Everyone needs a nudge from time to time

Prior to the Thanksgiving holidays, I was in a rut. I was not looking forward for social meetings. To me, Thanksgiving marks the start of social gatherings and ends after new year day. Either I stay home alone or ensure I have some plan for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year eve. I typically choose the latter as one should not be alone during the holiday season.

Since I was in lousy mood, everything appeared difficult and dull. I had decided that I will not make plans this holiday. I have convinced myself that I am very much deprived from the much needed time alone.  I will just stay home, relax, read and watch movies on NetFlix.

I am glad that I snapped out of this antisocial behavior on the Monday of the Thanksgiving week. I came across a video on TEDtalk and the presenter quoted Keith Johnstone. The Theatresports founder Keith Johnstone says that people who block offers are rewarded by the safety they attain, while people who accept offers are rewarded by the adventures they enjoy. This is a good philosophy especially during my antisocial state of mind.

I decided there and then that I will go with the flow this holiday. I accepted a friend's invitation that came in over the weekend for a pre-thankgiving dinner on Wednesday and was forwarded a Thanksgiving lunch invitation from a common friend who does not want me to spend the holiday alone.

At the pre-Thanksgiving dinner,  I had a discussion about Brisbane, Australia and this individual is planning to visit his family there in December. I told him about FairField, Garden Point Campus, Kangaroo Point, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast. It brought back fond memories of my varsity days down under.

The theme of the Thanksgiving lunch is "United Nations Thanksgiving Dinner for Orphans" where there are representation from India, Russia, Malaysia, Boston and The Dakotas. It was a pleasant gathering with good food and wonderful people. The host would like everyone to share what we are thankful about. I am thankful for all the good journalism in the New York Times which inspire and invigorate me.

The host talked about her experience with Boudoir Photography and how it helped rebuild her self-confidence and self-esteem. Boudoir means a woman's private sitting room , dressing room or bedroom.
I think one can infer that boudoir photography is images of a woman in sexy lingerie at a private room setting.  It was entertaining listening to her as she described the processes and demonstrated the poses for us.  I am glad this experience of hers brought her joy and restored her self confidence.

Everyone needs a nudge from time to time. I am glad I woke up in time for a good Thanksgiving. It definitely trumps staying home alone with the tele.

I am glad to be back.

I used to practice Astanga Mysore style yoga every Thursday. It is a self practice yoga where one would come to class and start working on either primary series or second series asanas. In case you are wondering, everyone may work on different poses, the class is well run and not at all chaotic. I had begun to practice second series so I worked on the primary series and half way through the second series during class. November 2011, my teacher went on an extended maternity leave and there were sub teachers and eventually the Thursday evening class was canceled. 

I started attending a Sunday afternoon class with a different teacher where she teaches instructed led Ashtanga and allows advanced student to work on self-practice yoga at the corner of the class. In this class I practiced the primary series only. In October, I overstressed my metatarsal bones on my right foot  probably from indoor rock climbing and wearing heels at work. I took a month off from yoga and started back again in November.

I was elated to see my teacher's name in the roster for the Sunday morning class and went to class. When I walked into class, it felt different as the placement of mat has changed. In the past, there were 2 rows and on each row, yogis faced one another and there was an empty aisle in the center. To accommodate more yogis, all mats face the front of the room and the space between one yogi and another is much smaller that what I was used to.

My teacher saw me and gave me a hug. It feels great that my teacher acknowledges my existence in class. I started to feel that I am finally home. I can't think of a better word than "home" for now. There are 2 teachers for the morning class and both helped and guided me through the primary and secondary poses.  

I have more support in getting better at yoga in this class. I missed the one-on-one guidance and now I feel more at home. During chanting, I sensed more energy around me as though there was a spiritual presence to welcome me to class. I told myself I was glad to be home. 

For the first time after so long, I started to practice second series in class. During my hiatus from serious practice, I lost my ability to complete the bridge to standing sequence. I am afraid and a lot of it is mental. I am patience and I know with the help of my teachers, I will be able to find my way to complete this sequence again. 

I was in pain all over and I am glad to be back in the swing of things.  It is great to be surrounded with a great support system: great teachers and motivated yogis. I am glad to be back.

Grapes … An Aphrodisiac?

I live in California where grapes are available all year round. Typically the grapes sold are either locally grown or from South America. I was inspired to eat locally grown food after reading 'Cuisine Economique' by Jacque Pepin. As a result of that, I buy only local grapes. I prefer red over green grapes and if seedless is an option, I would go for it too.  I learn to appreciate locally grown food where ever I go. 

I traveled for a week around Rome and Umbria Region. On my first night in Rome, I was offered complimentary grapes for dinner. When I bit into these grapes, the skin lightly pierced open creating a sound like when one bites into a crisp apple and the sweet juice just burst into my mouth. I enjoyed savoring the grapes: anticipating the light piercing sound of crisp apple and the sweet juice oozing from the grapes.  I felt I was eating a heavenly fruit of the roman gods. After that, I had grapes almost everyday during this trip.  

It is recommended in travel references to have gelato especially the ones that are certified as Gelaterie Artigianale. I did what was recommended and I had gelato almost everyday. While I enjoyed gelato, the food that etched most in my memory is their grapes. 

During dinner at the Bed & Breakfast: Casale San Bartolomeo, Gabriele served grapes for dessert and I declared aloud "Ah… grapes , the italian aphrodisiac!". Later that night, my boyfriend shared that he thought I was funny. I chalked it up to my new found experience with grapes and thanks to the wine for the courage to proclaim my appreciation for the lovely italian grapes.

Engaging With Difficult Individuals

One of my favorite columnists on The New York Times is Joe Nocera.  In the article titled "Two Days in September" , he rationalized the reasons for the demise of Occupy Wall Street. The article by Joe Nocera reminded that I get no where by avoiding difficult people.

Here's the excerpt from his article:

But the main reason is that, ultimately, Occupy Wall Street simply would not engage with the larger world. Believing that both politicians and corporations were corrupt, it declined to dirty its hands by talking to anyone in power. The takeover of the park — especially as the police threatened to force the protesters out — became an end in itself rather than the means to something larger. Occupy was an insular movement, whose members spoke mainly to each other.

The behavior of the people in Occupy Wall Street resonates with me as I too partake in the same behavior in handing certain people in my professional life. Perhaps I cannot see the forest for the trees. Before I even go into the discussion, I know that it is futile getting my message across. At times I avoid it altogether or just go along with the discussion knowing that the outcome will the status quo.

I recognize that I can't get my way all the time and I am guilty for not making an effort to turn a difficult situation around because of the difficult individual that I had to work with. Sometimes, I shield myself under the pretext that I have to pick my battles.  Instead, I should start to see things differently. I will observe and horn my skill in the art of engaging in dialogue for positive outcomes. The game changer for me is self-confidence and being nonjudgmental when engaging in conversation with difficult individuals. May be force be with me :)

Baby K - Bum Shuffling Rocks

My best-friend's daughter is 11 months old and i gave her a moniker "Strawberry Head" because in the morning, the shape of her head resembles a strawberry where a cluster of hair on her crown stands straight like the calyx of the strawberry. 

I warmed up to her during my short stay at their home in Aberdeen.

She is one special baby and she is the first baby that I know who does not crawl. Instead of crawling she moves by scooting around on her posterior using her hands to propel her forward. Based on my best friend or her mummy, she will skip crawling entirely while learning to walk. And that very movement is called bum shuffle. It took me awhile before I remember the term. It was beyond entertaining to see her scoot around using her derriere. I miss Strawberry Head.

Where do I draw my strength?

I had a one-on-one with my boss’s boss two weeks ago. I had mulled over the topics for our discussion. The fact is I don’t want to appear unprepared for the meeting. It was a good meeting. He gave me a lot of encouragement, good advice and one very important point to ponder on.

He asked me to find out for myself "Where do I draw my strength from?".


I find fulfillment when I learn a new technology i.e. a TOI(transfer of Information) about a new product, read a book, complete a long hike, complete the Ashtanga sequences every Thursday night and learn to make a new dessert. I draw strength from tasks that make me feel fulfilled, whole and also nurtured my soul.


I started on a new job about 2 months ago. I realized after the meeting I am overwhelmed with work that I was and still am reacting to crisis and problem. I have not been able to keep up with my emails. I can’t seem to find the time to go through each and every one of them. I spend the day time in meetings and late afternoon catching up on emails and tasks. I need to get myself out of this routine. It is going to hurt me on the long run.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. I am learning new traits and searching for myself. I need goals in my job that would fulfill me. I need to draw strength from work. I don’t want to feel like I am working at all.


I have a plan. Now, my ducks are not in a row. I am adamant to succeed. I will come out triumphant. Wait and see!

Beer Garden Party

I am never a beer person and at most I would drink a bottle when I am out. I love to host small events at home where I could mingle with my dear friends. I thought of hosting a beer tasting party. After some research on the internet and talking to my beer connoisseur friends (probably everyone I know), it was execution time. I co-hosted the party with a girlfriend and my roommate.

This was a blind tasting party by beer type with the intention to see my friends’ reaction after each beer tasting type. The bottles were camouflaged in gold Christmas wrapping paper and each was given a god’s name. We used Greek gods for lager, Roman gods for pilsner and lastly Hindu gods for ale.

Our beer menu:
Lager
Dos Equis = Zeus
Negra Modelo = Hera
Stella Artois = Poseidon
Heineken = Aphrodite

Pilsner
Sudwerk = Jupiter
Spaten = Juno
Tsingtao = Neptune
Asahi = Venus

Ale
Hoegaarden = Krishna
Newcastle = Shiva

Our lovely tasting beer:

Our tasting sheet:


After tasting each beer type, I revealed the beer served in each group. My friends filled in their answers for question 4 (see tasting sheet) and later removed the wrapping paper to review the beer.

In my opinion, Negra Modelo is a very smooth beer. I would definitely drink it again. My roommate was disappointed with Dos Equis. He commented that "Zeus" tasted like plain water. Newcastle was a preferred drink for most of my American friends.

We served snacks, sausages and bread. It was a simple and casual party. The party started at 6:30PM and ended at around 11PM. The beer tasting party was a success!