The Seventh Daughter...

I am not feeling 100% today...maybe its the heat...or maybe it just is but I had very little sleep last night and lay tossing and turning till 1.00 AM in the bed. I walked into my closet (which is almost the size of a little bedroom and 50% empty :))...and started reading this book -- The Seventh Daughter.

I have absolutely adored most chinese food - from the comforting noodle soups to the spicy hot pots to the energizing fresh vegetable stirfries to the uplifting pot stickers (yes food can change my mood...)

I did not stare at recipes or the beautiful pictures...I was reading Cecilia's story. Her wonderful story about her siblings, her fairy tale childhood, her relationship with her Um-ma (mother)...her sisters Qin and Sophie and her sheer grit and will power to start something from nothing and make it work (The Mandarin on the Ghiradelli Square)...I have never been to the Mandarin but after reading Cecilia's story, this is a place I want to visit...I want to try her famous dumplings and the Beggar's Chicken. I want to try the tea smoked duck even though I am not overly fond of meat and the reason is the sheer beauty of this woman's culinary journey from Beijing to Yunnan to Shanghai to Tokyo to San Francisco...the visuals in my mind were of tradition, obedience, sheer love, warmth and family....not the steaming pots of food. She makes me want to go down to the expensive Mandarin Restaurant in the city and try a slice of her story and life...
Some time later I chanced to glance up and the time was 3.30 AM and I was getting sleepy...saying Good Night to Cecilia I went to bed to dream of Dimsums and comforting soups...Thank You Madame Chiang!

Seven Habits of highly effective People...

I was but 20 years old when I was handed my first copy of Covey. A who had given me the book had written - "The whole point about reading such a book is, if it doesn't come naturally, leave it".Initially the book was heavy reading but over time, I fell hook, line and sinker for Covey's principles... I have been able to go back to this book time and again and learn something new every time...

What do the 7 Habits mean to me -

1)Being Proactive - Personal choice drives a lot of your decision making -- so instead of blaming circumstances take control and responsibility for your actions and decisions
2)Visualization - Always visualize a roadmap to how your life should be and more likely than not you will try and stick to that roadmap (set personal goals and try to acheive them)
3) Integrity and Execution - It's ok to take help and delegate but integrity is key in every transaction.
4) Mutual Benefit - An attitude whereby mutually beneficial solutions are sought that satisfy the needs of oneself as well as others...it is ok to be a little selfish, but it is good to be a little selfless
5) Mutual Understanding - giving out advice before having empathetically understood a person and their situation will likely result in that advice being rejected. Thoroughly listening to another person's concerns instead of reading out your own autobiography is purported to increase the chance of establishing a working communication...people have busy lives, they don't want to hear about you...they want to talk about themselves
6) Creative Cooperation - when synergy is pursued as a habit, the result of the teamwork will exceed the sum of what each of the members could have achieved on their own. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It is not about what I can acheive but rather about what the team can acheive...
7) Balanced Self-Renewal - engaging in carefully selected recreational activities. For me its Yoga, Cooking (eating) and spending time with K2.

It has been all but 2 decades of trying to internalize some of these principles into my day to day life...highly effective I am not...but I would like to think that I am on my path to getting there some day....Thanks Covey !!!

Nostalgia and a hot plate of pasta

Smells, Tastes and sometimes even textures give you the "warm & fuzzies" or the "shivers down the spine". I remember our trip to Kodaikanal every time I smell Eucalyptus...the foggy, drizzling weather and the warm, cheesy Pizza Margherita (Desi Ishtyle). Every time I see the cloth painting of the Old Man on my bedroom wall I remember the wonderful trip I took to Kalimpong with Ma and Pa. I have carried that painting with me for 14 years...there is something very gentle and wise about the old man...we had brought that painting from a ruddy faced Nepali woman. I still remember her sitting inside her tent, sipping a steaming, thick glass of chai. On rare occasions I fry Chilly Pakoras ,I remember our trip to Simla -- Dad eating chai, hot pakoras and jelabis from local hawkers...Nostalgia is such a wonderful thing..it makes me get all happy, remembering back on old memories vividly - smelling the smells, remembering the conversations, remembering the people...

The past couple days have been full of the good, bads and Uglies. Let me start with the Ugly first - my excruciating visit to the dentist. The bads - the pain that followed....the goods - hanging out with Meenakshi, Shreya & Rajesh over the weekend, the hot meal (did I say it was free!) at the temple on Sunday afternoon, the fresh greens and fruits from the Farmers Market (Chinese Brocolli, Chinese Spinach, Zucchini, Cherries, Heirloom Tomatoes, Cauliflower, Peaches and Plums) and of course the Hot and Satisfying bowl of Capellini I made (sauce was made with the Heirloom Tomatoes from the Farmers Market) with a side of simply sauteed garlic greens ( Mmmm...good!)

How was your weekend?

Slow Burn...

Some wise woman named Susan wrote a poem Slow Burn -

I wanted to be Cinderella – the Belle of the Ball at the end of the tale,
All I got was a broom and a dirty hearth,
It seems like the tale has no end…
Sweeping away the cobwebs in my mind,
Pollyanna, I am not…there is not a positive spin to my tale…
Prince Charming has been late to the party,
Fairy Godmother is missing in action…
Stuck at a dead-end junction, I wonder if there is a cross road ahead…
Yet, all this inaction seems to be burning the spirit inside…
Slow Burn…Slow Burn
Slow Burn for me has a different meaning this week...I went to my first Vinyasa Yoga class in 6 months...I held my warrior's proudly and did my backbends flexibly but for the next 3 days my muscles have been burning slowly...work wise life's been busy, personal life wise -- things have been interesting. We have my MIL visiting for 10 weeks, and she will be joined by my FIL in 2 weeks...

K1 and K2 spied a baby seal in the bay over the weekend...here's a picture we took of the baby seal on our Nokia Phone...mailed to self over Ovi Mail (shameless promotion you say...execution on 4 P's I say ;-) )...

A dinner and three movies...

Sunday has almost gone - K2 is in bed watching Winnie the Pooh (A very Merry Christmas) and I thought what better time to update my blog. I left last Sunday for Helsinki...the flight was long and via Munich...the food was blah! but I watched some interesting movies - The Mall Cop, He is not that into you and Bed Time Stories. We got into the Hotel at midnight and decided to take a walk to the Hotel Torni (an older hotel) with beautiful views and a bar. We had a midnight tipple (diluted Mohito was my drink of choice)...took in the views and walked back to our hotel to call it a night. The next 2 days felt like a dream, some parts of it downright nervewracking, others a blur but mostly it was all good. We went out for dinner with a couple colleagues on Tuesday to a place called the Fish Market and I had some excellent Cat Fish and a very crisp Reisling but what I most remember about that dinner was the feeling of a "team" that I felt.

The flight back was even longer and I watched "The Reader" on my way back. I was so glad to get a hug from my little boy. I went down to the Farmer's Market today -- crisp green beans, chinese spinach, Opo Squash, Carrots, ripe peach and cherries will feature on our menu soon. I did go for a Yoga class in the evening today, I am sure I will hear my muscles creak tomorrow...How was your week?

P.S: This unclear picture was taken at 1.00 AM at the Torni with my E71 and mailed to myself via Ovi Mail