5 Down n 8 to go...

I ran 5 miles on last saturday!! I am so proud of myself. I told my dad that I ran 5 miles and he was like...tats 8 kms, it is the same as running from our home in aurangabad to the airport....wow....airport is like the farthest point...the city ends there.... :) ....tats a lot of running... :)

Some1 who has ran the Half Marathon before told me that once u start running 7 miles and keep it up till the D-day....u can easily run double of it and finish the Half Marathon.... :) ....so i juss have 2 miles to go.... ;) ....its inspiring....the best part abt this training is meeting ppl....every run u meet some1 new who would share their experiences and u go....oh ya....i can relate to it.... :) ....we met some1 who has ran 7 marathons in the past and is training to run the half marathon this time....i asked her "Do u like running?" and she said...."No, but i like eating".... :) .....oh yes....i love eating....i have a major sweet tooth....i shud be running coz i like eating.... :)

The atmosphere on saturday morning is amazing....there r so many who like to run or who want to run or who have to run.....every1 has a reason....some have the passion....its juss great to be in the midst of it all.....happy smiles before we start.....struggle during the run....and more happy smiles after we finish....a sense of achievement.....its juss out of the world feeling.... :) .....i like to talk, share, inspire and get inspired..... :) .....I am at 5 miles now....and in a week or so i will be at 7 miles.....tats something i am looking fwd to..... :)

B-Day !!

I love Birthdays....I have loved each and every one I have had.... :) and ya....I have had over 20 and alas, I cant say nemore that it is under 28..... ;)

Getting older makes me worry if I look at the numbers.....but if somehow I forget the numbers.....its wonderful.....getting older means getting wiser...hmmm....ok....mayb a li'l bit wiser.... ;) .....I am mostly surrounded by ppl who talk abt age all the time....who like to be called "oh he/she is under 30"....or "oh he/she is in her late 20-ties" and not early 30-ties..... :) ....and there are others who think "30 is a great milestone is life..."....I wonder wat i think....I like my life and love the way its going rite now....I definately dont want it to stop going forward....and if it goes forward means I am bound to get older with each passing year.....so....I guess....wat I feel is simple....I love my life and I dont want it to stop....so I am ok with getting older.....oh well....i am almost ok with getting older.... ;)

Yesterday, we went for my Pre-B-day dinner to Olive Garden. All the waiters gathered to sing for me....one of them asked me my age...and i hesitated a li'l bit....but then, I said it "I am 28".....he gave me a smile and announced...."Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a special guest here who is turing 21 today....." ...... ;) .....tat was funny.....I had a great start to the B-day celebrations....and I am sure this will also be a memorable one....Juss got flowers and a singing (loud) card frm my hubby.....Opened the card at work and woke up every1 around me....so its fun so far.....sincerely hope this is not the end of B'Day fun.....and hope I will say this till the last one I get to celebrate "I love Birthdays !!" .... :)

Fit Fit Fit !!

I always thot i am very active and fit. After all, I dont take the elevator at work....i work on the 3rd floor....and i take the stairs atleast 4 times a day.....i am walking from my cube to the meeting rooms and to the lab all day long.....tats a lot of exersicing.....I like my body and i think i am pretty healthy and fit.... :) .....so i decided lets check the physical stamina and strength.....the best way to do this was to take a physical challenge which requires a lot of desipline and structure.....so i decided to run the Marathon..... :)

Started exploring for the training offered by various groups....and found out to be able to start training for the Half Marathon....one shud be already comfortable running atleast 3 miles....there is a Prep course for Half Marathon training course....imagine training course for training course....tat was funny initially but not after i joined it and went for the first session....so here is one more detail....the prep training had already started before we joined....so we were 2 weeks behind....the first training we went to was the Physical strength building.....it was held in Pure Gym.....by the end of it....i was sweating, out of breath and about to cry.....it was so damn difficult.....it opened my eyes and made me realise that i am probably the most un-fit person in the whole group.....my whole body was in pain....even my teeth and gums....seriously.....the pain lasted about 3 days.....finally i had to take a pain killer.....i juss hated it....i wanted to stop going for the training and forget about the whole challenging myself blah blah....well....missed to mention....i convinced and made Gautam take this training with me....i think tat was the biggest mistake.....he is after my life to finish this and run the Marathon....he is so determined and focused....and it beats me why??....this is my goal not his....???

Well....when u make mistakes....u have to live with it...there is no escape....same is the case for making Gautam take up this goal of running the half Marathon.....we continued to go.....we have a Strenght building session every Thrusday.....a running session for stamina building every monday and the actual 3 mile runs every saturday morning....here goes my precious saturday morning sleep....i use to love saturdays....not any more.... :( ....the Prep training is for 5 weeks....one more week to go....and its not like apart from the trainig session u dont have to do anything.....oh well.....u have to do a lot....there is a schedule for all days except friday....tats the only day off....

After almost 2 and a half week of training.....we finally did it....we ran 3 miles on saturday morning....it was amazing....i couldnt beliv myself.....well....3 is a very small number if u compare it to 13.....but still it was an achievement for me....Austin Downtown is the best place to start running.....if u r running on the streets....keep checking ur reflxtion in the window glass of all the shops and restaurants....motivating.... :) .....and if u r running on the bridge.....keep looking at the water.....calming....and when there is nothing to look at.....u shud get a "Gautam" who keeps talking..... :) .....so u see....i have my motivation and my mind made up.....lets see how it goes.... :)

Dressed Up !!

I love to Dress Up. I have always got Compliments/Comments from friends about it. The one that I always get is: "You are soooo Dressed Up !!". The doubtful one is: "Why do you have to dress up to go to work?". The sarcastic/annoying one is: "You look like you are going Downtown". (oh paleaase...Downtown dressing up wud be 100 times more than this... ;). The commenting tone is telling some1 else in the group: "She is always dressed up" (as if saying she is always over dressed). One more is: "You are soo Dressed up....But You look Good !!". And than there are some like: "She has a good taste". Oh...yeah...."You always wear nice colors". Today I got one from a co-worker: "I think you like everything nice and beautiful....I bet ur home is beautiful". (based on the way I dress :) ..... The interesting one is: "I have always seen you wear nice colors....It says a lot abt u...it says u r a fun loving jolly person" .... :) .....one co-worker cautioned: "This is a very casual company....No1 dresses up" (Wanted to tell him....its a matter of choice....I love to dress up :) ....My personal fav is: "She always dresses up....everything suits her...Everything looks good on her".

Dressing up is such a fun thing....I like to wear clothes that look gud on me and get all the compliments..... :) .....I like to hear when some1 says that no matter wat i wear it looks good on me...."Compliment" is a best thing to give and receive..... :) .....This also made me realise tat a lot of ppl wud form an opinion abt u by the way u Dress....it is important....u dont neccesarily have to wear everything expensive....its a matter of choice.....good taste and also wearing stuff tat suits u....i am passionate abt clothes....i love colors, soft fabrics and nice cuts....and most of all I love all the compliments i get..... :)

Call me: 1-800-DressUp .... ;)

SoulMate !!

Do u beliv in SoulMate?

I do....but i dont beliv tat solumates are necissarily the ones u love (romantically) and want to spend ur life with....i beliv tat soulmate can be anyone....and also u can have more than one soulmate......

For me.....Soulmate is some1 who knows u inside out....who u can talk to and who can complete ur sentences in the exact same words tat u wud use..... :) .....some1 who understands...and judges....but still accepts....and is in the relationship 100 %.....u can gossip with them and u can tell them ur deepest darkest secrets....w/o the fear of being evaluated who u r based on tat....they will judge u and form an opinion....but tat wont change anything....the relationship wud always be the same..... :)

All this sounds too perfect and too gud to be true.....i always thot abt it tat way....till i realised....i have been blessed with such a "Perfect Soulmate"....i have had this too gud to be true and perfect relationships....oh well.....to my great surprise i still have this perfect relationship going on.... :)

We lived next to my uncle's family....and his daughter and i were very close....though the age difference was considerable....somehow both of us were always on the same page.....we use to hang out together....talk abt a lot of issues....and knew each other and were happy with the way we both were.....and yes....we use to love to Gossip.... ;) .....we were the gossiping buddies....i have had a wonderful relationship with my younger sis....one full of sharing, understanding, hating each other at times....not talking for months at times....the bond has somehow always been the same....no matter wat....

After i got married and moved to the US....i always had a fear tat my relationship with my sis wud changes....we wud juss grow out of it....we wont be able to talk endlessly as we use to....i called her one day to check and ended up talking for 2 hrs....i was so happy and relieved....somethings never change....we were laughing the whole time and we were talking abt everything and every1....gossiping and imitating ppl....it was juss wonderful.....i make it a point to call her once in a while and catch up....we talk abt our lives abt our situations....abt achievements and abt failures.....we juss understand each other and even if we r miles and miles apart, we support each other thru better and worse.....she is a wonderful person....i have learned so much frm her....we were unseparable and we still are unseparable..... :)

It feels like grace to have a wonderful soulmate.....who is always with you.....I consider myself lucky to have met some1 like tat and luckier to have had the opportunity to actually spend some great years with this person....part of who i am and what i am is bcoz of her....thanx for making me a better person and keeping me sane on a lot of occasions.... :)

Girl-friend of the Boy-friend.....;)

I am guessing most of you with a BF or a Husband must have experienced this.....a Girlfriend of ur Boyfriend or Husband who juss doesnt give up...... ;)

Initially, its scary and its annoying.....u get worked up and u hate it a lot.....and eventually it comes down to "Funny"......its funny how these GF of the BF are always trying so hard.....r always trying to prove tat they somehow own the BF/Husband......they r happy saying this over and over tat we know ur BF/Husband better than u do..... :) ......and i keep wondering.....if u know him so well....how come u were/are so dumb to let me have him..... ;) .... ;)

Well, in general, we all females are this way.....we r always jealous of the sis-in-law/bro-in-law/new aunt/new uncle in the begining......we r attention Cravers.....we cant share the limelight....and we always want to be liked by the one we consider imp.....this all looks like the rite thing to do....as we can always have claim on the ppl we love/adore/respect.....we gals dont realise the negative impacts of such behavior till we r at the receiving end.....trust me its not pretty at the receiving end..... :(

So, gals....the next time u claim a best Friend.....plzz be considerate to the GF/wife.....they r not tat bad.....infact they must be pretty gud as the one u like so much, loves them.... :)

Happiness !!

Few days bak, Gautam asked me are you "Bigger Bore" as compared to 2 years back....and I said 'No'....I was never a Bore.... ;) ......than he asked me if I am a "Happier Person" as compared to 2 years back.....and I said "Yes".....that got me thinking....Am I a happier person???....What is Happiness??....For me it has always been a relative term.....A few years bak it was always something like: If I get good grades, I am happy....If I meet my close frds everyday, I am happy.....If my father likes me for who I am, I am happy.....If I can contribute positively to the society, I am happy.....If I can make my Mom proud, I am happy.....eventually it became.....If I make my In-laws happy, I am happy.....If I manage not to fight with Gautam for a week, I am happy.....If Gautam surprises me with something, I am happy.....Basically the "I am happy" always comes with an "If"..... :)

What abt all the other times??....I am not unhappy....if I really think abt it....I am tired/bored/angry/frustrated.....but as soon as it come to my mind....unhappy....no I am not unhappy.....its funny.....

Happiness is relative....but even if there is no "If" present for the happiness.....there is no unhappiness.....or mayb its juss the way I think.....I choose not to be Unhappy....Happy or not.... ;)

Welcome To The US !!

I got married to a guy who lived and worked in the US....After marriage he came bak and left me in India to get a visa....I got my visa 2 months after our marriage.....And I flew to the US.....:)

Air India troubled me in all possible ways....and after tat I (almost) missed my flight from Chicago to Austin....thank God to the "Technical Problems".....the flight got delayed by 5 minutes and I could make it.....So basically after almost 26 hours of no sleep and bad food....and very less water.....i finally reched Austin !!!

I got a welcome similar to any Local Minister in India flying frm Bombay to Pune......There were flowers and a lot of people to welcome me.....I was feeling like a celebrity and was really happy to finally be with my Hubby....and ofcourse damn tired.....wanted to go home and sleep.....and ya eat.....My sis also lives in Austin....So they had a small get-t0-gether at their place to welcome me....we were supposed to stop at her place for sometime before heading home.....

My Jijaji and Jiji came to pick me....Gautam and I were sitting in the bak seat and we started driving towards my sis's place.....I was tired and was asking this every five mins....."How long will it take??".....after 26 hours in moving things.....u wud definately hate the 20 25 mins drive.....

Suddenly, in the middle of the road....a person abt 6 feet tall appeared and stopped the car.....and than came 3 more....in all 4 tall guys with loud voices and caps covering most of their faces were banging on the car windows.....they started threatening and asking for all the money, Cell Phones and Wallets......I was damn scared and confused.....always had an impression tat US is better than India.......road side Loot-Maar is not tat common.....my sis, bro-in-law and hubby gave their wallets to the tall guy.....I didnt know what to think.....i was really zoned out and feeling extremely bad.....all three started saying things like.....it has never happened in austin before....and they all were really tensed.....tat made me feel worst.....didnt wanna go to my sis's place....but every1 started insisting on lets juss stop by for 15 mins.....as soon as we entered.....there was a girl standing with Aarti Thali.....there were abt 15 ppl.....and than comes a Pretty girl with a Thali which was covered with a napkin....and she tells me "We always gift this to any1 who comes to the US for the very first time".....I took the thali and underneath the napkin were all our Wallets, money and Cell phones....well....this is how my "Wud Be" Family greeted me for the very first time.... :) .... "Welcome to the US !! "

Love....Love....Love....!!

Have you ever had a crush on some1??
Have you felt like crying every time this some1 doesnt call or ignores you or just isnt there......?? Have you had the feeling that ur heart is going to burst out and you will always be sad??

Well, I have had all those feelings....when all u can think of is this one person....who doesnt care much.....this has happened to me twice....and I was so sad and disappointed.....i use to feel I am a big loser and I will end up being alone and misreable forever......:(

It's great to love some1....I think juss the idea tat u love some1 is great.....But it's not tat great when the other person doesnt have the same feelings....or mayb they have the same feelings but dont wanna show them....watever it is.....I have realised one thing.....these crushes or so called Love....it makes u lose ur identity.....u cant think straight...it makes u forget all the beautiful things in life....makes u forget all the things u love to do and really want to do.....there is juss one thing......and it is the center of ur universe which is pulling u down.....u go in circles like a tornado....the worst part is.....u know how to end all this and get out of it....but u simply dont do it.....Love is over rated.....Its something every1 is capable of.....every1 has....but still made out to be.....oh...only ppl lucky enuf get love in life......paaaaleeaaaaase.....

Than one fine day.....u meet some1.....this some1 is great.....he/she is this simple down to earth person.....they dont even realise their own grace and impact on others.....:).....u meet them....and suddenly u remember all the things u love in the world.....for me.....it was Pottery, sky-diving, bungee jumping, horror movies.....;).....u juss feel like doing things u always wanted to....and guess wat....this person is always All-In for all the craziness.....and u will be surprised by the compatibility.....or lets juss say...."The Ease"...:)....u can be urself with this person.....oh....sure u can dig ur nose and fart alound....:)

This person makes u feel alive....takes u places....and the best part is....this is Love wothout the heart crunching with pain....no tears and no tornados.....this is more abt the actual things.....like.....living together.....settling ur differences....crying and shouting at times....doing crazy things together.....not worrying abt how u look....mostly concentrating on how u feel.....its juss great.....

I beliv in Destiny.....I have always believed in Destiny....There is a rite time for everything to happen....Patience is the key.....:)

Giving Back !!

First of all, I am finally here....I did it....my very first blog ever....always wanted to write something and share it with every1...had all the stories and all the talent (well...i can write in english;) needed....didnt had the inspiration....finally got it....:).....i did something amazing....tat I am so proud of and really wanted to share it with all....

Gautam (my husband) had an offsite last wednesday and his group was going to do some community work....I had nothing important to do so I decided to tag along....

Wednesday was the most windy day of the season....when we started out at 7:00 in the morning I thought the wind is going to blow us away....but fortunately we made it to Georgetown (a place near Austin)....we were among the first few who were on time and were shivering in the early morning wind and cold.....:)

The project is part of 'Habitat for Humanity's effort to provide housing to the lower income group of our society. People receiving these houses are required to perform from 300-500 hours of volunteer work called the sweat equity and they purchase the house with a loan from the Habitat for Humanity group and the mortgage is for 20-30 years with 0% interest. We were to volunteer at one of these construction sites with 5-6 homes being built.

Now comes the most amazing part of the project. The management team. It was a bunch of oldies (all retired). Bob was the leader of the group. He assigned work and divided us in groups to do the work assigned under our leader. The work varied from Dry walling, electric work, to painting the houses. As its a very common observation with these guys, I was assigned the painting job as girls love to paint. Our leader was Shirley and Bill. As we got to work we also started talking. Sirley is retired and doing this volunteer work for almost 3-4 years. She told me that when she was young she always wanted to give back to the society. She had a good life and she wanted to help others achieve the same. And that was not just her. All these cute old guys Bill, Bob, shirley and others were all so excited about building these houses and giving the underpriviledged the satisfaction of owning a home....it was just amazing. I was so pround of myself. I am so happy I was a part of their great work atleast for a day.

It gave me new inspiration. Taught me how to be selfless and do something for others. These dedicated old people, who are supposed to be burdening the new generation were actually helping the new, young generation to achieve their dreams. These guys have shown me the satisfaction of selfless work. Their glowing smiles and satisfied look at the end of a hard day's work lifts u up. One cant help but be thankful to god for such wonderful people who are willing to take responsibilities and make it a better world for everyone. Thats the way these guys are "Giving Back".