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Kiran

Travelogue Part 2 – Insomnia

Love life, engage in it, give it all you’ve got. Love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it – Maya Angelou.

I can’t recall when was the last time I actually slept for 6 hours or so. The max was 3 hours. For months. It was grueling. And was about to be even more nightmarish :) The flight from Orlando to Amsterdam, though pleasant, I could not sleep a wink!

Clear blue sky!

Clear blue sky!

Gazing into Netherlands

Gazing into Netherlands

Arrived at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on 17th Feb 2009, at 11:30am. It’s freaking chilly! As I make my way towards the baggage carousel, I realized that I did not know which carousel would have my luggage. So, the panicky girl I am – I panicked! Calm down Kiran, there is nothing to worry about. So what if these people spoke more Dutch than English? I approached an officer on duty, and with a sigh of relief, he explained to me where I would get my carousel information. In English! Yay! Hail O’ Netherlanders!

I claimed my luggage and walk towards customs and security, with a breeze. It was a “touch and go” security. At God’s speed. Har*, Jessy* & Tas** was constantly on sms with me, awaiting for my arrival. Very sweet of them 🙂 Meeting them – with teary eyes, laughter & smiles – after a very long time. Bitter sweet reunion. Thank god Jessy brought a jacket and scarf for me. It’s freakishly cold! What’s wrong with the EU weather? It was chilly, dark and gloomy.

Jessy & Tass apartment :)

Jessy & Tas's apartment 🙂

We headed towards Jessy & Tas’s apartment, where I was greeted with warmth from the heater and amazing scent of home made food. Pure bliss. We ate, laughed, shared stories and exchanged gifts for one another. Though extremely exhausted – not sleepy – the feeling of content, being surrounded by family are beyond words.

18th February 2009 – We decided to stay put at home due to my lack of sleep, exhaustion and jet lag. The next day was my next direct flight, and this time, the destination would be Malaysia – Truly Asia. I barely slept at all :) Perhaps due to excitement?

Part 3 coming up, stay tuned!

…

Click here to read my previous Travelogue’s.

* my sister’s

** my brother in-law

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Before and after

As part of my grand plan of setting new year resolutions, I have made some subtle improvements to our home interior. I am not an interior designer, mind you – considered warned if you need my advise in this department – If you have or given the right materials, tools, accessories, and theme, this task of re-decorating can be as simple as reciting your favorite song – without a tune, which is so much easier. The photos begins with the formal dining room, living room, kitchen and butler’s pantry. Butler’s pantry are commonly used for extra storage. Personally, I use it “buffet” style when we entertain family’s and friend’s. It’s very convenient when the dining table is not occupied with platters of food.

I have made some improvements in other areas of the house as well. Feast on the photos below:

We do not use the breakfast bar during meals – instead it is now a pedestal for my beloved indoor plants :)

I love indoor plants! In fact, I am planning to salvage some of my pots and pans and turn it into planters. Very green and economical.

Our favorite venue, especially during the summers. Endless BBQ’ing. The planters are filled with seasonal fresh herbs such as basil, rosemary, mint and curry leaves. Sigh, I can never live without curry leaves :D

Money plant! I heard many myths about money plant. So far, it fails to amuse me. People, stop spreading myths!

This is a very cute toilet placard :D My sister bought it for us from Amsterdam. We are so depended on Google Maps, and now we need a placard over the toilet door?

I need help on wall coloring as well. Do you think I need to paint different colors on my wall? Currently the walls are beige, all over the house! Suggestions on colors would be great :)

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Any progress?

The first half of 2009 has surpassed without any warning. Time flies huh? I guess it’s time to revisit the ol’ new year resolutions I’d made. Why did I had to? Why? Anyways..

1) Develop a new skill or revisit an old one. I’ve started a small cross-stitching project. Nothing huge, just to rekindle the memories of old school handicraft classes that I took back then. I would take on knitting projects in future. For that, I need to Google.

2) Get fit or develop a healthy diet. I am back on the treadmill and so is Tarun. Whilst grocery shopping, we’ve also developed a habit of reading nutrition labels. It is important to know what and how much goes into food preparation rather than assuming. Prevention is always better than cure my friends.

3) Get more organized – virtually. My laptop is such a let-down these days. But it has stayed on with me, through thick and thin. I have since backed up, deleted and did some housekeeping. But the performance is not at par. Despite all this, we still went ahead with our domain name registration and self-hosting. Adventurous, I must say.

4) Spend more time with friends. I’ve been to a couple of dinners and catching-up sessions with friends. I foresee more gathering’s in future. Cheers to that!

5) Catch up on reading. I was introduced to Sophie Kinsella’s Shopholic series and I am hooked! I am currently reading Undomestic Goddess. And yes, Sophie wrote it.

6) Begin a home improvement project. Does interior decorating counts? I have no background or experience but I must say the transformation is not all that bad. Before and after photos are coming up later.

7) Get more involved in community and charity. We are involved in a charity for the Disabled American Veteran’s. And back in India, we are consistently donating food supplies to the less fortune’s.

8) Blog often. It’s an ongoing process. Now that we have our website to manage, people might view it more of an obligation to blog. But for me, blogging should be more about being responsible, expressive and less about obligation. Freedom of speech in writing, who am I to object it?

9) Begin a personal project. I am into photography these days. Nikon D60 is my new toy.

10) Meet and greet neighbors often. It’s an ongoing process. There are a couple of neighbors just moved into their new home. Giving them time to settle into their new environment. Welcome to the neighborhood :)

So, tell me. Any progress with your new year resolution?

On a separate topic, we are expecting some major changes in our lives, and I have been preparing and researching so much about it. There have been several and on-going soul-searching sessions between me and Tarun before decision making. I am sure some of your curiosity thermometer is peaking at the highest of reading. I can’t reveal something that is undecided at the moment. Not even a gist. Sigh.

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Travelogue Part 1 – The beginning

Gosh! OMG! How? When? Where? and definitely, how much?

We stared in disbelief’s as me and hubby begin our travel arrangements months before. Planning flight tickets, dates, routes and many more was a huge migraine. Not to forget, the luggage nightmare! Endless packing and unpacking. But we did it! Enjoyed our vacation and now I am back with loads of experience and pictures to share.

February 16th 2009. My first flight out of Florida!

Route: Orlando-Memphis-Amsterdam.

Heart sank leaving hubby behind. With 2 large luggage checked in, I had a laptop carry on and a packed handbag. I went through security check-in and it “beeped”! Sigh! I was searched thoroughly by a security officer. Bummer! Then, she found the problem. It was my blackberry snugged in my jeans back pocket. What can I say? I am not a frequent flier 😉 I was cleared by security and proceeded gathering my unpack handbag, laptop and shoes that went through the security belt. Gosh, I was tired already by this time. I rushed towards the gate for my flight. I thought of lunging my laptop and handbag into a trashcan. But I recalled it holds my passport, boarding pass, travel itinerary, medicines, handy cam and many essential items. Ladies, can we ever pack lightly?

As I arrived at the gate, it was almost boarding time. I said my goodbye’s to dear hubby in the hopes of meeting him soon. The flight from Orlando to Memphis was packed and unfriendly. I have never in my life experience such rudeness from flight attendants. Ever. As I made my way towards my Economy class seat, I was having trouble looking for space at my seat over-head compartment. It was all taken. I was looking around for assistance to help me look for an empty compartment where I can safely secure my laptop carry-on. A NorthWest Airlines flight attendant looked at me and assumed that I wanted her to lift my bag and lunge it into the compartment. With an annoyance to her voice, she refused to help me lift my bag 😀 She claims that it was her chiropractor’s order not to lift any weight and destroy her back or posture! Huh! I was so angry! Hello Maam, my sister was also a flight attendant. So, please stop lecturing me on what you can or can’t do and pay attention to my question. I was requesting help in locating an empty over-head compartment and not lifting of my luggage. You fool! I just sneered and another passenger helped me. Civilians are kinder and dependable. Often.

Ok, to cut the story short (in order to avoid boredom) I arrived at Memphis, Tennessee airport just in time for my connecting flight to Amsterdam. Thankfully, the flight was pleasant though I could not sleep 🙂 It’s not always a happy ending, don’t you agree?

Part 2 coming up, stay tuned!

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Help Charmaine Lim

As I scour through my feed reads this morning, I came across a blog post from Karen Cheng’s Snippets of Life. The blog post is about a heart-wrenching struggle of a child. Charmaine Lim, a four year old Singaporean, is dying of a rare cancer. Dubbed by her mother, Charmaine is her feisty princess diagnosed with neuroblastoma. She is currently in the 4th stage of her struggle.

Cynthia Lim, Charmaine’s mom quoted on her website as follows:

I thought over, probably a couple hundreds of times wondering how to write this entry. At the end of the day, I still have no idea what to write.

Truth is when I first saw the email sent by Dr Aung on the amount needed to bring Charmaine to New York for treatment, I was shocked. $350,000 is the upfront deposit. I weren’t sure what currency it was in. Sent Jolene and Charlene a text message, ending the message with “I would give up if it is in USD”.

And of course, the bad news never ends.

$350,000 USD.

Half a million Singapore dollars.

How would I ever be able to raise this amount of sum? How do I convince anyone that Charmaine’s life is worth half a million dollars? I don’t know how. I seriously don’t know how. So many times, I want to give up. I don’t know how to think. I don’t know what to think. I don’t want to think. I don’t dare to think.

A week has passed since I received the email and I know I have already procrastinated a week away and made no progress.

I am brought up to think rationally and weigh my decisions against benefits and cost. Rationally speaking, I know fully well that half a million dollars can be better spent on saving thousands of malnourished kids in Africa than on Charmaine who only has a 40-50% chance of survival even with the antibody in New York.

But Charmaine is my daughter. No amount of money can justify how important she is to me. And Jase. Despite Jase’s young age and maturity, I know fully well that he loves his mei mei just as much as I do.

I would do just about anything to save her. I thought about selling my kidney, being a surrogate mom. They may sound stupid and crazy but my conscience feels so much better with me earning that USD $350,000 because I cannot think of any rational reason to convince you to help me save Charmaine.

I really thought of giving up. Its so much more easier and I am so tired.

I don’t want to think about anything anymore. Its easier just remembering the next doctor’s appointment, the next time for medication, the next time to pay the bills and just things I can do without thinking…

I even avoided Jolene and Charlene for a week because I have no answer for them. Their suggestion to go public and seek for help. My permission to allow them to publicise the materials.

Even as I am typing right now, I don’t exactly know what am I doing. I don’t know what I have decided. I don’t know the consequences of me typing this.

The only thing I know for sure is that should anything happen to Charmaine, I would never be able to forgive myself for not trying to fight for Charmaine when all she has to help her is me.

This is the very reason why I am typing this.

Dear friends, please help Jase and me to save Charmaine. charmine

Such a young, innocent, sweet angel – Charmaine and her family needs your support. For donation details and words of encouragement, please visit http://ourfeistyprincess.com/. For current updates on Charmaine’s health, you can visit Charmaine’s blog at http://ourfeistyprincess.blogspot.com/. Help spread the word around and support this cause by placing Charmaine’s badge/widget “Feisty Princess needs bullets to fight, be her weapon” on your blog, via email, viral communication or conduct a charity drive in your community.

I am just lost of words at the moment – cannot fathom the type of diseases out there, plaguing even the smallest of soul on earth. Hang in there Charmaine – the angel’s are watching over you.

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