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From the category archives:

Family & Friends

Busy week!

… spending quality time with friends. We were invited for a dinner party last weekend. It was a food galore! Assortments of Iranian delicacies. With gob-smacking taste-buds, we indulged like there was no tomorrow 😀 If only the photo’s could speak for itself:

Yummylicious Iranian Dinner 🙂

Homemade yogurt!

Assortments of dessert! My fav 😀

Thinking of joining school for perhaps a 2nd MBA or PhD. It’s exciting to just shop around for more information. Still unsure whether should I do my 2nd Masters or PhD. Kind of back and forth over so many options. And the list of things to do in order to get an admission? God help me! It’s a load of elbow grease let me tell you this. It’s worth it if you are selected into one of many US accredited university or college. I have started preparing for GMAT. And I have visitors over for this weekend. Good lord! So much to do, so less time 🙂 October has proven to be one of our busiest month after a long time. A productive one for sure. November is showing the same signs.

The banker, winner and expert negotiator, grinning away 🙂

Last weekend, we played monopoly till wee hours. There were many illegal negotiations and bribery in order to get out of jail and debts. A blast from the past for sure. What should we play next? Gilli danda?

Voting for the 2009 Orbbies begins Nov. 2 at 10 am and ends on Friday, Nov. 20 at 5 pm (US Eastern Time). Have you cast your vote for us yet?

p/s: Have a safe and great trip Bahar 🙂 Send our regards to your family. I would miss you 🙂

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Diwali, the Festival of Lights

… is celebrated on October 17th, 2009 that marks a very auspicious festivity in our life. With a whole amount of muscle needed in coping with cleaning, baking, cooking and rituals performed, surprisingly I am still in a very high festivity mood. We ushered in the celebration by adorning new clothes and the house is brightly lit with diya’s all over.

I cooked so many dishes! But no photos, except for one. Sigh. Sorry guys! So occupied getting ready for diwali celebration with friends that I forgot to take some photos. Just one, taken in the afternoon to drool over. I made an Indian version of stir-fry with medley of vegetables. Drool away!

Medley of vegetable sabji !

With a full tummy, good company of friends and Disney fireworks, Diwali was celebrated with thoughts of family’s and friends back home. We miss you all. It gets very tough during festivities. Nonetheless, it was celebrated with loads of blessings and love from every one. Thank you all for showering your love and Diwali greetings via calls, sms, Facebook, Twitter and emails. Can we ever survive without technology? Not us! Come on, give us a break! We are so far away from every one…

Image courtesy: sneha1967.sulekha.com

Happy Diwali! Hope you had a blast celebrating it with your loved ones.

A fire extinguisher is not an option, but a necessity during this festivities or performing rituals. We do not want to be in the predicament as such. People should learn and practice safe fire etiquette’s. It’s not worth celebrating and mourning at the same time.

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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.

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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Silent night, holy night

…. All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin mother and child

Holy infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace.. Sleep in heavenly peace…

Silent night, holy night

Shepherds quake at the sigh

Glories stream from heave afar

Heaven hosts sing Alleluia

Christ, the Savior is born…Christ, the Savior is born…

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth…Jesus, Lord at Thy birth…”

My all time favorite Christmas carol 🙂 While growing up, I was introduced to Christianity by dad. Daddy studied in all English school during British invasion here in Malaysia. He read the bible, and we attend caroling, cooking and choir lessons at the local church. Those were the fun days. I would anxiously wait for Sunday masses. Sigh! Childhood has come and go, but memories are as strong as before 🙂 Looking forward to a joyful, harmonious, safe and happy Christmas. May all your dreams come true, including having extra left-overs as to avoid bustling in kitchen while ushering 2009 😉 Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year to all of C h a t t e r B o x’s fellow readers and blog buddies 🙂 Please exercise caution you guys, especially while traveling during this holiday season. Bidding adieu with some delectable snaps taken during my recent visit to one of the local shopping centers here in Florida.

Love,

Kiran Tarun Srivastava

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Beautiful, joy and peaceful

The sky is clear! I could hear birds chirping happily. It must sense the freshness in the air. Beautiful, joy and peaceful surroundings. The garden has bloomed with much happy results! Since it is also the beginning of winter, the Red Maple tree in particular, blossomed with red and yellow leaves. I am hopeful that the beauty would linger on as season’s change.

*Kiran snaps out from a momentarily disjointed vision*

It is still winter… But?

Now, now.. wait a second? I rushed out of the house and I scanned around for confirmation. The sky isn’t clear, it’s as gloomy as yesterday! The construction is clearly not over, so what’s up with beautiful, joy and peaceful? Where are “they“?

Endless, mindless construction

Unfortunately, the sights did not last long. Neither did the Red Maple tree. I feel like a train wreck as I examine my beautiful, now bald, Maple Tree (the before and after pictures as shown) *sobs*! Even my green pastures are no longer green, sigh!

Before and after 🙁

But there is always HOPE.

Weather is gloomy. Sun is playing hide-and-seek between clouds for a few days now. But as I took my casual stroll equipped with a camera, I watched and gulped as I realized everything around me gave a sudden sense of easement and security. I started appreciating even the minute details. Suddenly, I sense a change. The sun rays shooting out from the sky and through the trees. And I know this is where I have found beauty. Duck’s are swimming happily in and around the pond. And I know this is where I found joy. The sounds of birds chirping, almost swallows the construction noises. And I know this is where I found peace. We some times get caught up at moments in life where we stop appreciating even the smallest blessings. Recalling memories in which Ma used to threaten if I did not finish eating my meals. She would talk about the poor and unfortunates that could barely go by a day with 1 meal. I do feel guilty till date. And here I am sitting and complaining about my surroundings. Well, I guess I am learning how to find and see beautiful, joy and peace in matters that bothers me. Cribbing is genetic, so I guess even if I try, I won’t be able to rid it 😉