Who I am, What I do and answers to Qs like that

As mentioned before, a lot of things have happened since I went to India in May. When I say 'a lot', I really mean " A LOT ". I will try to write posts covering the major happenings here. Till I am done with them, I will add links to those posts here, ok? That way, you will not miss them. Here they come.... Landed in India. Airports and Taxi. Wait a little longer... By the way, click on the right to view some of my latest pictures.'' Note : The date on this post would appear as 1/1/2010. That seems to be the only way by which I can ensure that this post remains on the top (sort of sticky). If anyone has better ideas, please let me know.

Our Christmas trip was made even more special by another first. Amma and Nanna went to a movie while I stayed back! For those of you who know me, I have never been away from Amma or Nanna. I mean, not even for a few minutes. And now, they were planning to go watch a movie without me. That means, I had to spend almost 2 hours without them. To call it a challenge would be an understatement. It was a challenge for Amma to leave me and watch the movie peacefully (Nanna probably wouldn't mind). It was a challenge for Ravi Mama and Rama Atta to babysit me - that would be the first time they 'managed' a kid for so long. And it was a challenge for me, obviously. The planning was done. And we went to the theater just in time for the movie to start. Amma and Nanna got off the car. Ravi Mama, Rama Atta and I drove off to a mini-mall right across the street. The idea was that I would be distracted enough in a shop/shops to be manageable. I knew that 4 pairs of eyes were watching my ev...

Where did I stop? Oh yeah, we missed our flight. Nanna managed to find us standby seats on a next morning flight. And I was asleep. It was past 9 PM by this time. And we needed to find a place to stay for the night. We found a hotel near the airport itself - Comfort Suites . I don't understand this, can someone explain it to me.... why are hotels more expensive near airports? Is it a case of being taken advantage of? Demand exceeding Supply? Exploitation? Anyway, let me stick to the main story here. We went to the hotel at about 10 PM. I woke up by then :-) Nanna and Amma ordered a pizza. I helped them finish it off. Not by actually eating it, but by allowing them to eat it. That's a big help, isn't it? I am sure Amma and Nanna would concur! We finally fell asleep at about midnight. We woke up by 5 AM, got ready quickly and left for the airport. After repeating the same hassles as the last night, we reached our gate and waited. And waited. And waited. Waited till the airli...

It's Christmas time. And everyone in the US spends Christmas with their family and friends. We are no different and decided to do the same. So, where do we go to? After checking the maps, distances, airports, air fares and a lot of other factors, we finally decided on going to Ravi Mama's place in NJ. That is short for New Jersey.  NJ is about 550 miles from our place - too far to drive with someone like me (that is, someone who doesn't like sitting in the car seat for extended periods of time - read here , here and here ). So, we were left with no other option but to fly. But the nearest airport is about 50 miles for us... and the nearest big-sized airport is about 100 miles for us (either Detroit, Dayton, Cleveland or Columbus). After using a computer to crunch out various combinations (just kidding), we decided on a reasonable, not-so-expensive route. Columbus - Philadelphia! This tricky route included... a) A 100 mile drive from home to Columbus airport. About 2 hr driv...

Yesterday was Amma, Nanna's anniversary. It was yet another cold day. Is it just me or does everyone feel depressed when it is so cold? This year especially has been bad. We already had snow about 10-15 times.  Anyway, I don't remember much about last year's anniversary. So I was eagerly waiting to see how they would celebrate it. And girl, was I disappointed? It was just another day. Just another cold and dull day. Except that Nanna brought some roses for Amma. And invited Ramji uncle for dinner. Funnily enough, I got a nice gift from this uncle - a Barney DVD set. And we got calls from a lot of people. They called to wish Amma, Nanna a very happy anniversary. Of course, I had my special gift for them.... nice, wet, splashy kisses. I guess they liked my kisses a lot. They looked quite pleased. And I could overhear them bragging about my kisses to tata-mamma, tata-ammamma and everyone. And we took lot of pictures. I got new dresses for myself - for their anniversary. Who sa...

After the long flight we landed in India, someplace called Mumbai. It was sooo different from what I saw in Chicago. There were more people, lot more people. I mean a lot more than I expected. And it was more colorful and more noisy. But that was where the good part (???) ended. Though there were a lot of people, no one helped Amma. She had to carry me, drag her cabin baggage, hand bag and my diaper bag. Me being the good girl that I am, helped Amma as much as I could - simply by being quiet. But she still needed help from others to help point us to the airport shuttle bus. The public announcement system was bad (quite non-existant actually) and we almost missed our shuttle bus.  We made our way to the airport bus which was supposed to transport us to the domestic terminal. Maybe I am too young to understand it... but why do they have 2 airports? Couldn't they atleast have a train instead of buses? I know, I know - when you are not free to move and don't have much to do you kee...

Over the past few months, a lot of you asked me how I have been doing. What I was doing, what my progress was and so on. Things have been a little hectic over here. And I did not get a chance to update you with my happenings. In the next few weeks, I will try to write what has been happening here. Please bear with me if they don't always seems chrono-logical. I love you all....

My flight to India was always going to be a big test. Not only for me, but also for Amma. It was a 22 hr flight, stopping in Frankfurt and Mumbai - before reaching Hyderabad just after midnight. All the aunties in the flight were soooo nice. They asked me and Amma again and again if we were doing well. They even gave us a small bassinet which was a little too small for me. Everytime I felt like crying, Amma would nervously open her bag... as if it had some magic potion. It was only later, muchhh later, that I discovered that she had a bottle of Benadryl - to make me sleep. Well, I don't blame her. Who would want a crying baby in a 22 hr flight? Anyway, I did not let matters reach that stage. I managed to remain a good girl for almost the whole time without letting Amma use her Benadryl. After the long flight and an even longer taxi ride to Ammamma's house, I was all ready for India - my motherland. This place smells different, sounds different and feels different.... different ...

What was that about chickens, counting and hatching? Some sort of moral. Hmmm... yeah. Don't count your chickens until they hatch . Whoever said that got it right on target. In the above proverb, just replace 'chickens' with 'money'... 'they' with 'George Bush'... and 'hatch' with 'IRS money'. If you still did not understand what I am trying to say in this round-about way, you should read this again. What we failed to notice... and what Georgie failed to mention earlier was that... all members of a family should have ' Social Security Numbers ' to qualify for these payments . In the language of computers, it would be called an AND condition. So, in our family, Nanna, Amma and I - all of us should have SSNs. No problem with Nanna and me. But poor Amma doesn't have one - because Georgie wouldn't allow her to have one. So for no fault of Amma, she does not have a SSN... and as a result our chickens haven't hatched! ...

Looks like our India trip is jinxed. We had to change the plans soooo often! Amma wanted us to leave before Nanna. That would help me yuck-climate-ice or something like that. And Nanna would join later, in time for my birthday. And then all 3 of us would return to Chicago. Deciding on the dates was a challenge. We had to plan around Nanna's work. His project was going live at about the same time as my birthday. That made things a little tricker. So after making plans, changing plans, buying tickets, cancelling the tickets and booking the tickets again.... it was decided. That Air India would do the trick. Amma and I would fly in May, Nanna would join us in June and all of us would return in July. There you go. My blogging frequency would go down, ok? I will be back....

Today I overheard Amma and Nanna talking about my birthday. I wondered... why have they started planning about this now itself, a good 3 months before the actual date. I tried to overhear what they were talking about... all the while acting like I was not interested. I guess I will make a good poker player, won't I? But that would be the subject of another blog... After listening to bits and pieces of their discussion, I figured out that my birthday would be celebrated in..... India! At Tata and Mamma's place. More specifically in Vizag . Wait a minute. If my birthday has to be celebrated in India, I would need to be there. Does that mean I am going to travel? Hurrah.... here I come, dear India.

You would remember how I was gushing last month about my new riches. I just got rich ER , atleast on paper. Not to be outdone by George Bush's announcement, Illinois (my home state) governor announced tax rebate checks for families with children. So that is another $300 into my kitty. Rod Blagojevich (pronounced blah-go-you-witch) is the governor of the state of Illinois. He is pretty good proof that George Bush is not an aberration. Anyway, love you Rod. Let me know if you are standing for any office... in 2025. I shall vote for you. Anyway, let me savour this momentous occassion. I dont know when I am next going to say "I like so-and-so politician". Three cheers to Rod Blah-go-you-witch.

Lasya Dhulipala. From... Executive Mansion 410 E Jackson Springfield, IL 62701-1719 Amma and Nanna received this letter yesterday. Busily wondering what it was... and from whom, they opened the letter. Out popped this... Still wondering who sent it, they opened it further to see this... Well, who is this guy who sent us a card? Some semi-literate guy whose hands shake when writing 'g', we thought. Rod Blago... Blah-go-ya.... Blah-go-you-witch. Thats it. He's the Governor of the state of Illinois !!! The Governor sent us a card? Wishing my parents a lot of joy on the occassion of my birth? Isn't that amazing? Never mind the funny 'g'. I shall also ignore the bloated 'R' and 'B' - which signified his bloated ego. With that one card, he won my vote. That is, if he stands for Governor once I start voting. I wonder if anyone sent such a card to either of my Tatas when my parents were born... let me check with them. Trrrng trrrrng. Hello?

What do you do when your teeth are all itchy? You try to put 'things' in your mouth. What if there aren't any things around... and if you are tired of your fingers? Well, that's what God gave us toes for. They taste yummy. Yes, really. Go ahead and try this...

Ok, it is official. I am getting 2 teeth. The lower ones. It might take a few more days. But I already started feeling 'teethy'. What does being teethy mean? a) Stop being interested in ' teething ' toys b) Sudden interest in anything that moves - like Nanna's fingers, my toes etc c) Sudden interest in anything that doesn't move - like soiled diapers, TV remote, Nanna's cell phone etc d) All of the above e) None of the above Big prizes are waiting for those with the correct answer. So hurry up. Call 1-800-244-5653 (1-800-BIG-JOKE) with your answers. Anyway, having seen my new-found interest in putting all things in my mouth... my parents decided that it was time to redirect my attention to food. Solid food. At last. But before I can eat solid food, a ceremony needs to be performed - Annaprasana . So Amma and Nanna invited their friends (since I don't have any, YET) for this occassion. They also invited a priest to conduct the ceremony. Amma made some Par...

I have been feeling some tingling sensation in my mouth the last couple of days. When I checked my mouth in the mirror I saw some funny little white things. Oh no, not again. Amma did not clean my mouth after feeding me cereal!! Hmmm, but this doesnt taste like cereal. Moreover, these feel hard too. Are these what people call teeth?

Most of you who saw the title would have been wondering, "So what, big deal. We knew that already!". No I mean, I am rich. I earned some money - looks like. And I don't have to pay any taxes on that. And of course, I don't get to spend that either, but that's another story. For anyone who has been reading news papers, it is no news that the US economy is in a recession. Even someone like George W Bush figured that out . " To keep our economy growing and creating jobs, Congress and the administration need to work to enact an economic growth package as soon as possible. " Cutting the long speech short for your sake, here is the summary. I will get $300. Nanna will get $600. Amma might get another $600. I know I will not see even a penny of this money. But that will not stop me from wondering about it. With $300 I can buy... 1500 diapers or 30 pretty pretty dresses or a nice play pen with some toys or lots and lots of toys But then, as I said earlier, Nan...