And the heat is on...

The weekend ended on a "hot" note what with an incessant heat advisory in our neck of the wood...we hid inside the house. I did make my customary trek down to the Farmer's Market after 5 weeks...unusual for me -- I scored some incredibly fresh chinese spinach, daikon radish,broccolli,okra, yams,squash, mandarins and strawberries. I am all set for my week's quota of vegetables ( I almost sound like a vegetable salad!).I cooked up a storm with an array of vegetarian lentils and vegetables and I also baked a cake (yum!)...

Monday was work as usual...Tuesday was fun in part and frustrating in others...frustrating because I am a creature of habits and I had to give up my office of 13 months and move to a new spot...I do stay light, so the move itself was painless nevertheless frustrating. Tuesday was fun because of a fun video the team shot...every now and then I realize what an incredibly fun team I work with and fun project I am on and things start looking up.

I got home about 7ish and my poor little tyke had a 102 fever ( I don't know what its with these kids and constant sickness), so I gave him some juice and some paracetemol and he is in bed watching Mickey Mouse...

I am hoping the hot weather lightens up to something more bearable but honestly the weather here is so amazing...where else do you get incredible views of the water, the romantic fogs, the woodsy hills...it is just amazing. The picture above is thanks to A, a colleague who shot this Turkey Vulture in her amazing backyard...WOW!

Around the world on five dollars...

This week was long and hectic. We had a work meeting that was 3 days long...so between the presentations, meetings, roadmap reviews, other miscellaneous reviews and team dinners, there wasn't much time left over to relax. I did get the chance to hang out with two ladies whom I really like E & M...and met some new colleagues face to face whom I really liked.

I had some really good food and some really bad...we were at this brewhouse called Tied House in Mountain View which had bar food -- greasy garlic fries, fried calamari, grilled chicken sausage...the list went on. I had a margharita and grilled Salmon and woke up in the night with a splitting headache....next day I hung out with my favorite ladies at Xanh...I stuck to a green tea and clay pot cod...great ambience and even better company. Next day saw me,M & D at Shana Thai brainstorming on our strategies for an upcoming presentation and I was so happy that it was time already for the weekend.

In the evening on Friday, I did some basic grocery shopping (organic milk, bread, Egg Whites etc), ate some spicy chaat (don't know what Chaat is ...check here), went for a relaxed walk and watched "Traitor" (yes, the one publicised by Michael Savage).

Today, K1 took K2 to the gym while I relaxed around the house and watched a recorded "Medium" episode. We went to the "Immigrants Festival" at the Redwood City Courthouse -- where they had food from China, Mexico, Japan, Philipinnes, Basque (Spain), Italian, Portugal and India. We got 2 tasting cards for $5 each (each worth 7 tastes) and began our vacation. I absolutely loved the Italian Sausage and Polenta, the cheese and custard tart from Portugal and the lamb stew at the Basque station. K2 loved the cheese, the breads, the lumpia...we filled our tummies, watched some cultural shows - Portuguese Singing, Basque and Mexican Dancing...the heat chased us away to Jamba Juice (it was 100 degrees outside)...I am lying in my cool soft bed watching Winnie the Pooh with K2...his idea of heaven. Here's to more adventures with food, family and friends....

p.s - this is a picture of the basque lamb stew from one of the wonderful food blogs

Anchors Away & an Award !!!

My definition of seventh heaven - A walk in the park with my toddler, watching him play with the almost tame ducks, watch him drawing uneven circles with sidewalk chalk...and having him steal half my icecream (Nestle, Triple Chocolate).

The last 2 weeks were hectic...what with a move, a toddler with bronchitis and 2 disorganized people trying to get organized. We did end up moving - I lost a couple pots and pans...and the famous pressure cooker I blogged about a month back...was I heart broken -- YES!!! I did have my friend P loan his trusty pressure pan to me and glad to report that things worked out.

Work wise things have been working out great. The service I launched 2 months back is slowly gaining popularity and the number of users on the service is growing leaps and bounds. We have won an internal award and are the finalist for another one...the team is motivated to make things happen...and in my dictionary -- that is a perfect 10.

Yet there is an inertia settling in and I need to shake it up...maybe it is the tired body rebelling from the move...Mother's Day was uneventful...no breakfast in bed...just a tired Product Manager surfing amazon for the best deals on weighing scales...no haven't gained weight...just lost my old weighing scale in the move.

Today my plan is to lay in bed and watch the past episodes of "Medium" that I recorded and relax with a cuppa of peppermint tea. Here's to new beginnings...

Creativity Unleashed - Part 2

If you have been following my blog you know what this is about...if you are at a loss, you can go back and read the post Creativity Unleashed ;-)

The 2nd Poetry Competition was tougher...there was a word Consigliore which I had never heard off ...this poem I named Obsession...Enjoy
(I)
A love so deep, in a heart so tender,
Enslaved was I, my soul captured…
The rapture of first love captivating me such,
No other reality did exist.
(II)
Yet something was missing,
You saw me as your consigliore,
Someone you could lean on,
You liked the absolute oblation of self,
Yet your freedom you chose to keep,
(III)
In walked that handsome stranger,
And you decided to walk into the sunset with him,
The shaft of hopeless love pierced deep through my soul,
Slowly draining the life from my being
(IV)
The shared sense of ethos dying a painful death,
A broken raft lost in the stormy sea…
I consoled myself with thoughts of revenge,
Fueling the monstrous beast within…
(V)
The sun was shining brightly,
I walked up to you my darling,
You were with your lover smiling radiantly,
You looked at me with your dark beautiful eyes,
The jealousy corroding like acid
I picked up the 38 and aimed,
In the end all that remained was a pool of blood…

Luck By Chance

Every storm has to lighten out, die down, wash out to nothingness...and all that is left to remind you of the storm is a whitewashed clean, moonlit beach. How do I know - I used to sit in the verandah of my parent's place in Chennai -- watching the rains, thunder and storms...and the peace after. Life follows an analogous path...sunshine, rain,storms and then peace.

We had a busy week and a busier weekend...we unwound with an atypical Hindi movie - Luck By Chance. It was thought provoking -- talking about a man who charms, manipulates and weaves his magic through Tinsel Town, not believing in luck but his success rest in but the charmed vagaries of lady luck....on his way he tramples a few friends and his love and in the end he is at the pinnacle of success but all alone...is that enough?

Craig's List has been my new best friend...the source of offering up all our wonderful treasures that we have accumulated over the years that we finally need to get rid off -- the 3 TV stands (all unused because of course the TV is mounted on the wall), my wonderfully traditional Coffee table that doesn't fit in with our new design ideas...my study table which stood me good stead when I got my straight A's in school...need I go on...

The next couple weeks will be exciting and interesting and I will definitely keep you posted...

Half Priced Sushi and Peter Senge

Have you had weeks in your life where Peter Senge's principle of Learning Disabilities suddenly makes sense - I had read the "Fifth Discipline" in 1991 and I have to admit that a lot of what he talked about took a couple more years to get internalized in my system. There are of course days when I have to give myself pep talks on - Me not being just my position but moving beyond to objectively look at all I have experienced and internalized over the years. Learning has come in the form of organizational learning, on-the-job learning and most importantly life's learnings that I am applying to the work on hand.

My 2 and half year old son has taught me a lot about Product Management -
(A) How to prioritize and focus on the most important things
(B) Say No when it makes sense to say No (Other than Mama and Dada, his first word probably was No)
(C) He asks for help when he knows he is overwhelmed (he makes a pitiful face and says Help!)...Applying that principle at work requires more finesse but I am learning (Isn't a Learning Organization all about Shared Vision and Team Work).

The past 2 weeks have been hectic with work deliverables but the weekend has been a peaceful respite - we took K2 to the Zoo and to the temple.

Yesterday was a very warm day and we made our trek upto San Mateo to buy Non-Fat Icecream Yogurt and passed by this really crowded Japanese Market -- when I asked someone about the crowd...I learnt about this half-priced Sushi Deal at 6.30 PM. What can I say...I didn't pass up on a good deal ...I snagged a couple Sushi Bento Boxes - Vegetarian California Rolls (no raw fish for me )...What a deal ! Don't ask me what is for lunch tomorrow -- now you know.

Other than that hanging out and about with the family...introspection is my middle name this week.

Deconstructing a Rainbow

Do you have mornings where you get up with a heavy head and a cotton wool feeling in your mouth and a urge to snuggle back under the comforter and not have to get up. I had one such moment last week on Thursday. My wonderful 2 year old had obligingly passed along his cold germs to me...score! The weather did not really help, it was cold, raining and gloomy and the feeling of funk was settling on thick. It did not help that everyone at work went - Why M -- you are looking sick, and I felt sicker. We haven't really been eating very healthy this week. We have eaten out a lot more this week...we have tried to keep it light on Oil and salt.

Friday was a quiet day, and we spent a lot of time watching HGTV and watching the home transformations...Saturday was rushed. We took some measurements for new furnitures, rushed K2 to his Little Gym and ate some really greasy chinese dimsum for lunch. Dinner was light - a miso soup, fruit and a yogurt. I got up in the morning feeling relaxed and made some french toast for Krish (with vanilla, cinnamon and free range organic brown eggs). We had some poha for brunch and pretty much relaxed at home. No customary trip to the farmers market today. Dinner was grilled fish with mushroom rissotto and some greens. Work will be busy tomorrow...so goodbye weekend and hello Monday...

Monday and Tuesday last week were wet and gloomy, dampening the spirits. However while we were coming back from work we saw the sun burst valiantly through the dark crowds even with the steady drizzle of the showers...and voila there was a beautiful Rainbow...it was uplifting and heartening. Here's a picture I took on my E71 from the car...so did you capture your rainbow today?