SPRING

I did not go to the gym today. Intolerable stomach cramp. Already have had 2 Tylenols and yet the cramp has not subsided. It surly is going to be one dreary day for me.
Rather than wasting my time sleeping, I decided to get up and make a fresh round of coffee and enjoy the morning routine of reading newspapers regardless of the pain.

I slip out of my pajamas,put on my rough looking jeans and quickly put on a cap to hide my rugged look and headed outside. The puddles ahead of me loomed large and soggy. With the remnants of a bad back, I attempted to step around them with as much agility as I could muster.

Why is there a puddle when it is such a sunny day? Maybe some inconsiderate person tried to wash their car and did not even manage to clean the mess. Usually, I use my front door to check my mails, however, since I had no exercise today, I decided to use the back door and this is what I had to deal with.

The puddle with just enough depth to force me to get my slippers wet, stared at me saying, “ I dare you to walk on top of me.” Why would I want to ruin my day walking on top of you, I thought, and quickly closed the door behind and walked back to my apartment and used the front door.

I was beginning to get exhausted. Exhausted of not doing anything. My stomach pain is not getting any better.

I got an email from my brother this morning. He had sent me a picture of “Sakura.” Cherry blossom. So, I guess SPRING has arrived. Looking at those pictures, I was reminiscing back my days in Japan. We used to live in a place called “ Sakura Shimanchi,” which means town of Sakura, and during this season the streets would be filled with Sakura. Over the weekends, all the roads would be blocked and there would be concerts, games and picnics. Really nice time of the year and I would just love riding my bikes enjoying the sakuras. It seems ages now.

The picture above is nearby my parent’s house in Tokyo.Across their apartment, they have a a long canal surrounded by sakura trees which is very popular for running, jogging, taking your dog to walk..all sort of doing relaxing thing. I used to run along this canal every night in summer with cool summer breeze. Three years back I was in DC around the spring time and it felt like Japan. Sakuras everywhere.

Well, spring is officially here. At least as official as weather gets around here. Sure, we could have six inches of snow tomorrow and nobody would bat an eye, but we'll just trust that won't happen. Knowing BOSTON, anything could JUST happen.

Let us speak no more of winter. And we also get to enter daylight savings time. That's always something. Beats setting the clocks back, anyway, though then you get an extra hour of sleep. And, of course, spring also means Easter. On the way back from my gym, I always notice one store with the decoration of bunny and Easter eggs. I don't know if its just coincidence that it happens during spring, but it's fitting regardless. So the whole thing is just cool. Well, warmer than it was. You get my meaning, I trust.

On the side note, Day light saving will start from Second Sunday of March, next year. That’s not Spring, it is WINTER , Thanks to the 2005 Energy Policy Act)

That said; let me end this blog as my throbbing pain is haunting me. A round of hot milk and hot shower will do me good.

Prasanna’s friend from school, Sagar dai and his wife are here from Delaware and they will be joining us for dinner along with Motu dai and Ishwar dai.

Have a great weekend!!

Beautiful day

Another beautiful day…

It is one of those days where you want to stay in the pool and happily soak up the sun.It looked sunny but as I was slowly walking home from the gym, I was bit disappointed when some clouds threw me into shadow.

Where did the SUN go??
Opening my eyes under my sunglasses, I stared straight up into the sky where the thunderheads were rolling in, one after another like celestial anvils. Storms mesmerize me.

Here is how the scenario looked like: Picture a stormy ocean in your head, now whitewash it: turn the deep blues to a transparent azure, the whitecaps to a brilliant white against the blue and the shadows beneath the wave crests from dark to charcoal grey. That is what the sky looked like, pockets of thunderheads with menacing gray centers.

These crazy weathers!!! they are like chameleon changing their pattern whenever they want. Really hard to trust them… and now look at this… all the thunderclouds are gone and it is sunnnnnyyyy again.

Dreams

A while back I started to get this déjà vu moments that would knock me off by my feet.Suddenly I would see something and it would bring back almost total but vague recognition of something I had felt there before. It’s really hard to explain. Dreams I had, I assume, would flood my mind, having dealt with that place. I would see the things I had seen before and feel the way I felt. It was more a flood of emotion than anything else. Welling up and overtaking me.

There is a time, I think, that this all stems from. In between sleeping and waking up there is a period where I hate dreaming such dreams and hate realizing they are slipping away. It is a terrible deep down sickness that makes my eyes squint and make me roll over and stuff my face in the pillow.Arghhh! There is so much physical distance in them; yet the difference in concept is uncanny.

It is bit ironic, if you look at the Nepali calendar, where they actually have the translation of your dream. Somehow it cannot be any more obtuse. Like really, if you see a bottle of a beer in your dream.. You will have a great source of income..

So much for the dream… What else…..

I’ve been going on a journey, a wild ride, a rush of emotions like a roller coaster, and now the wind is dying down.

Keeping up with WSJ somewhat seems impossible. Everyday, the newspaper feels more and more thicker. I guess it is good that Prasanna has an immense interest in reading this. Usually, he recommends me to read the article of his interest (which usually matches my interest as well) and then only would I take the initiative of reading it. Otherwise, it is just quick skimming...

For instance, I am currently reading an article titled “ Democracy isn’t Western,’ by Amartya Sen, a world renowned economist and a Nobel Prize winner in Economics. What I strongly agree with this is on the idea that the determinism of culture is increasingly used in contempory global discussions to generate pessissimism about the feasibility of a democratic state, or of a flourishing enonomy.

I would not have known about his article had it not been for Mr. D. Sometimes, there are so many articles and I have no patience to go through each one of them. My solution is to quickly read the headlines and my the time I need the editorial section, I am already tierd. But for the articles recommended my Prasanna, which are usually interesting ones, I usually make an effort to do the detailed reading.

I have a class today.. so I gotta go and prepare.

With that, I close my labtop and give you a hearty farewell… Adieu!

rest..

Just got back from the library after finishing the 3 hours of studying. My brain needs a rest.

I am sipping my first round of coffee for the day. I do not even remember the last time I had the coffee, the home made one. It really has been ages. Suddenly, I have become the fan of the “ boost.” Let me assure you the fact that I have not regretted making this change =) this was also one of my ways of escaping the mundane routine.

I feel surprisingly very relaxed today, considering the fact that I ran for almost 30 min and Must be the yoga I suppose. Yes, I finally did the honour of going to the class. Today was my first day, and I have the urge to fly.. fly….fly very high! It was very relaxing.

The music does it all.. some sort of chant... so soothing..

Let’s quickly recapitulate my weekend shall we…

Friday- Shailendra dai and Sanjay were at our place for dinner. We had a nice jazzy and candle light dinner.

Saturday- We had initially planned to finish couple of our errands, but to our dismay, the weather did not play his part. As it was not one of the pleasant Saturdays, rather than hastily getting up, we decided to have a relaxed morning. After having a quick breakfast.. Croissants and tea, we got ready to go to the "Tax session" hosted by the Net-Nep organizations. The session indeed was very beneficial for both of us being a newly married couple and the credit definitely goes to the excellent speaker Mr. Shambu karki.

Later that evening, we went to the Surprise party hosted for Anil dai and Neevs, (the to-be bride and groom) at Motu dai’s and Ishwar dai’s residence. The party was a blast. Meeting with Sebs and the Connecticut gang was fun =) one of the main highlights of the night of course was the beautiful songs sung by the great singers.. Motu dai and Prasanna. Om bikram bista’s song is still humming in my head… The party was great. Thanks to Sebi dijju.

Sunday was bit busy day..…. Lot of studying needed to be done.. Therefore, we were in the library till 11:00 at night… yeah.. it was a long day.

Just turned on the MTV.Spring break in on. It would take an eternity to recount the 'adventures' of Spring Break. I had come to Boston for my First spring break…

Wow.. it seems ages…

The weather is absoultely gorgeous outside. Must be in upper 40's. I want to Run.. everyone in running.I can smell SPRING and just thinking about this makes me SMILE. The next to do chores in my list is to repair my bike. the tyres are all flat... I am excited to ride my bikes again!!!

I have absolutely no idea how to end this blog. Everybody knows that the ending shouldn't be abrupt. Rather than boring you by dwelling into my redundancy or writing some banal thoughts, I suppose it would be very advisable for me to put a full stop to my blog at this minute.

Sayonara.

There.. it was not that bad… =)

MIT 50 K

“ Tere lie ham hain jiye, honton ko siye” - From Veer Zara

It was my first thought, this morning aside from the alarm clock, which is less a thought than a reaction, there was a song. It happens every now and then; I will wake up with a song resounding in my head that I have not heard in a while. But this was different cause; I had recently watched this movie. A powerful soothing song about love and destiny, the lust sin, and the mutual torture, which binds us together. It stuck with me this morning, forced by every step, measured by every breath, strikingly beautiful and foreboding.

This was the music that encapsulated my day… =)

What else…
The semi final round for the 50k was on Tuesday at the Stata Center, the most funkiest buildings at the MIT. The room was clustered with hundreds of eagerly waiting participants and somewhere in that crowd nervously stood our team, BOTICA.

There were 150 participants, and among that, 40 were going to be selected, so I guess the ratio was 1:5. To our dismay, our team was not selected. Jay, the chief developer of our team had really worked hard. In hindsight, we were probably a little optimistic with the revenue streams in our business plan. Nevertheless, everyone in the team still believes that the business and technology of our venture is viable. We'll see where this venture takes us.

This has definitely been a great experience for me. I got to meet or I should say, network with some wonderful people and one of our team members got the award for having been involved in the most number of projects.

The speaker for the event was a lady called Linda Rottenberg, a Harvard and a Yale graduate and who had successfully opened her own venture called “ Endeavor.” Such a strong lady who never capitulated despite the ghastly comments she got regarding her venture ideas. One thing that really struck me was when she said, “ Do not worry if people say your idea is CRAZY, you might need to only think back, if they do not say anything about your idea.” Fair enough!!

Her story about pursuing her dream was very encouraging. The most interesting one was where she practically went to wait infront of the men's bathroom to get hold of a person she wanted to meet. WOW!! I really admire her for taking her dream this far.

The event overall was very interesting. I found the atmosphere to be very casual and cordial.I am looking forward to going to the Final event. Two years back, Vinod Khosla, the venture capitalist at Silicon Valley's Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was the guest speaker.

Aside from this let’s see what else is happening…

I got an A in my midterm paper for Accounting and yes I am thrilled. Accounting being one of my most disliked subjects, I was really ecstatic to get this grade. The weather is REALLY gloomy today. The forecast claims the temperature to be in upper 40s; however, it seems like in lower 30s. It is quite cold.

It is Friday night today. Yeahhh.

I just got back from the GYM. I was deprived of the energy today. I do not know why. I just could not RUN. I feel drained. Therefore, inorder to recuperate myself, I am sitting with a big cup of " BOOST." =)

Looking out of the window, the weather is making me go into a long blissful sleep.

Sweet Dreams

Yup, I have realized that I have been bit behind writing the blog.

It is about 1:00 in the morning. Prasanna is doing his office work and I decided to give him a company in this wee hour and supposedly write a blog as well.

We just had a dinner. Pad thai, masaman curry and some mike’s pastries for desert.

Nothing new has happened recently..

Let me recollect back…

My Thulo daddy was here in Boston. He came from Mississippi for a meeting for two days. I had not see him for almost two years and it was a wonderful to see him. I was very very excited. I was actually in MS with them for four longg years. Even though it was a very short time, we really had a great time. He will leave back for Mississippi tomorrow.

What else… I have become a very big fan of “ BOOST.” =) Actually, I have become very addictive and drink like two cups a day.

My blog may be representative of my train of thoughts… the thoughts which is not making an absolute sense. Streamlined forward in one dimension, but very fastly moving, clunky, and awkwardly belching .

Forgive the inability to articulate; although my writing is decent..I think

I guess you can blame it for the late hours.Speaking about hours, it is almost 2 now. 2 in the morning and Prasanna is still typing furiously. What is he typing I wonder...but I dare not disturb him. My battery in the labtop is running low and I really cannot be bothered to plug in the outlet.

I guess the only solution now it to bid farewell.

Good night.. sleep tight..

Relaxation

Happiness is …relaxing in preparation of impending relaxation.

Had a wonderful weekend. Also well invigorated this morning. I went to the gym and did brisk walk for 40 min and some weights. At this time, I can barely walk. I am assuming I am out of shape AGAIN!!!!

The last two days has been gorgeous. Bit cold but Thank GOD the Sun was out. the days has been BEAUTIFUL. I love being able to go outside without bundling up.. Coats, scarfs, gloves… Not that I have anything against these clothes, mind you, but still. It's a nuisance. Depite the outlook of the day, I nontheless try to dress very warmly. I have learned the lessons on my occasions.

Friday, I was successful in making my first Lasagne. =) Both Prasanna and Sanjay are my alibis. Really, it turned out quite good for the amateur level.

We decided to relax with a movie on Friday night.

Syriana.( Parking played extra favourbaly that night)

What a beautiful movie it was. George Clooney really deserved that Oscar.
The movie has succeded in depecting the role of “ Corruption.” How sometimes, even though you know it is wrong, you do not have any choice but to keep quiet and act like nothing has happened. Yup! It is difficult to do it this way, but that is how how society is molded. While watching this movie, you come across the situation like this in numerous occasions.

This is a definetly a must see movie. You will also get the clear picture of the role of the AMERICAN governmet abroad.

Saturday was very relaxing as well. Spur of the moment, we decided to drive down to Cape Cod, Plymouth to be EXACT. And I am very proud to say that I drove for 3 hours that day. I drove and drove and drove. The place was beautiful and yes, I did see the Stone with 1620 written on it.

That night, we had dinner with Shialendra dai. Initially, we wanted to eat at “ DALI,” the Spanish restaurant but the wait was for almost two hours. As it was so ludicrously improbable to control our hunger; we decided to go to “ Atascia, ” the Portuguese restaurant in Cambridge. Even though, the wait was for about 50 min, along with the GREAT company ( Mr. D and Shailendra dai, the two most gregarious guys =)) and the great ambience, it did not matter a whole lot and the FOOD was simply DELICIOUS.

Sunday was a laid back day. We both headed to the gym and latter in the day, we manged to do little bit of studying. We wanted to go to the St Patrick’s Day parade but really could not be bothered to.

It is cold Monday today. Really windy. I can hear the wind swooshing by my ear.

I just read an article in the Time magazine about the GOOGLE founders. Those guys are impressive. The owner of the $ 100 billion empire that is dominating the internet.. The most fascinating thing is how far they have reached in order to fulfill the needs of their employers. The most surprising thing for me was having a “Salon.” isn’t it.Their stock price has already soared to $475, from $85 and expected to reach $600 at the end of the year. WOW!

Who would have known two ordinary PhD guys from Stanford, now literally conquering the Internet world.

I guess it pays off to become a risk taker.

Is the life of non-riskiness; is the life of fear, sitting at home, and being oh so comfortable really worth a penny?

It's probably worth a lot more in terms of wealth, monetary wealth.

But can it hold a candle to ecstasy ??

On the side note, I am currently flipping through the pages of WSJ (I am tying my best to become an avid reader). “ The case against Vitamins” is the title. I am one of the gobblers of the “ Centrum.” And the motive behind is in a bid to ward off ill wealth.

Let see what this article has to say. I am excited to show this to my hubby who is always tells me to take the supplements =)

So long for now.

Rejuvenating thoughts.....

I was in an alternate reality for the past few days. I was journeying, walking along a road. And here I am now; miraculously resting until the next headwind or bog picks me up. The journey was fun! ...Superb I must say

Today is the last day of my medication. I am getting better. The flue is gone.. dry cough, still exists! I really do not feel the compunction to write, but I feel like I should write something for I have been in the hibernation mode for a while. =)

The exciting news first—

Yesterday, I met with Randal, the winner of the APPRENTICE show last season. He is the Rhodes Scholar and got his education from MIT, Oxford and what not. I had the 50k meeting(Yes, I am involved at the MIT 50k competition and hopefully our idea will get selected for the semi-final round) at the Marriot hotel in Kendal square and as we were wrapping up, this huge guy with a black over coat comes down the escelator.

He looks somewhat familiar. “ Isn’t that Randal from Apprentice,” I ecstatically told Jay, my fellow colleague who also happened to be the fan of the show?

Yesss...

We hurriedly walked towards Randal, shook his hand and had a brief talk.

My first question to him was “ Why did you not let Rebecca, (his competitor) to be the Apprentii as well”? Donald Trump had actually asked him if he would let Rebecca to be an apprentice as well.

“ I was clearly the winner and I did not want to share my gold medal with anyone but myself," Fair enough, I suppose!

Upon answering the question on how it was working at the Trump tower, he gleefully replied saying, " It's been a GREAT experience." I am sure..working with the Tycoon of NY must be an experience.

As we were talking with him,couple of other guys also came and shook his hand. There were people in the hotel who had no idea who he was. It looked funny. I only wished I had the camera and I was so excited that I completely forgot to take his autograph. Oh well... next time..

Lot has happened last week...... I was sick.. ugghhhhhh....

- Despite my sickness, Prasanna and I, we managed to go see the BASKETBALL game. Celtic VS Miami Heat and saw SHAQ!! Celtic lost by 3 point.. but the game was really exciting.. The whole ambiance was very thrilling. We saw couple of players from the Patriots.

- Daddy ( my father- in –law) was here. He was in Sweden and Finland for a talk and came to visit us in Boston. We had a GREATTTT time with him. Unfortunately, the trip was just too short.

- Over the weekend went to Connecticut l to meet with one of his teachers’ family. The weather was Great, the family was very hospitable and the trip was fun. We also had a chance to get a quick tour of the YALE University which was sooo beautiful.

- On Sunday, we went to New Hampshire to visit Bhola dai at “ Café Momo.” Sunday was unpleasantly gloomy, but the overall ride was fun filled one. In the evening, after doing quick shopping at Filenes, we had a dinner at Penang =)

- Daddy, also gave a talk at Chalphal on the topic of " Constitutionalism and Democracy in Nepal ". The turnout was very good. There were total of 20 people and the talk indeed was very interesting. For people who had no idea of what was going on in Nepal, this talk was very detail and helpful.

- Along with Daddy, I also got to attend the Talk show at the Harvard JFK school given by Shobha Gautam, one of the popular women activist in Nepal and friend of daddy. The talk was on the “ Women’s perspective on the Issues of Maoist.” Who would have known, I got to meet with Shobha ji, in Boston, of all the places.

- Since Daddy, studied in MIT and JFk, he has lot of friends here in Boston. We also got chance to meet and network with his friends and professors and hear their stories.. this was a very nice experience for us..

We also managed to the movie “ Veer Zeera.” The movie is long and Ok I suppose, but the songs are beautifullllllll.

It is really suffocating in the house literally and figuratively. I guess it is the heat. It is cold outside, but with the heat it is so dry and makes me fatigued with the antibiotic. Maybe this is my cue to stop the blog.

Weekend is here.. no plans.. If you recall—I believe in Carpe Diem Style. We have borrowed the movie “AMELIE” from the library. I have already seen it. I want Mr. D to see it. This is a very good French movie If you have not seen it. The actress of this movie is going to be playing with Tom Hanks in "Da Vinci Code."

What else-- Ah! it feels good to be back!

Beauty of getting flue

Sore throat
Running nose
Teary eyes
Throbbing headache

Bad ache everywhere
Lack of energy
No appetite

Tylenol, Vicks, Soup
Feeling Drowsy
Thermometer

Cough, Cough and Cough,
High Fever
Tissue everywhere..
Lethargic

Loving husband
Special care
Lots of attention
for one second it is painful
for the rest it's unearthly
ecstatical

Drink, Drink Drink he says..
I slowly feel better..
the temperature is dropping down
I think I will be allright..

Taj mahal

Winter Olympic finished today. I am watching the closing ceremony. Brilliant one I must say. It came and went just like the wind. I do not feel proud saying that I did not follow the game at all.

Saturday - It was snowing!!

Sunday- Sunny but it is 8 degree outside that is like negative 20 c Brrr!

I look outside.. Light glances off the glacial yard and drive in spots... never as a whole... and it still blind you. Fields that end up as expansive mirrors for the sun and the moon, glassed over by snow, ice, and frozen rain put through the deep freeze kiln at night.

I had a throbbing headache last night and the night before. I do not know what the real cause is.

Must be cold.

I feel bit better though. Both Prasanna and I, we had signed up for the free practice test at Harvard, sadly, I did not make it through. I just could not get up.

With my usual round of morning coffee, I flip through the pages of the Wall Street Journal. The picture of TAJ MAHAL beautifully stands in the Art section. It has been exactly one year since our visit to Taj Mahal last year. I still vividly remember how the guards had stopped us both when they found out our Nepalese passports. We had actually told them we were Indians and had humbly denied on having any sort of Identification with us.(while completly fogetting about the two passports in my hand bag). How scared I was when the entire situation got even worse, when they saw the Japanese visa in my passport.

" I knew they were not Indians"- screamed the lady guard.

I had already imagined us inside the Indian Jails. Now it seems all funny thinking how we were trying to pretend we were Indian from Darjeeling. Thankfully, this bahadur police dai came to our rescue and let us in side the Tajmahal in peace.

The sight was simple breathtaking! Every time we looked at Taj, it looked different. The colour of its white marble changed throughout the day, from the waxy yellow at dawn through to the pastel blue gray of a full moon.

I must admit I was little bit disappointed when I first saw “ Mona Lisa.” It was smaller than what I had imagined and looked bit lost in the midst of roaring crowds. However, this is not the case of Taj. It does not disappoint the first time, nor the third….. and I am assuming, not even in your 50th time.

Paresh dai, my inspirer of the blog world =) got here from Barcelona on Friday night for Pushpa, his sister's wedding. We had gone to pick him up at airport and were mesmerized by the energy he had and how excited he sounded about his MBA experience. He really succeeded in convincing both of us to visit Barcelona, which is definitely on our next visit list.

Weekend was a fun one. We went to Puspha’s wedding on Saturday. It was nice meeting with everyone after a long time. Both the bride and groom looked very beautiful. The ambience was great and the food was excellent. What a GREAT combination. Sunday was relaxing day. Along with Sanjay, we went to Sommerville to grab some fresh “Jeri.” However, "swari" was not as good as we had anticipated.. but I guess we have to be lucky, we actually got to eat them. After the quick nibble, we went for a long drive. Long drive around downtown. “Sade” was playing in the background and the drive was as smooth as her song.

My “flu” is in the remission for the time being. Won’t know till tomorrow. Thanks to the “tiger balm, Nyquil and the Vicks. I am having the second round of tea. Liquid is all I can think about. I also managed to finish the EXTRA large chicken soup at the “ Pho Pasteur.” My nose is mysteriously bruised. I suspect it is from the handkerchief… too much rubbing.

I think it is time to sleep. No time to give up,maybe it is a tool time. Hey, it is always a possibility =)

Have a great night!

Babi's visit to boston

Somber but content afternoon.

The road looks quite empty but I suspect it always is during this type of weather.

The aroma of the coffee beautifully captures the entire living room.

Once again. Back in my favourite sofa with a lukewarm cup of coffee and surrounded by my friendly, yet difficult accounting books.

Decided to take a quick break.. opened my laptop and thought about writing a blog.. the long over due one.

Hastily, I turn on the tv- soothing song pops on- the song makes me smile. The background is nice. Why would a song, which I have only heard for the first time brought smile in my face I wonder? Or perhaps, I am listening it all wrong and grasping a wrong interpretation.

However, feeling this music, my thoughts cleansed to the point where the mutinous one was very rare. As I listened to a particularly uplifting and yet subversively maddening song, I start to think…think and think. I have done lot of that lately. Nothing of any importance, mind you but nonetheless, my brain is doing its meager best to think! I would also like to acknowledge that I was not thinking about pretentious metaphors. Oh, the things, I could think. Or more aptly, things I could not think. I guess it depends on if you are a half full or a half empty type person.

My mind is like a train. Or, at least, when it is working, it is. It plows, chugs, chortles, whistles, and veers....but always manages to somehow stay on track. thank god ! :)

Anyways! Babi was here for the weekend. Babi is Prasanna’s grandmother. It was a short but very memorable and blissful stay and most of all! The weather was very nice. She came to Boston from Louisiana on Saturday evening. Sunday, we went for the scenic, or I should say OCEAN drive. Even though, the weather was bit chilly and windy, the sun made it a very “good” day. Monday was a “shopping day,” and we managed to hit almost all the possible stores. IKEA, Prudential, Galleria, Filenes, Target..to name a few.That evening, we had Prasanna’s delicious IRANIAN pilaf- The one is a MUST to have from his great lists of food =)Tuesday was a relaxing day. After the quick lunch, Babi and I, took and bus and the T, and then went to the downtown. Babi thought Boston's T was more bigger than the Tube in London. Very very true I thought! The weather was nice. Mediocre day I suppose. The sun was shinning and it was not as windy as rest of the weekend. We went to Filenes and Macys’s and did whole lot of shopping. It was a shopping fiesta. Shopping and more shopping. After the 4 day short stay in Boston, she left for LA on Wednesday.

Seeing her affection towards her grandson made me realize how much I missed my own grandmother. Didi, my grandmum from my dad side, passed away three years back. I really did not get to spend as much time as I wanted to. When we moved to Japan, we visited Nepal once every two years for the brief time of 2 months and that was it. How I wished I had more time to spend with them. All I have is her memories, which I will always cherish. I got to spend lot of time with my maternal grandmother “Ama.” My grandparents were in Mississippi during my junior and senior year of college and I got to spend lot of time with them then. I am very grateful for those days. I considered myself lucky to have gotten chance to spend with my grandparents in Nepal past summer. Being away from the loved once really made me realize not to take anything for granted.

In other news, I met with the associate director of Suffolk the other day. They have something called the “Global” MBA with a core concentration focused on International Business and that is my very interest. I have not decided on anything yet, but have let all my options open.

Uhhh—what else -Prerna, my friend came to visit me yesterday for our little “group” study. But I have to confess; it was more of a catching up time. She is a great cook and also taught me to make 3 delicious dishes. 1. Falafel 2. Lasagne and 3. Frankie. I am going to try the Falafal tonight.. hopefully it will go all well!

I got an email from Rakhi, the group leader from the MIT 50k. She wants to meet next Friday. Maybe, I might actually be involved in gathering some experiences out of this entrepreneurial competition. Hey, I always have room for more experiences!

and one more thing--- We watched " kabhi kabhi"-- what a beautiful movie it is. So simple yet, so Romantic and the songs and the dialogue.. can anyone beat this?

I cannot bear typing anymore. I apologize for the long silence… there was too much going on. Will try to be more consistent from now on.

Procrastinator

I should have my blogging rights revoked. I've gotten really bad at keeping up with writing.I am not trying to be kind to myself, but NO I am not trying to be a Procrastinator either. I could make excuses and say that I've been really busy. WEll, the truth is I have been bit busy.

But on the bright side, hey! I am back! I will be doing this more often, more than you what have anticipated. Well, yes. I do surf the Internet with an almost alarming frequency (but it still does not give me enough time to write the blog). And despite the sometimes eclectic nature of the pages I surf, I can plow through high volumes of information at a rather snail rate so this kind of takes most of my time. Well....not really.... Bare with me please.

I opted to get involved in Amnesty international. Yesterday was my first meeting. There was a brief overview on the issues of trials, temptation and tribulation. Really very intriguing one. I got to meet people from various different places. Indonesia, Belarus, China. …to name a few. They have this GOTB, (get on the bus) program coming up. This is the Amnesty’s largest demonstration on Human Rights issues, which will be held at Manhattan. Looks very interesting.. who knows, you might just see me on tv=)

There are some ideas jogging in my mind below. I have realized this usually happens when I stop writing the blog consecutively. I have so much to write and I do not know where to start.

Right now.. My mind is like a sponge----Big bulky sponge.

I listened to my Buddhist chant today. It’s no longer a sinister addition to my mornings, in fact quite the opposite. You know. It's a soothing introduction to the new day. It also seems to help me to remember my dreams more accurately. Sometimes when you are having a rough or I should say boring day, reminiscing your dream will take you into this whole new world.

February is such a boring month anyway with that bleakly winter - we need something to celebrate. So voila—there is the Valentines Day. It was nice. Nothing especial since we just had our anniversary. We had a plan of eating a good home cooked meal, but somehow, Prasanna got locked out, so we ended up having a dinner at John Harvard. This place has good ambience and we always enjoy it. It was a good dinner.

We just got back from the MIT’s 50 k competition’s meeting. It was interesting one. On the last meeting I had send my profile, and I was actually contacted by one of the teams. They project involves developing application for hurricanes aftermaths. It sounds really very fascinating. Let’s see what the future holds.They had the "team" dinner. "Bertuccis's" pizza and italian deserts was on the list. not bad..

I have been quiet addicted to coffee these days. I guess the caffeine is slowly loosing its power because I can slowly feel myself becoming drowsy. It is only 10:30 now. Have you ever found yourself totally immersed in something totally bizarre? The ironic thing is. I'm so blank right now. It's awesome. I'm not feeling anything....my brain has shut off for now.yet! I am happy.

Ahhh-- It is a good night, or it may be an illusion but I am happy. I am tierd but happy. Prasanna is busy enjoying his favourite tv shows "Seinfield." The windows are still open. The night is pitch black and it is clearly accentuating the beautiful moon. Cool breeze slowly slides in.How I love this beautiful scene.

Well invigorated this morning, I decided to do little bit of weights and I seriously believe that every inch of my body is completely soared. It hurts like anything. I have yet to face the real consequences tomorrow morning.

So this means, it means time for me to say good night.

winter

So, not having too much to talk about today, but wanting to keep current, I thought I'd expound momentarily on my weekend.

Well, what a morning. I got woken up couple of times and then I finally got out of bed.

Today is Monday. A day hated by many. And, as it turns out, rightfully so. For it has pagan roots and seriously ought to be thrown out.

I went to gym today. I resumed my daily routine. My kneecap is getting better. Usually I would brisk walk home after my workout session, however, today, I decided to take the bus to avoid the cold weather. I also had the study session at BU for my Accounting class and I feel great, GREAT that I finished the supposedly “difficult” case study.

Weekend--- We had the blizzard =)

Winter is a song and a season and something different. The true color of winter has finally decided to reveal its true face. The long awaited snowstorm finally arrived along with the silent wind with a wild ambassador that presented more awful than the shriek of a maskaline. It was quite powerful and was successful in bringing us with 1 foot of snow.

Mr D, finally got his beloved “Waffle maker,” yeah!!! And The Bistas, Pradeep dai and kamana were here for brunch. It really was torturous of us to make them walk in that blizzard with wind coming 40 mph however, we managed to have a good brunch. The waffle was quite a success indeed. =) We had a good time.That night, since it was a very snowy day, we decided to actually walk in the snow to get the minced meat for “momo.”

Walking in snow was fun—very fluffy.. everywhere so white…. So beautiful.

Momo was great!

Sunday was very relaxing.

Saturday- We were invited at the Yadavs along with Sishir dai’s family.. Food was Excellent.. I mean it was Superb! We always have fun at the YADAV residence
Very fun loving people and we love them.

Friday – We went to “ Ryles,” the Jazz club after dinner and enjoyed the Music. We completely got diluted in the soothing ambience and quickly forget how cold it was outside.

(Again, bare with me here.. I am jumping from one point to another with no particular reason! ) Like a Hob Nob in tea, my head appears to be unable to absorb detail at the moment. I had just called the customer service of the united Airlines, simply requesting them to add my 1000 miles, which I had earned but was not able to add because of "their"computer problem. For this simple issue, I was transferred to 3 different people and had a 45 min annoying argument. What a waste of my energy!! Sometimes, these types of call really infuriates me.

Shamefully I have to confront of not having read the “DA Vinci Code.” The book still seats neatly on our living room table with the beautiful picture of Mona Lisa smiling right back at me. I have not had time….. been bit busy. Really I have. Homework’s and all.

I am still desperately waiting to read, “The world is flat.” Let see how long I have to suffer.

I just had the chance to see the maoist leader, Prachadra’s Interview. It was good but still it is quite frightful how he said that the “king has to either exile or get executed.” I hope something good happens soon.

The Olympic is going on I suppose. Not the slightest idea of what is happening. Heard that Michelle Kwan decided to pull out from the Olympic. I feel sympathetic towards her for this. she had a dream of getting a "gold" medal this year and I guess, she can no longer fulfill it.

Babi is coming this Saturday and Daddy will come after that! Very very excited =) All tright then--- HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!! Have a good time with your loved ones :)

The Road not taken

It is Friday afternoon.. I walked towards to window and wonderfully gazed outside the heaven and saw nothing but lack of clouds so I stepped outside. The sun was shining but it was bitter cold outside. Must be around 20s. The weekend weather does not look that appealing.. Snow on Sunday.. Expect at least a foot of snow the weather reports says. It is cold.

I have not been to the gym for two days. My kneecap hurts. It is because of cold I presume. The pain was really throbbing yesterday but thanks to the “balm” I had, it helped a great deal. I will resume with my gym from tomorrow.

The IDEAS meeting at MIT was interesting. I found a group with my interest. Their project is concentrating on some rural development work in India. I think I will get involved.

Today is the Winter Olympic. It is taking place in Torrino. Italy. I was in Tokyo, 11th grade to be exact when the winder Olympic took place in Nagano. How thrilled we all were during our lunchtime to talk about Illa Kulik, the Russian Skater. I wonder if he is going to be there this time in Italy?

It is getting dark now. The figures of the trees silhouetted against the setting sun slowly disappear infront of my eyes. I can see the moon. It is cream ish colour at the moment. All is wonderful. The jazz music is soft and the late news is hidden somewhere behind my candle light and the mouths of the reporters utter no sounds to my tired ears and it is just tomorrow in her eyes, thats all.

People make too great of a variable in real life.There is no way to rationalize ..to predict or to gamble on people. Any minute event changes feelings, changes emotions.

Enjoy reading this poem. It is my favorite by Robert Frost.

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Oops, I forgot to divulge my innate character. I will unambiguously assert my ambivalence!

Surprised are you ? =)

Rambling

I don't know how I do it, but I seem to be missing every other day for this week; even though I just made a promise that I would write "every day."

My account is that it is not me; it is that days are gulped down in the vortex of time.I have been observing and redefining what I want out of this blog.

Not a whole lot has been happened recently.

I have started reading “ Da Vinci Code.”

As I am writing this, I suddenly find myself staring at the big bulky door in front of me. By the way, I am at the Library. Doors are horribly ironic. Really they seem unappreciated don't they? Most people don't even notice them, and if they do, it is because they pose an obstacle to their destination.

Anyways, back to the book. As I have mentioned earlier in my blogs, that I have already read the book but I am re-reading it because I was in Louvre this past Christmas and now I can actually empathize with the places.

I have noticed 3 things while reading the first few chapters.

1- Eiffel tower is actually referred as a “She.” Well it was in the book, so I am assuming that is a she to the fellow Parisians
2-The main entrance of “ the Louvre,” La Pyramid was actually designed by a Chinese born American architect I.M.Pei
3-Mitterrand was referred to as a “Sphinx” for filling Paris with Egyptians obelisks, art, and artifacts.

This story is an exhilaratingly brainy thriller. The author Dan Brown, delivers a crackling, intricate mystery, complete with breathtaking escapes and several stunning surprises. The book is thick, very thick and I really wonder when will I be able to open the “CODE.” I am really looking forward to watch the movie this summer. Hopefully, with Tom Hanks in it, it will be a thrill to watch.

On the side note, what is the deal with that cartoon of Mohammad?

“Protests over Danish cartoons continued today in several countries, and four protesters were killed in Afghanistan” - NY times.

Bare with me today. This blog is basically going to be a rambling….rambling dictated by my inner monologue and unfortunately there are not any coherent patterns in my head.

I had a lunch with Prerna and her friends today. Prerna is a friend of mine from The Extension School and her dad is the CEO of this Lakhi Group Jewelry Company in India who has a branch in NY, Belgium and Africa. Being the daughter of the CEO is quite impressive. What do you say?

Along with my husband Prasanna, I have also decided to get involved in the MIT 50 K competition. It is the Entrepreneurship Competition. The whole point here is to meet or I should say network with the world-class entrepreneurs, investors’ business professionals and gain some experiences. I missed the first meeting yesterday, because I had my Accounting class. Today is going to be my first meeting. Hopefully, I will gain some insights.

Tragically, I should get going. I was enjoying writing down these rambling. But not to worry.. my rambling has a long way to go!

Time is on my side

The title of this post holds no significant meaning. Memories, yes. But nothing pertinent to what I am going to write. The picture- it is from kandinsky- one of my favourite artists.

I don’t know what to write today. I also seem to advertently have missed a day.

Oh. Well.

Any News? None really.

Weekend was good. My cousin was here. We went to see the movie “ Rang de Basanti.” Bad choice. The movie was getting really interesting and Aamir Khans’ acting was great however, the ending of the movie took a different twist and was bit disappointing.

Superbowl was fun— Steelers! Won—Even though I was do not understanding a whole lot. We had a great company.The Yadavs -Shailendra dai and Sanjay were here.

I would say it was a fairly overall balanced weekend.

And yes! I have finished “ The alchemist.”

The boy completes the last leg of his journey–dangerous and infused with discoveries of the most profound kind–to find that the treasure he was looking for was waiting for him in the place where he least expected

This story, timeless and entertaining, exotic yet simple, breaks down the journey we all take to find the most meaningful treasures in our lives into steps that are at once natural and magical. It depicts the faith, power and courage we all have within us to pursue the intricate path of a personal Legend, a path charted by the mysterious magnet of destiny but obscured by distractions. Lots and lots of Distractions!

With all these fears tucked neatly at the back of my mind I waded into my impending DREAM. Will I ever be able to fulfill I begin to wonder? Wonder again and AGAIN!Do I have the courage to go as far as the shepard did?

Life is frightening sometimes but theres no way around that. You cannot deny yourself the paralyzing and perplexing times that could ultimately define your life. Time will tell—I keep on telling myself. This is what has kept me going this far. It gives me hope to re-live. There has been numerous times where I just wanted to give up absolutely everything and then again, this dream comes back and gives me hope to keep on going.

Something interesting- Repeating criticisms and negative thought to oneself, even if it may seem like “making an improvement,” may actually result in a very focused fixation on your negative qualities.

" Da Vinci Code," is next on line. I have not the slightest idea when I will be starting. Soon I hope.

I think it is time for me to do some homework!

Weekend is here

Knowing the fact that I will not be writing for next two days (Did I mention tomorrow is the weekend and this week is the SUPERBOWL, so I am quite positive that I will not be writing), I decided to drop couple of lines today.

Rain, Rain and more Rain—that is the update of the weather outside. It is one of those bitter and gloomy days where you have absolute no mood to do anything at all. However, I did manage to do couple of things done. I went to the gym early morning and ran for about 45 min and I feel good and fresh! I am slowly recovering the out-of-shape phase.

Just made a round of FRESH coffee and about to write my quick blog for the day. Today is FRIDAY, it feels good knowing that weekend lies ahead of you. My cousin, Suravi is coming today and I am very excited. She is the same age as Priti, my sister actually 10 days younger to her. She is a freshman at Mount Holyoke and will be visiting us for the weekend. The last time I met her was at my other cousin’s wedding in Dallas.

Do not know Weekends hold. Always something exciting for sure. Carpe Diem! That is how I like to follow everyday! =) Carpe Diem? Confused? This line is from the movie,“ Dead Poet Society,” one of my favorite ones, the bottom line here is “ SEIZE THE DAY,” just take the day as it comes and make the best out of it. So that is how our weekend is going to be.

Quick Update on “ The Alchemist, ”- I have yet to finish the book. It will be done the next time I write her. That is a Promise!

As I was reading the book it made me question what is there about change, freedom and dreaming that gets quenched as we move through life? We both live in fear: fear of social isolation, or fear that an event will occur again. Being afraid to dream means giving up some of the juice of life. You gain security by losing vitality.

One thing that this book has taught me for sure is that it is worth to have a few falls along the way if you get to hike up to the tallest mountain in your dreams.

Oopss…I think it is time for me to pick Suravi up.

So long for today.

happy anniversary

And so, the voyage continues………….

I quickly take a peep outside. The day looks wonderful. Even though it's not a bright, sunny day yet, the first ray has popped over the side of the hill.

Today again, I am the master of my own destiny. I need not construct a scaffold of time scheduling to ensure that all of my major things get done. I am free like a bird and with a control of own destiny.

I leave the house at 8:30 and head to the gym. I run for 45 min and was impressed with my staggering result. I had burned 400 calories. Considering it was my second day, I was quite impressed with it. Cardio is my only focus this whole week. I feel happy and relaxed. However, my body hurts. It hurts like anything. I think I am still in a major Out-of-shape phase. Now, I am back in the apt is and reading “ The Alchemist,” which is now almost over. Yeah!!

"When you really want something, the universe always conspires in your favor."

This is one of my favorite quotes from the book and it is filled with encouragement.It really gives you vibe and self-confidence when you know the “ universe” conspires in your favor.It does not mean you do not have to fight for it, but just knowing that things can be done if you pursue it aggresively gives you a bit of a relief.I really have been glued to this book for the past couple of days. Here is the brief rundown. It is a story about a boy, a Shepard who yearns to travel. He has a dream about going to Egypt and finding the hidden treasures. He faces with numerous hindrances along the way, but he has the will and power to continue looking for his destiny. This book is basically about following your dream. "The Alchemist", is an exciting novel that bursts with optimism; it is the kind of novel that tells you that everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen. It tells us we should not avoid our destinies, and urges people to follow their dreams.

While reading that book, my eyes wander off to the two beautiful bouquets that lays beautifully on the top of the kitchen table. I had received these yesterday for our anniversary. It was a GREAT surprise for me. I was very estatic. One was from my parents and the other one from my husband, Mr. D.

The flowers are beautiful and its beautiful aroma has managed to capture the entire room. I looked at it and smiled back. It is one of those special moments that does that to you. Just brings a smile in your face for no particular reason. Here it goes again, another SMILE =) What a memorable day it was. We have blissfully completed the first years of our marriage and entered into the second year. We got to talk with our family members from Nepal and Japan and got sweet emails from all the loved once bringing smiles to our faces. Unfortunately, I had a class last night and after the class we went to “ Island Hopper,” the Asian restaurant for dinner. Luck favored us and we did not spend a whole lot looking for parking. Food was delicious and the ambiance was fabulous. =)

Can I ask for more? It had been a Very GOOD day for me.

A lovely day

Ah, what a difficult day to blog. Lot of things, GOOD things are happening today. Lot to write but so little time. I am afraid this one will have to be less elaborate, and much shorter than I had hoped. Well I can just cramp everything.. but NAH! It can wait one more day. No hurry. I want to jot down everything in my memory lane very descriptively because each of my events has it’s own significance.

Just the other day, I got a call from the library about “ The Alchemist.” I was very excited and got that book along with “ Da Vinci Code.” I have already read this book but wanted to re read it and connect to what I seen at the Louvre. I am almost done with the Alchemist….. will definitely will you up with the story.

I FINALLY joined the GYM and went for a short workout this morning. Since it was my first morning, I did not want to overdo it. I ran for 45 min and that felt good. I realized how much I had missed running.

Well some one just buzzed at the door and I just received a bouquet of flowers. WOW!!!! Who had sent me these flowers? Hey! Why not let this be a suspense. I will reveal it the next time. Promise.

Today is our Anniversary! Yup!! I have been with Mrs. Dhungel for a whole year now and look forward to spending “Golden Jubilee” with Mr. D.

I have a class today. So need to catch up a bit On the studying part.

The Weekend

I will try to write this blog more as a personal 'journal' entry seeing as I have no definitive topic, which I wish to pursue. This one is going to be a mixture for three days.

Friday - It was a nice and peaceful one. Good way to start my weekend I suppose. After dinner, we started watching this Hindi movie “ Ek Ajnabee” and were agonized when the sound gradually began to disappear and we soon found ourselves staring at the caption on the screen. Can it get any more annoying than this?!!! The movie had just started to become very interesting. It had a unique story and was just not like any other regular Indian movies. The setting was in Bangkok! However, much we wanted to watch, we had no choice but the stop. We both had no other choice but to console each other saying "next time".

Saturday- We had a clear wintry morning in the city. Lately, I've grown tired of waking to a dark sky, but this one initiated with a brilliant sunrise and with the bird chirping, I could not be happier. The weather gradually became warmer and soon, it was Excellent. This was a good morning! Since we had a very hectic weekdays, we tried to make this day as relaxed and laid back as possible. Prasanna managed to play his guitar and was singing some of his favourite songs. This was also a catch up time for me in terms of doing some chores, basically cleaning the house. After our quick brunch of fresh tuna and parmesan“ baguette,” we decided to go for a nice drive. We made a quick stopover at the HAY MARKET. I love shopping at this open market. Not every weekend per se, but once in a while can be a FUN activity. The collection of vegetables somehow always manages to leave me overwhelming.

We had a quick swirl around the city and I managed to do couple of quick errands.We were also trying to find a "Waffle maker," since prasanna lovees waffle .Nope! we had no luck. Maybe next time. Another "next time" in two days!

Dinner was GREAT. We were invited at a house of a friend of ours. We had a nice “Business Talk,” YUP! I am talking A Real business here… =) Sorry, the idea is ABSOLUTELY confidential at the moment but surly and most certainly will expose it 100% once we become FAMOUS. ;) We had an American dinner with the mixture of salad, French bread, pita bread, hummus and turkey along with a good Chardonnay!

Sunday- GLOOMY DAY!!!! UGGHH!! I realized that I had become a compulsive thinker (Compulsive might be a strong word BUT I have become a REAL thinker!!!). Each waking moment, I would be thinking of something to be done, or bought, or needed to be said. I just would be ten steps ahead of the time. If I was not thinking I was planning, or I was worrying. If nothing else, I would catch myself daydreaming about useless thing and I mean ABSOLUTE useless thing. I constantly struggle with being overly sensitive to the "offhand" remarks that people tend to give me. I cannot help it. It is an innate behaviour that I have.This ANNOYING and relentless thought process had a telling effect. At the end of the day, I would feel fatigued and exhausted, even if I had done nothing physically demanding.

Yoga is the best way of helping your mind relax, ( I am aware of it ) but many people like myself =) find excuses not to practise it every day. All you have to do is let go of all thoughts. There is no need to even focus on your breathing, In fact, the whole intention is to focus on nothing, because focusing causes the mind to exert itself. Even though I have not joined YOGA classes,I am very much determined to join the Gym from tomorrow. I absolutely love running! I have stretched my mental muscles too far, without giving them a chance to relax. So joining the GYM is actually going to be a GOOD start.

How was my Sunday?

VERYYYY Relaxed. Prasanna had his Raag, so he definitely had a good start. The weather was back to being GLOOMY, so really we did not have too much zeal on going outside. Was skimming through the channels and “Australian open” was on. I rooted for the new dude from Cyprus, Baghdatis. He lost! He got defeated by the Roger Federer. But the fact he had reached all the way to the finals is already a prestigious thing. So I do not think there was too much of a disappointment for this new comer.

Now, I am about to continue the movie “ Last Samurai.” Very very good one. Good movie to add in the collection.The scenes of JAPAN were breathtaking. I really do not know where they shot the scene but I am quite definite it is not in Tokyo.I have lived in Japan for 5 years and have yet to discover lot of beautiful places. Well there is always next time!

Off I go, good nighhhtttt.

OR I should say, time to enjoy the movie.

Back to Reading mode

I try not to lose time. I frequently lose other things, like my keys, my notebooks, my pens, but never my time. Therefore, I have started reading a book.

“Love Creeps,” is its title.

“ The world is Flat,” by Thomas Friedman and “ The Alchemist “ by Paulo Choleo is still on my top list. However, after several attempts at the library and in despair of not finding the book, reluctantly I decided to put it on hold and move on. “ Love Creeps" by Amanda Filipacchi caught my eye. The title sounded interesting and it was on the top 10 New Year’s Best Seller List. What is the risk one could have I thought?

How is the book so far? “ I am not at liberty to divulge that kind of information.” =) Just kidding!

The book is very interesting. Interesting than I thought! Reading this book made me realize sometimes incidents happen innocently. It is a story about a lady, Lynn, who is actually being stalked herself decides to stalk another guy. The reason she does this is because she claims to have lost the " interest and desire" in herself. Rather than gradually turning on a neurotic wreck by ending up restoring an alcohol or drugs, she decided to regain her power by taking this move of “stalking.” I suppose, she wants to test on her stalkee whether or not if it would be possible in succeeding through this means of "stalking." Yup! You have never heard a girl stalker.

But VOILA!! Here you go!! I guess this was her remedy to deal with the confusion in her life. Who has not been through this stage in their life right? Sounds bit ironic but let’s see how far she goes.

What to write today? I think writing in the morning is a lot harder. I have lots of thoughts, very broad, very expansive, but if I wrote them all you'd feel as if you were staring at the pattern of clouds in the sky. I really hope you don't at this very moment!

Well, I suppose when you make a concrete effort to write every day in a blog, then it will have to by nature turn to something more personal. It is hard to write day after day about something outside of yourself, unless you are highly familiar with it. RIGHT!!!

I started my fist class at Boston University yesterday. The class is “Finance and Managerial Accounting.” No, I am not enrolled in BU, just taking this course. The course obviously is accounting. It is the graduate level course with lot of financial statements, balance sheets, retained earning ratio,to name but a few . Along with the American students, the class is filled with mixture of international students from China, Pakistan, Egypt and India. I am looking forward to recollecting my old memories back.

What else has been happening…. I have been driving a lot lately. When Prasanna comes back from work, he usually likes to take me for a quick spin, which of course I always look forward to. Driving in downtown Boston is not a problem for me; it is just when we enter the highway and changing the lanes that gives me a fright.

“ Practice! Perseverance and Patience!”

I hear these words repeatedly. Thanks to Prasanna’s persistence, I have really come this far in driving. Really, I owe a lot to him. It was him who repeatedly reminded me to get the license and drive in Nepal and because of that I can drive a manual car. Not confidently, but I can mange it. His persistence is what makes me stronger. Had it not been for him, I would have given up HOPE! on a lot of things longgg time back. Taking “Risk” is what he has taught me and I would like to follow it diligently.

All right then.. So long for now!

Do I have the free time in the world or what =) Two blogs in one day! I must be kidding right?

Anyways, I just wanted to write a new one for this special occasion.

Yesterday marked the completion of the second year since Prasanna and I first met. Yup! I had first come to Boston on the 23rd of January,2004 and that is the day I had met Prasanna for the first time. So I guess we have met each other for two years now. Two long years and many more to come…..

We went to "John Harvard" yesterday and had a nice dinner and chat. Nice chat!! =) he he..

February 1st marks our one-year wedding anniversary. Something to look forward to again!

Ciao

Just when I thought the weather was finally going to be prefect, It Snowss!!!! Arghhhhhh

Weekend was absolutely gorgeous. It was in the 50s- or something with no wind. It smelled like spring. Really very rare at this time around. Early spring is so raw here. No flowers, or chirping of the birds or the bright happy flowers smiling at each other. Spring is my favorite season. At least better than the HOT and humid summer. Just knowing that in a few months everything will be shiny and new again, gives me a good reason to revive again.

So we had a snow yesterday. This one was probably the second big one for this year. It must have been around 5 inches I would say. However, the weather is sunny again. I have not dared to go out. Seeing people all buddle up does not really me that enthusiastic so my remedy was to stay home and try to make some “ Nimki.”


Let’s recollect back to the weekend shall we =). On Friday, we went to see the movie, “Memoirs of Geisha.” "Geisha" in fact derives from the Japanese word for art. A true Geisha is believed to have a power to steal an attention of a man with a single wink. This movie depicts an unparallel look at a strange, mysterious and exotic world, which has now almost vanished. In the 21st century, the word geisha is just a term and soon it will be gone and will be only seen in the Japanese history.

This movie successfully portrays how the district behind its facade of haunting beauty turns out to be a viciously competitive place where women strive desperately for men's favor,where personal trust is almost nonexistent, and where no woman can afford even to dream about love or happiness. This movie is also a dazzling portrait of a singular and most seductive woman, Sayuri who tells her story in a compelling first person voice. It is the true confession of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.

“This is not a memoir of an Empress, or a princess but is a memoir of a Geisha.” This is how the movie ends, with this powerful statement and completely congeals us, the viewers.

The movie was beautiful.

The main character wrapped me up in her world with a beauty rarely seen elsewhere. She wove a mysterious tale, spun a web with her narrative, and fed me with heartstopping images and beauty I admired. Oodles of applause to Sayuri, for her bravery. Despite being the victim of a cruel and repressive system, she eventually managed to soar by becoming the “ desirable” geisha.

I had read the book long time back, freshmen year in college to be exact. It is indeed ironic how Arthur Golden, an American man who has written the book in the voice of a Japanese woman, illustrates the portrayal of a Japanese society, Japanese society in the 40’s before the Great Depression.

I really wanted to see this movie and finally got the chance. Thanks to my hubby. =) Japan looked so different then. The setting of this movie also reminded me that of "Oshin," the popular Japanese drama that was so famous back home when I was little.Little wooden house, clustered neighbourhood, tiny people is what I had in my mind whenever I thought about Japan.

My actual visit to Tokyo when I was 13 made me see the "New" Japan. My passion to learn about the Japanese culture forced me to learn their language and I still crave to understand their society, the society which is so vast yet so implicit. This movie surly helped me to get one step closer. "Last Samurai" is on my next list.

This was a good way to start our weekend =) I cannot complain.

Every now and then I get into a reflective mood, thinking about what I have seen in the world so far, pondering about what has happenned in my life, and in others' lives.Lot is inside me but still there are constraints. What could that be one may ask? Trust me there are lots! Life is not that simple is it?

I often sit in front of the computer with the desire of pouring everything inside me, but then again I get stuck. Amazingly, My smooth train of thought just stops! When will I be able to jot down thoroughly? I have been patient…well not that tolerant per-se but there is some degree to it. I do not know how long this will last. I am really hoping this will not go too long. (If you have no idea what I just wrote, just give me couple of days, I will explain everything!)

Today is little bit relaxing day for me. Yesterday was a complete marathon. I was just running around the town getting completely soaked in the Rain.

I got up in the morning. Made a fresh round of coffee and quickly skimmed through the Wall Street Journal I had got it from the Babson College yesterday. (If you are a student at Babson, the MBA student gets FREE WSJ! Amazing isn’ t. and NO!! I am not a student at Babson =) I was reading this article of a Stanford drop out student who later became the CEO of the Hubstub.com. This is a company where they buy and sell concert tickets and is doing GREAT!! His mum was not very pleased when her son decided to make this move. But now, with his status, I am quite positive; she must be gleefully enjoying the life he has now.

It is my grandfather’s birthday tomorrow. He is going to be turning 85. I browsed through muncha.com and Thamel.com and ended up buying, bed of roses for the occasion. Hopefully, with the curfews and all, it will get to the house by Saturday morning.

Now, I am going through the headlines at the nepalnews.com. Curfew has still been imposed in the capital for whole day tomorrow. Soon it will a year since the king has taken the coup d’ etat role. Yet, nothing has changed. Leaders talk, civilians agonize, rich are getting richer and poor getting worsevBUT the country’s political situation has not changed a bit. Nepal’s foreign donors are sending mixed signals about their future engagement in the country .The election are coming closer. That is the positive sign I suppose. Like all the Nepalese back home, I am optimistic about the action chairman Gyanendra will be delivering in the darkest hours. Some spirit that has kept the civilian’s hope up.

Filhahal- I finally got a chance to watch this movie. I had left it half finished about 3 years back with my grandparents. Lot has changed since then and I never really had the chance to actually see that movie again . I would go to the store and ask, but my bad luck I suppose, the movie would never be there. I FINALLY saw that movie. Really nice one. It is about the “ surrogate motherhood.” The story is really unique and the song called “ Filhaal” is absolutely beautiful.

Prasanna is coming back from San Fran today. I am excited. He has been gone for 2 days, 2 lonnnggg days. I am glad today in Thursday, one more day and the weekend. My old college friend Jennifer is going to be visiting her brother in New Hampshire, so I am thinking about catching up with her.

I found this cute picture of the Kumari bhagwan at the internet. I saw Kumari for the first time, last winter when I was in nepal. It was a wonderful expereince indeed.

Rain Keeps Falling on my head.….. So I just did some talking' to the sun. ( Just hoped for the Sun!! It was no where to be seen) .I just wanted to sing this song all day. The only thing I wished was that I the rain was actually dripping on my head and not my whole body. It was one of those craziest weathers.

It rained all day and it was heavy downfall. I was completely DRENCEHED AND SOAKED!!!
It was one of those tiring days. Anil dai, dropped me off at Babson this morning. I got up like 6 0’ clock. I had the alarm for 6:30, but I had a fear of over sleeping and got up really early.

After the meeting with Mark, I took a cab and went to the Riverside station and then came home. Took the paper Mark had asked me to fax and again, off I went to the Harvard Station.
Waiting for the bus, and walking towards the Kinkos was the most atrocious part. This was where I got completely washed by the outrageous rain.

I came home, cooked dinner. Prasanna is away for Business. He has gone to San Francisco and is coming back tomorrow. Yup! he is off to San Fran AGAIN! Unable to cope with his absence and to have some fun, I had invited Arpana. =)Arpana and Navin came for dinner with cheese cake :) I made tuna dip and crackers with wine for snack and typical nepali food for dinner. We had a nice catch up after long time. It had been ages.

The dinner is over. They just left for home. It has been a long and strenuous day for me. So I am off to bed! Good night…..

I was debating on whether to write this or not BUT!! then I thought WHY NOT!!

Life is not always blissful. Yup! Shit happens.Well today, was one of those days. Not keen on having something like this again!!

I did not do anything special. Was studying for a almost all day and that was about it.

Last night was fun. We had the YADAV familys along with Neevs and Anil dai for dinner.It was the loonnggg owed dinner for Anil dai and Neevs. We had fun. I had cooked Alfredo Shrimp Pasta but by the time we had our dinner, all the alfredo sauce was gone and the pasta was pretty dry! It did not look like this when I had just made it. I guess I had that in the oven for a long time.

So long for today. I just am not in the best mood to write today!

The Excitement is yet to be finished….

Our Euro tour was indeed a marvelous one. Very very memorable. This is something I will cherish forever and will share it to my great grand children if I still live by then =)

Life back to Boston was slowly going normal when one afternoon I got a call from my husband. “Would you like to go to San Francisco this weekend?” I was still in a surprised state when he said that. “ I have the client meeting on Monday and Tuesday.”

I have made it as far as Los Angeles, but not to San Fran and I have really heard a lotttt about the place. My husband is really in loveeee, I mean absolutely in love with this place and really wanted me to see it. I was bit hesitant. I had my final paper due that weekend. Even though it was a take home, it would need lot of thinking. My case was on Procter and Gamble and I still needed to do bit of a research.

However excited I was, I still was double minded. Should I go or not? He was going to be gone for 4 days and I just could not imagine what I would be doing for this period of time. But on the other hand, I still had my finals.

Nevertheless, I did manage to go there at the last minute by using the extra ticket I had from my mileage.

San Fran was beautiful. The weather was absolutely beautiful. It was more like a summer time for us(considering how cold Boston was). The first day, we made a drive to Monterrey, along with my brother in law, Malu. He is an investment banker and lives in San Fran. The drive was beautiful. The ocean was right there and luckily the weather was NOT playing against our favour even though the forecast had
predicted “ showers.” We also made it to Palo Alto and had a quick visit at the Stanford University. I was really happy to see the sculpturs of RODIN. I love RODIN and we had just visited the " musee de Rodin" and it was like DEJA VU seeing it all over again! I was happy! We met up with one of my husbands friend from school and ended ourlongg day with a lovely
“Burmese dinner.”

Napa, was our target for the next day. After making a quick stopover at the Golden Bridge, we took the Route 1, and drove all the way to Sanoma and Napa valley. We had a lunch at this Nepalese restaurant in Sonoma. Yet! another pick from Malu babu and what can I say, it was very delicious indeed!!

Yup! Vienyards,( actually without any grape vines), is what we saw throughout our drive. We made couple of stops to do the wine tasting. That night, we watched the Golden gates at night and it was really really beautiful. The Silhouette was breathtaking!!

Overall tour trip was really nice. On Monday, I also took a tour at the famous “Alcatraz jail.” San Fran was actually our third trip in a month. London, Paris and San Fran.. and we had also made it to Tokyo this past summer so I cannot complain =)

I Absolutely LOVE travelling.

Did I tell you I am discovering more moles in my feet. =) I seriously have six moles.

The excitement continuous…..

Bienvennu PARIS!

After the 3 days trip to London, on the 29th, we headed towards PARIS. We took the Euro Star from Waterloo Station, London to Gare du Nord, Paris. PARIS was FABULOUS. “ You will really like Paris,” priti had told us prior to our departure and it was very true. The city was splendid.

My school friend Aradhana, aka Aru, had emailed us all the details on how to get to our hotel from the Subway. With that direction, we did not have a single problem. The hotel was situated right at the exit of the Ballard station…very convenient place.

This was our first evening at Paris. After freshening up we met up with Aru and her gang at this resturant called “ les Rousollion.” This was one of the hang out spots for Aru and her gang and the most surprising thing was, Aru while skimming the page of lonely planet landed on the same page where this restaurant was recommended! Funny isn’t.

After the quick nibble we went for a stroll around the city. The roads were small yet packed with shops, bakeries, cheese shops and farmers market. Louis Vutton, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Chanel, all the famous brand name shop laid right in front of my eyes. The street looked very similar to the one in New Roads, London on the other hand, mixture of New York and Boston.

Eiffel tower!!! Wow! Got to see the Eiffel tower! So beautiful and so big!

The Japanese have also also made the “ Tokyo Tower,” kind of like the replicate of Eiffel tower. Tokyo tower, is beautiful, however, the only thing that I do not like it is the how the tower is situated in the middle of the busy city. There are no gardens or walking area like the one in Paris!

Our next stop was Louvre. I was excited about going to Louvre. Especially about seeing the Mona lisa. I had read Dan Browns “ Da vinchi code” and was very much looking forward to seeing it. Louvre was simply amazing. The architect.. WOW!!!

The other intersting news is that- they are now planning to open LOUVRE 2, and amongst the 200 applicants, they have selcted a Japanese Architect for the design. YEAH!

We spend about 2 and half hours inside the museum and YES!!! We managed to have a good look at the Mona lisa. Also managed to take her picture. The palace was beautiful. The architect.. Simply breathtaking. Another picture that struck me most was the “ last supper.” The size of the painting was as big as the size of the whole wall, yet the picture was so descriptive. It clearly must have been of years and years of work!

After Loure, we had a nice and collddd walk near the Notre Dame area and had a relaxing lunch at one of the restaurants at the Latin Quarter. One thing you will enjoy for sure in France is the Food!! The food there is unbelievable. It is really really good!

Picasso’s museum is also a must go place and another of my favorite one is the Musee of Rodin! I had studied about Rodin during my junior and senior of high school and finally had the chance to see it. The thinker, the gate of hell… I had read about it and was happy to have actually been able to see it!

We also had a nice boat ride at the Saine River. The view was spectacular. It is really amazing how many bridges the town had. There really were lots!!!

New Years was great in Paris. Together with Pradeep dai and Kamana, we welcomed the New year 2006 in Paris, the city of love.

We had bit of a trouble finding cabs as all the train station was closed. BUT, huffing and puffing, we did manage to get to the hotel at 2:00 in the morning. It was a memorable incident.

Again! Happpy New Year to everyone!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

Adieu to the year 2005. Yet another new beginning has arrived. Both my husband and I, we had gone for a short Euro Tour. We left Boston on the 23rd of December and arrived back on the 2nd(this gives a very good reason for my being behind on the blog worldJ)

Our first stop was in London. We got off at Gatwick and then proceeded off to the Lime Street, Liverpool. The train ride was marvelous other than the bit chaos we had for taking the wrong one. “Virgin Train,” it was called and it could not be any smoother and the view of the countryside was absolutely gorgeous!

After being in the airplane for almost 8 hours, this ride felt like Heaven!

I was very ecstatic to meet with my sister. She is a second year medical student at the University of Liverpool. Priti along with her friend lona were waiting for us at the Train station. I was very excited! and estatic!!!

After having a quick lunch with the Gray family, we went out to see the Liverpool town. The “Beatles” town indeed was a very small town basically dominated by the pubs. It was the Christmas Eve and basically everything was closed, however, we did mange to get a quick glance of the overall downtown.

We had a very good night sleep and was awakened by the Birthday girl at 11 0’ clock in the morning or should I say in the Afternoon!! It was the Christmas Day!!!!! and Priti’s birthday. She came inside our room with two stockings in her hand. The Grays had also made us two Christmas stocking filled with Cadbury chocolates and gifts. I got the “ English Tea Set,” and my husband got the English Wine and the London Ale. We had a delicious English breakfast, beans, potatoes, sausage, toast, you name it !!

There were lots!!!

That afternoon we went to another English family for Christmas dinner. We really had a chance to enjoy the classic English feasts. This was more or less like an American Thanks giving dinner with Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing’s, sprouts, carrots, gravy along with the best English toffee pudding for dinner!


Boxing day followed the Christmas day and the town was practically dead. Everything was closed except the shops of course!! Major Christmas sales were going on in the downtown Liverpool. Priti took us around her university and we visited two of these different yet magnificent cathedrals from the 18th centuries. Later that night, we went to her apartment and got a quick tour and headed off to London the next day!! This was a short but very very memorable trip with my sister.

It took us about 2 hours to get to London and we both fell in love with the city right away. Our hotel was in Piccadilly Circus, the heart of the town. We were both very excited to see London. After taking a quick shower, we headed for sightseeing. We took a walk to the Trafelaue Square and went to the National Gallery museum. The museum was beautiful. After spending about 2 hours, we went a nice evening walk. (cause it was the winter time, I would say, night walk to be more precise!! )

Both my husband and I, we had this dream about coming to London and that dream was right in front of us. We were actually walking in the city of London, right next to the West minister abbey and passing by the Big Ben!! The sight was simply marvellous!! That night we had a lovely dinner at this restaurant called Kahn recommended by malu babu. After the dinner we walked around even more. The street were signing with the Christmas lights.. we walked and walked and walked even more!!!!

The next day, we made the trip to the famous Buckingham Palace and was really hoping to see Prince WILLS!! My bad luck, he was no were to be seen. But we did manage to take a quick glimpse at the changing of the guards!! Poor them, it must really be a torture to wear that big hat!! This was not the very pleasant day as the weather was really cold. We decided to take the open bus tour!! Bad idea… however beautiful the view of London was, the torturous wind was not going to stop following us. It was unbearably cold!!!!!! The wind chill was throbbing our hearts!!! We soon forgot our pain, upon entering the Madam Taussad’s museum. I had seen the picture of my parents’ long time back and had always wanted to come here and VOILA!!! Here I was!! The museum was really amazing. I did manage to get some pictures with hot studs.... including Sadam Hussain !!!! Nope.. I am not kidding.. His statue was there as well along with Pablo Picasso, and David Beckham.

That night we took a quick spin at the most famous HARRODS!! The mall was magnificent with encrypted woodcraft of the Egyptians Pharaohs in the walls and staircase railings. I met my old high school friend PRIYA, after 6 years. She drove us around London and actually showed us the residence of LAXMI MITTAL!! The billionaire of England. Just couple of weeks ago, I had watched a show titled, “ Most extravagant wedding,” and the Mittal had actually rented the PALACE of VERSAILLE for his daughter’s wedding!!! MAN!!! What a life…

That night, Priya took us to her resturant, “HIMALAYAN SPICE,” and we had lovely and delicious, dhal,bhat and masuuuu!!!! yup! this was HER resturant!

This is it for today.. Next time.. I will fill up with the story from PARIS!!! the city of love!!

Promise.. lots more to come!!