your bus, the gentle pitter patter of the raindrops on the umbrella can be the most peaceful sound.

In every annoyance, there is happyness.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

DC and Me

Recently, a couple of people have told me that I am always doing something 'cool'. Until this was mentioned to me, I hadn't really realised that the things I had been doing were cool. I began thinking about what these people saw in the things I did. Perhaps my taking this summer to stay in DC and do things around has actually resulted in my doing a slew of interesting things. Of course, my intention wasn't to do 'cool' things. It was just to experience the city and have fun. I did have fun. It's been a pretty full blog, hasn't it? So, all this got me thinking more and I thought about all my time here in DC. I have been able to explore a variety of things that interest me, from adventure, to nature, to theatre, to music, to art, to relaxing, to innovative, to educational, to gastronomic, to exciting. I am really glad for my good fortune. I am always on the look out to do something and I am now even able to go for events on my own if I can't find someone to go with. I am extremely thankful for the luck and opportunity that's come my way during my stay in DC, the city where I came into my element.

Electricity Being Conserved?

The escalators to go down at the Tenleytown metro stop have not been running for the last few days. In the evening, however, they are always on. There is no maintenance work being done on them. I wonder if this metro's attempt at saving electricity and hence saving money? Since the upwards escalators are working, if this is their plan, i think it is quite smart! Especially iffff it curtails further price hikes (wishful thinking, eh?)

Bananas

I really like this description of the fruit:

"A clump of bananas - The fruit of which , as healthy as bread and as succulent as cream" - Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days.

Of course, 'curved yellow fruit' describes it well, too. :-)

The Henna...

So, after Sarah told us that she had no harsh oils in the henna she made, I didn't expect the mehendi to get brown or black, but instead expected a redder colour. As the henna driesd I noticed an orange colour developing within the hour which is typical of the henna with harsh oils. I didn't leave it on all night since I was afraid of staining the bedsheet. So, I didn't expect much of a colour the next morning. However, the next morning, the henna was brown in colour as usually occurs with the henna mised with harsh oils. As the next day approached I expected it to get black, at least at some places where the henna was thick. But, it didn't. Which is atypical of the harsh oil henna. So, what she applied seems to be a mix between what mom used to make at home and what is commercially sold. A good middle, at that! :)

Mangoes and Memories

I had a mango today, well, half a mango. This is probably the third or fourth time I have eaten a mango in the US. I don't particularly care for mangoes here...they never measure up. Today, I was in Giant grocery shopping when I had an urge to eat a mango, so I bought one. While eating it, I remembered the first time I had a mango in the US. I had gone to Aunty Chandra's and Uncle David's place for breakfast before they took me out shopping for winter clothes. I can't remember what aunty had cooked for breakfast, but I know she had cut up mangoes. I remember getting excited when I saw them (I had no clue then what a terrible let down they would be). Uncle then said that they would never measure up to the Alphanso and he can never enjoy these :)

I have had so many firsts with them in this coutry. I miss aunty! :(

Chirpy Thoughts :)

I love it when I see a bird sitting on the topmost branch of a tree. I don't know why, but there is something incredibly alluring about it. I saw this this evening.

Today, after I left work and while walking to the bus stop, I heard the calls of at least 5 different birds. One of which I was able to trace to the bird making the call. It was a Northern Cardinal, which is a beautifully red bird. Its chirp was odd, a mix between a sound that one expects from a bird and a police siren, but not an annoying sires, as sirens typically are. This might be the first bird chirp I'll be able to recognise and associate with the actual bird without actually seeing it. Apart, of course, from a crow and a rooster :-p

Fireflies

I saw my first fireflies of the season today. I was just entering Chancery and I saw them in the bushes. They always make me happy.

I remember the first time I saw fireflies. It was in Khandala. I was sitting on a swing on the back verandah of a large bungalow in the evening. I was happily swinging and suddenly I noticed a momentary speck of electric blue-green outside the bungalow. At first I thought I had just imagined it. Then, upon seeing it a few times more, I realised what they were. I became very excited. Until then I had only read about them in books. The fireflies fulfilled a childish desire in me, then. Today, too, my excitement remains childlike. :)

Life...

About a month or two back I was in Giant at the check out counter. In front of me was a girl with a FULL back pack paying for a couple of cans of food and one or two other things. I wouldn't have paid too much attention to her had I not noticed her cart. Her cart was filled with bins (of her stuff, I presume). That is when I realised that she was homeless. Looking at her or her clothes I would never have guessed so. I remember thinking then that she probably was recently rendered homeless, perhaps due to the economy.

Today, I was walking to the building from the N2 bus stop and I saw a homeless girl with her cart. When I looked closer, it was the same girl I had seen in Giant a month or so back. However, now, her clothes were disheveled, her hair was matted and she looked exhausted. :(

Situations like these, slap you with the reality of life. It reminds you to be thankful for what you have, to appreciate everything you are able to do, because you just never know when everything you know can just slip away from you.

Beautiful Morning

I left home at 6:30 this morning and it was just so perfect outside. It was so perfectly cool, the air was crisp, the breeze was soft...it was all just so incredibly refreshing! :) Gotta love mornings like this one!

Remembering A Walk

This past Monday was Memorial Day (a federal holiday). My pilates class wasn't cancelled so I went to class. After, I was walking back home and I realised how quiet it was. Typically, a Monday at that time (7:45) would be bustling with people, cars, horns, buses and everything else that's trying to stick to a schedule. However, this Monday there was the odd person walking, cars were ambling by and it was actually quiet. I heard birds chirping in the trees as I walked back leisurely observing things I typically miss. I discovered that Garfield House has an outdoor ground level pool and wished that Chancery had a pool too. It was almost surreal. A perfect setting for a walk, to refresh your mind with clear thoughts and air. It was a lovely fifteen odd minutes. :)

Samurai Sudoku

This is the third Samurai Sudoku I have completed ever. Since I didn't keep the other 2...this is the one that will go in the records.

I finished this one about a month back or so. I just got lazy with the upload. The first one I ever completed was back when I was still a student in GW. I remember the department secretary, April, was incredibly passionate about sudoku as well. She had by then completed quite a few Samurai sudokus and kept insisting that they weren't too much harder than the regular ones, just required more time. She even found the regular sudoku a little boring now. I didn't believe her 'coz I always messed something up, and a number would repeat and I would have to toss that puzzle out. When I completed the first one, it was so exhilarating and I had to share the excitement with her. She said the famous words, "I told you so.". Now, having completed ALL of 3 samurai sudokus (:-p), I do agree with her, they are not hard to do. You just need to be patient and really be sure before entering a number into the squares. It isn't that hard then That being said, every time I complete one I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Where O Where Are You, Dear Weekend?

It's been a fun week! Which means it's been long days...I am ready to sleep for a million hours. On Monday and Tuesday I met and hung out with the Jayarams and Kapadias...it was a lot of fun! Aunty and uncle are reallllly nice people. Very warm, friendly and jovial. It was nice to Kanchana and Jai and hang out with them a bit :) Today promises to be a long day too. Friday canNOT come soon enough!

I have nothing to complain about though, it's been a good week. Just a long, full one and I now need sleep. That's all :)

Happy Start to My Morning :)

I woke up a little late this morning and as a consequence left late for class. It typically takes me 15 minutes to walk down to class. When I left my building I had about 7 minutes to get to class. I was walking really quick, hoping a bus would reach a bus stop the same time I would so I could get on it and reach class on time. As I started walking down, I turned and saw the bus at the bus stop behind me. I knew that the chances of me making it to the next bus stop before the bus did were slim, but I decided to sprint anyway. I was running, the bus passed by me and I still had a short distance to run to the stop. Things didn't look in my favour. There was no one at the bus stop and the signal had just turned green. There was no reason for the bus to stop (unless someone needed to get off). However, the bus did stop and the doors opened, but no one got off. The driver had stopped for me!!!!! I guess she saw my sprinting. It was awesome!!! :D Gotta love it when you come across an amazing bus driver!!!! :D :D

ps: I just think this image is funny :D

A Silent Day

It has been a rather silent day today at work. Not too much conversation in the office. When I went to where the labs are, too, no one is really about. It's generally quite quiet. It's not even a Friday before a long weekend. It's strange how sometimes your surroundings reflect your mood.

It's been a year all ready?

Last year, on May 7th, I came back to my desk at work after having been in the lab for an hour or two. I checked my email and there were a few new emails. One of them was a facebook message from Uncle David. I was excited to see it, and left it to read last. I always leave the emails I think I'm going to like for the end.

As it turned out, it was the worst email I'd ever gotten. Uncle had written to tell me that Aunty had lost her battle with cancer and passed away the previous day. :( The shock that that email brought was compounded by the fact that I had no idea aunty was even battling cancer anymore. I thought she had ridden it out and was fine. I had met her a few months before and there was nothing to show that she was sick again.

Now, it's a year since she has passed on to a calmer and hopefully worry-free place. I didn't think that today would bring with it any exceptional sadness. But, it has. This sadness is a strange feeling. I don't quite know what sets me off, but suddenly I get very sad. It isn't that I think about her, miss her and then get consumed by the sadness. I cannot put my finger on what pushes me over, but something does. It's a kind of sadness I have never experienced before.

I miss her. Even though I didn't really talk to her much after they left DC, I still miss her. I know she has gone, but everytime I see a photo of hers it's difficult to understand her being gone. If that makes any sense.

She was by far one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. Always, almost everyday, there is something that reminds me of one of the things she's told me. I am just so so grateful for having met and known her.

I love you, I miss you aunty.

A Xavierite, with Warmth and Happyness

This past Sunday there was a Xavier's Alumni meet in New York at Utsav Restaurant (on 46th street between 6th and 7th Avenues).

Around a month or so back when a friend first sent an email to few of us informing us of this meet, all of us said that we'd go if we know someone who is going. So, all of us decided to go. The word spread, more people we knew decided to go. Everyone was excited.

As the date of the alumni meet approached, the thought of over a hundred alumni coming slightly intimidated me. Would I really know enough people to talk to/meet with or would I just be standing in a corner observing other people mingle (I don't do well in crowds)? Anyway, time doesn't really pause as you contemplate your apprehensions and it was time to wake up, get ready and show up. Show up, we did!

Once we got past telling the guy working the door that it was a "St. Xavier's" event and NOT a "St. Francis Xavier's" event, figuring out coat check and registering we walked into a room all ready teeming with Xavierites of all ages. We later found out that the oldest graduate there passed out from Xavier's in 1945 (!!!!!!), while the youngest there had passed out in 2007.

I was walking to another friend in the room when someone looked at my name tag (that had my name and year of graduation) and said, "Oh! Batch 2003! You are so young!!!!!". To which I retorted, "Oh!!! You are so old!!!!". Laughter followed and then conversation. It was refreshing to be amongst a large group of Indians with such crisp english and a fantastic command over the language. Many of whom have been in America for years and I barely heard the American accent anywhere.

As the afternoon progressed, starters were enjoyed, photos were shot, lunch was eaten and lots of laughter and conversation was exchanged. Somewhere in between all that, there was a lull and I wasn't talking to anyone. I looked at everything going on around me and I was suddenly filled with warmth. Warmth because of I felt a sense of belonging. Belonging to Xavier's.




Often, I wonder about decisions I made in life and how they shaped me. Why I chose Xavier's over Jai Hind after getting into both, I don't really recall. I think it may have had to do with the campus and someone telling me that the faculty was better (how true they were!!!). Whatever it was that convinced me to do so, I'm SO glad! For Xavier's gave me, and I'm sure every Xavierite, a sense of belonging to the college. Our college lives, while intertwined with our friends, were also intertwined with everything college. We attended lectures (they made us!) and even when we didn't the campus gave us enough space to stay within its premises. The professors actually cared about their students. And so, every Xavierite leaves with a sense of belong to the institution. This is what sets Xavier's apart from all other similar colleges in Bombay. I wouldn't exchange my years in Xavier's for anything. So, with warmth and happyness I call myself a Xavierite.

In travelling, I forgot to Journey

Due to the travel chaos that the erruption of Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland has caused, there are numerous articles in the news about non-air modes of travel. Reading about the Estonian first couple travelling through 9 countries on land to get back home; or people considering taking a ship to go home; or reading about how, when you fly, you miss everything you have passed only to experience the destination, the journey in essence is wasted time makes me want to pack up and leave on a land journey through...anywhere. I don't care where. Anywhere is sure to give me a rich experience. Travelling on a train and meeting people in my compartment, taking a car ride (even though I can't drive) and discovering a small restaurant hidden at the wrong left turn you took, taking a cruise and seeing whales in the ocean, finding an odd animal by the side of the road, enjoying the change in landscape from one place to the next, finding the odd picturesque waterfall, waving at children as you pass them by, stopping to buy fruits from the vendors...

I want to make journey memories. I have a lot of travel memories and I definitely want more of those, but I also want journey memories... Hopefully, soon, I will stop letting whatever it is that is preventing me from making those memories and embark to journey and not just travel.