Talk about karma! We just got upgraded to 1st class - on our way!

Us on the plane...so excited!

Welcome to...Philadelphia???

Yes, we're back to Philadelphia...already.

What a crazy journey. Wednesday we were rather hectically (spelling?) trying to get ourselves ready to leave for India at 5:45 that afternoon from Philadelphia airport, connecting through Newark to Delhi. Around 12:45 pm I get an automated call from Continental saying the flight from Philly to Newark has been delayed, and it's been delayed so much that we would miss our connection to India. I hurriedly get on the phone with Continental and after the third time, and lots of hold time, they tell us we can take a train from Philadelphia to Newark airport, leaving at 3:58, arriving at 4:58 pm - PLENTY of time to make an 8:45 pm flight to India...right?

WRONG. We get to 30th Street Station in Philly at 2:20 pm, get our tickets, and wait...And wait...there's a green (how ironic) sign saying that all trains are delayed due to power outages. Our train says it's only delayed 20 minutes - we think that's totally fine. 20 minutes turns into 30 minutes, and we get to boarding around 4:30. No problem...lots of time...right?

WRONG. We board, the lights on the train are off. The announcer comes on and says they're having a problem switching the engines. (We later learn the engine blew with a big explosion.) While we are waiting, there's one of those guys...those guys who can't shut up, has to tell someone his whole life story, loudly, while the rest of us must listen. He's in the area between the two cars, and thank goodness when the conductor shut the door. Didn't block out his droning, but quieted it a bit. Not enough for the man next to us who, ironically, couldn't stop talking about how annoying that guy was.

The announcer comes on again, and tells us their having trouble switching the engines. Then he comes on again and says they switched the engines, but they're having trouble with the track wires. Then he comes on again and says...that all southbound trains have been canceled due to power outages. We think to ourselves, who cares...we're going north....right?

WRONG. Turns out all the southbound trains are ahead of us in the station and they have to move them out before we can go northbound. In the meantime, I'm calling Continental who tells me that we should proceed ahead to Newark, but that if we miss the plane, there are no other flights into India until maybe Friday. I'm anxious at this point. But I dealt with it fine - everything happens for a reason, I kept saying...and I was still hopeful.

We finally leave Philly at 6:20 or so, but the train has to travel slowly for some reason or another. As we're getting to Newark, I tell Continental that we're almost there and ask what we should do. They told us to go directly to the head of the line, etc. When that train arrives in Newark (around 7:40), I told Hasan to follow me and I'm going to move FAAAAAAAAAAST. We get to the Elite counter (supposedly being a lifelong loyalist to Continental was going to help me through this), who tells us we have to go downstairs where they deal with such situations and an agent takes us there. We've now picked up a mate - a girl whose boyfriend is in India for studying and whom she is visiting for a week. OK, great - we have an agent to help us navigate...right?

WRONG. We go downstairs where it is chaos. One woman is having an absolute crying/begging fit because she's apparently just been told it's too late for her and her family to get on the 8:45 flight. The main agent downstairs is being quite rude with people, as are a few of the other agents. They tell those of us that have come to the head of the line that all of this is not fair and to get in the end of the line. I quickly realize this is hopeless - even the agent that came down with us has abandoned us. So we go back upstairs since we think the Elite desk would be a better place to redo this itinerary. They send us back down. Some Elite status.

We get back downstairs and that same rude main agent says "all Delhi passengers come over here". Thank God there were the two of us because Hasan could stay in the line while I went over. I felt bad for the single passengers who lost their place in line and went over there...no sooner did I get there, did she say "oh right, you guys are all canceled. that's right - you need to wait in the end of the line". Seriously.

Anyways, I decide to call Continental while waiting in this line at the encourage of the other passengers. It's about 8:30, and I'm pretty sure it's hopeless, but why not. This phone call ends up yielding me a very nice agent who tries to find us some way to get to India over the next few days...but unfortunately everything is booked...until Monday!

I spend about 45 minutes on the phone with him, get us good seats, an ability to refund the ticket if we can find something better in the next couple of days, and resign ourselves to a changed itinerary. I could hear the disappointment in my sister's voice...if my niece knew we were going to be there "day after tomorrow", then I can remember how disappointed I was when I was a kid and my family got delayed. But we'll be there next week and...

...everything happens for a reason. The way we see it, we got to relax all day yesterday which was much needed. I get to go to yoga a lot over the weekend, because my body aches a lot.

The worst part? The 260 bucks we had to shell out to get home from Newark on Wednesday night after all this. We weren't about to do the trains or a bus at that hour. So we got a private car service, fell asleep, and didn't have to leave our Roxie for another few days.

Lesson learned - no more flying from Philly to Newark for a connecting flight. Just take a train much earlier in the day. Which is exactly what we are going to do on Monday. EARLY.

Food, glorious food

It's been a week of good eating. I hate to say this, and Wendy will probably be dubious, but today I ate at a corporate cafe that was (dare I say it?) a better eating experience than the ones I've had at Google. I went to lunch at the Urban Outfitters company cafe today down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and it was just so terrific. The views are neat - water, ships, etc. Urban Outfitters spent a lot of money putting their corporate complex down there. The cafe building is a renovated warehouse - they preserved so many of the warehouse components (beams, pumps, etc.) while adding in all the warm fuzzy woodsy-ness that is Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. So the cafe was gorgeous, the food was fresh and YUMMY, and the people were quite hip.

Last week was Thanksgiving - leftovers from which we are still eating. I was quite intent this year on having a proper sit-down Thanksgiving with table linens and all. And we hosted a lovely one...turkey (thanks Ebonie), cornbread stuffing, salmon, collard greens, yams, mushroom rice, desserts, mac n' cheese, and it goes on...even potato salad that I actually really liked. (It must have been my standing over my mother-in-law-to-be saying "MORE paprika" :) After dinner, we and the rest of the family piled up pillows and blankets on the couch and floor and watched The Day After Tomorrow. I amazingly made it through the whole movie without falling asleep. Thanks Evelan for staying up with me!

Here are some pics from the holiday...we should have taken more...but we were busy cooking, sleeping, eating, and talking. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is for anyways?

Before I publish this, I wanted to share two wonderful stories I heard today about my favorite munchkinettes. The first is about my sister's daughter Tanuja who is 3.5 years old. Apparently she's going through a fussy phase, and to help resolve situations that arise, my sister invented Miss Fussy. And so what they do is they ask Miss Fussy to go away. This morning, while I was talking to my sister, there was apparently a little mini-drama about the coldness of the water that Tanuja was being washed with. There was no hot water available, and she was about to have a mini-meltdown. So my sister said "Can we ask Miss Fussy to go home? To go back to her house?" and Tanuja said "yes" and asked Miss Fussy to go back home...and thus she calmed down. Later, Tanuja got onto the phone with me and told me how she doesn't want Miss Fussy to come over, so she tells her to go back to her house...but that she has to keep telling Miss Fussy this over and over again. I just about died laughing.

The second story is reprinted without permission in its entirety. It is written by Wendy about Tallulah and comes with visual aids:





"Tallulah's pals Baby and Curious George. Apparently Curious George was misbehaving earlier, as she was putting George on time out while Baby got yogurt. The other night, she was reading a book to her penguin in the bath tub, and the penguin had the audacity to float away. She grabbed him and put him in time-out on the edge of the bathtub. "Time out, Time out." Penguin was then responding "Sorry, sorry" in Tallulah's voice. And Tallulah comforted him with "Kiss kiss Penguin," but followed up with "Time out." Quite interesting to see yourself through the eye's of your child."


I say, aren't children grand?

Beautiful tree during the fall in Philly

New friends and family

OK...this is the last post...I was seriously backed up.

October continued with a wonderful night out with new friends Michelle and Carl. We went to Snack Bar and had all kinds of fancy, schmancy drinks that were quite yummy. I really like Michelle - she is a wonderfully sweet and open person who has helped me to feel at home here in Philly.

We also were privileged to attend Cousin Darnell's graduation from a Leadership Fellows program. We are very proud of him...this group constitutes judges, mayoral chiefs of staff, etc. - all looking to make progressive changes in government and other public-facing institutions. He kind of made me want to get back into policy and politics. Yikes...like I need another thing to work on right now ;)

Some nice pictures of the events.

Birthday pics

I had one of the best birthday weekends ever (yes..it's been a good month) a couple of weeks ago...I went on a lunch cruise with my future mother-in-law Ms. Evans. It was fantastic to see Philadelphia from another angle, on the Delaware River with the various bridges and foliage in the background. The best part was the fact that unbeknownst to us it was a gospel cruise, which meant I FINALLY got to hear African-American gospel music...something I've been dying to do for years. It was always looks so festive and energizing when I see performances on TV but I have never made it into a church to see for myself. Just down our block, there is a church where all the ladies and gentlemen come so finely dressed every Sunday...big colorful hats and all...which has been making me want to go listen even more. Lo and behold I got to do so on my birthday! It was SUCH fun and very energizing. Then Hasan and I went to dinner and then to see Billy Crystal's new play 700 Sundays, which I highly recommend if you get a moment. Can you imagine his family....they started Commodore Records on 42nd Street and produced Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday. In fact he went to his first movies with Billie Holiday. How very cool...



The Monday after I got to see some of my family...drove up to Parsippany NJ at the crazy hour of 5 am and spent the day eating, eating and more eating. How nice is it when your aunts and uncle make everything you want to eat? They even had a surprise birthday cake and balloon for me - which by the way is the gift that keeps on giving: our cat Roxie cannot get enough of this balloon and string; it's making her practice her jumping skills in a big way.



Here are some pics of the weekend...with captions on all of them, as per Hillary's request.

Best time in San Francisco ever

September ended with a 10 day trip to San Francisco that I wish I had the time to write about in detail but I am so busy that pictures will have to do.

Suffice it to say that it was the best time in SF EVER. I got to stay with Ben, Wendy, Tallulah and Sushi and realized more so than I had ever how much I love them and what good people (and cat) they are. I missed them terribly on the plane ride home and still miss them. Good news is that I might have a chance to go back and visit in a couple of weeks.

During the week, I had a wonderful dinner with Emily, whom I have known for 16 years, which is crazy. Spent a lovely afternoon with Katie and her son Adam, after going to Lisa & Michelle's beautiful wedding. The weather during my trip couldn't have been better - 70s and 80s all week long, and the wedding day was no different. I had a yummy dinner with Tracy and Susan at Nopalito in SF - they are such wonderful and strong ladies...I really look up to them. And I even got to meet my future brother-in-law Reggie's girlfriend Adriana...who was nervous to meet me (how cute is that?). I missed a few other friends whom I hope to see the next time.

Here are some pictures of the week - note, there are LOTS of my girl Tallulah...it was really all about her that week. Truth be told, I could have put even more pictures up there. I find that every one with her not smiling or scowling (which are most pictures of her) is just so cute.

Happy Birthday to me!

Then...

And today...

Thanks to my mom for sending me the baby pic!

Being comfortable with uncertainty

I keep hearing that phrase over and over again as I am on this journey. It's purported as necessary to being a successful entrepreneur. Apparently they didn't have me in mind. I'm not anxious, but it's a daily talk with myself to take each event or input in stride and not try to place it in the context of some eventual "known" goal or scenario. I am such a planner - I even plan for alternate scenarios in case plan or scenario "A" doesn't happen. But this journey, it's not so plan-able. Far too many variables and it's just not appropriate to try to solve for all of them. So I'm ok with that...until I'm not, and then I talk to myself or to others, or I read something motivational, and then I'm ok again.

Did I mention I am enjoying this? It's really great to be growing in this way, because the ultimate vision of who I want to be and what I want my and Hasan's future to be like is so very much what I want. And of course life's not guaranteed. Perhaps what comforts me so often is that I know I am good at rolling with the punches in life...I seem to always figure things out in the end.

Over the past few weeks, some neat things have happened. We had our niece Janae over for a night...talk about a ball of energy. She conned me into getting a 6 pack of cinnamon rolls and a slice of pizza at Ikea (on top of the pizza for dinner she had already gotten me to agree to on behalf of Hasan). Hm... We finished our business proposal (if I haven't mentioned it, we're working on growing our real estate development business to rehab blighted properties in Philadelphia using sustainable building techniques to create affordable housing for low- to middle-income families). Thanks Erwin Sr for all the help! We're now working on expanding that business proposal into a proper business plan - we have a goal of completing that by Christmas and are both taking classes at Temple and Wharton to help us do so.

We decided to get married next July here in Philadelphia. We're keeping it very small and simple - I don't like big celebrations, particularly when they are for me. Thankfully Hasan has agreed to keeping it simple, although I know he loves big affairs. We've also decided to make our first trip to India together! We're going in December...very exciting.

I'm working on teaching a seminar on using the internet, particular social media, for art marketing and creation while I'm in India. This is the start of what I'm aiming to be many more teaching opportunities. I also got a response today about doing some consulting work for internet product management - the first "bite" on the fishing line I've only had out for a week or two...crossing fingers that pans out.

And...lastly a large company here in Philadelphia has reached out to me about a new division they are creating. I had a phone interview that went well and next week we're talking about "next steps". This is what I mean...who knows if I'm supposed to be working for somebody else or myself. But, this company is an 8 block walk from my house (how cool is that?) and they are well known for being a great place to work. And the division sounds very exciting.

But....I've just got to go with the flow. And the flow is pretty nice, I must say...Hasan and I are doing very well - I'm happy. We just celebrated our 4 year anniversary with a day trip into NYC where we had a yummy YUMMY meal at Sylvia's. I love fried chicken.

And Roxie is growing up - although she's as much a kitten as ever. Yesterday she was on punishment for a while - which equates to not being allowed in either bedroom.

Can't wait to go to San Francisco in a couple of weeks - lots and lots of time to play with Tallulah (or, Lulabear as Hasan likes to say) and spend with friends I miss a lot.

Here are a few pics of the month - Roxie is in a lot of them...I think we'll end up being "those" parents who have far too many pictures of their child. That's mainly Hasan's fault though. :)

Munchkins

Quick post - we have had two of the loveliest boys with us this past week. Our nephews Jaheim (7) and Jameel (4) have been staying with us while the entire rest of the family is in Virginia at a wedding. Two better behaved boys you probably wouldn't find. It's been a real treat - they go home in a couple of hours and Hasan and I were just saying we kind of wish they weren't leaving.

Wanted to post some pics of them and also the latest pics of our niece Tanuja - she just turned 3!

Feelin free in Philly

It's crazy to say this, but something really good happened to me last week: I got laid off. It wasn't too surprising, although nobody ever expects it to happen the moment it happens. The company was just not focused on the web/e-commerce side of the business anymore, so there wasn't much for me to do. It took me a few hours to realize that I was relieved. Relieved to not be working for someone; relieved to not have to drive an hour each way every day; relieved to be out of the highly political environment it was; and relieved to find myself in this situation at this point in my life - meaning no mortgage, no kids, a little money in the bank, and a great relationship.

It then took me a couple more days to realize that what I really want to do now is start my own thing. I tried not to come to terms with that for a few days - instead I spent plenty of time watching movies with girlfriends, sipping wine at cafes, and playing with Hasan and Roxie. Interwoven in that time were moments that flashed through my mind...moments where I saw myself in the future finally being the person who could lunch and shop and go to museums when I want to and yet work hard on something I really believed in and is the fruit of my own toiling. Those snapshots of a future were really nice.

Come Monday morning, I had made the decision to do it. There are lots of good ideas on the table - some for shorter term revenues, some for the longer term. Who would I be if I hadn't already made a plan to execute on 7 different projects? :)

But I feel it. I feel it in my bones that I can do this. I have some great role models for this - my sister, Susan and Tracy come to mind. I have some great champions - Wendy tells me I am awesome, smart and capable. Hillary tells me I am talented. Hasan is a steady source of encouragement. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but I'm a hard worker. And it's not feeling like hard work when it's Saturday afternoon and I'm sitting on my roof deck enjoying the sun and waiting for Hasan to make iced tea - all while I work on the next steps for each of my ideas. I am going to spend a bit of time looking for a job, and if something fantastic comes my way, I'll have to seriously consider it.

I think I've always wanted this - it's in part what made working from home in Miami so nice. Now I'm on my own schedule and I can go to yoga or pilates, French class or swimming practice, whenever I feel like it. Maybe best of all, I get to take care of and play with my kitty as much as I want.

Who knows if it will all come together as I envision now - most likely it won't as life is rarely what you expect. But I'm enjoying the ride so far...

And last but not least - here are some pics from July. We had a really fabulous time at a July 4th barbecue at Hasan's cousin Darnell's home. What a beautiful day.

Getting rained out

June has been a horrible start to summer...is there a weather theme in my posts here??? We've had nonstop rain. Even with it being 65 - 70 degrees, constant rain sucks. I don't feel like I left SF with this weather. I had been saying when I moved here that I could deal with a cold winter if I could get a real summer. I've held up my end of the bargain during winter - not sure what God is thinking in terms of summer.

My trip to Milwaukee was very nice. You really can't go wrong when your aunt makes everything you want to eat at your request. The first morning I woke up and came down, my cousin Usha asked me if I wanted cereal etc for breakfast. I had seen my aunt cooking, so I figured she was making an Indian breakfast. So I responded "no, I'll wait for the regular breakfast". Turns out my aunt wasn't making breakfast (she had gotten an early start on lunch preparations), and cereal was our meal. I felt silly. Usha didn't let me live it down either. (I think she was jealous that I got so much food attention over the weekend!) It was really nice to reconnect with family...I hadn't seen Usha in 10 years and my aunt and uncle in like 15 years. Crazy...but it was like old times...in some ways. Back in the day, when I was a kid and would be in India, Usha treated me like crap. Seriously. I remember one time we didn't have running hot water in the village where my family was doing some celebration, so we had to boil it. And she made sure I was always the last one to get to use the water because I was the youngest girl. And she was the oldest. She wasn't very nice. As I reminded her of this during the trip, she said something to the effect of yeah...you were of the lowly class. Seriously...that was her response ;) Wonder how it felt for her now to be denied her food requests all weekend in favor of "the lowly class". At least I don't snore like her now! Yea yea, I said it. Anyways, it's nice that she and I have a very similar sense of humor now.

Usha works at SC Johnson whose office buildings were all designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I thought of my sister and Wendy a lot as we walked around the buildings. What a marvel. I got some pics you can see below.

Couple of days after I got back, we got our new kitty!!! Roxie is now home with us...and she's still alive. You can imagine that I watched her like a hawk the first few days for signs she was going to die. I realize she is going to die someday, but I am just not prepared for the trauma of Cookie again. Actually I still watch her like a hawk. If she seems to sleep too much, I touch her belly to measure her heartrate and breathing. If she doesn't eat enough, I check her appetite by seeing if she'll eat cat treats. If I can't find her, I run around the house making sure she didn't get out somehow. Hasan says I'm going to be a nut when we have kids someday. Maybe - but at least we'll have gotten some practice on how to raise a creature together. We're doing well working together on training her. We could do a lot better on the nail trimming issue. Poor thing, I think we traumatized her the other evening as we clipped her nails. She's such a sweetie - she loves to kiss by putting her nose near your nose or lips. She has just discovered a couple of windowsills she can get to and can't stop watching the birds. (I'm secretly trying to train her to kill birds as Hasan wants to get one someday.) She's probably doing very cat-like things, but to me she is amazing and very very cute. Today she is 14 weeks old.

What else...Oh Oh Oh!! I got my braces off! What a wonderful week it has been. I've been eating everything bready and crunchy I can find. I've still got to wear Invisalign during the days and retainers at night, but what freedom. Everybody at work keeps telling me what a big and bright smile I have. I can't stop smiling - but I'm kind of a big smiler anyways...when I'm not frowning.

Even with the rain, we're enjoying ourselves. My friend Deadra and her daughter and daughter's friend were just visiting for the past week from Bermuda. They left yesterday which ends this period of traveling and houseguests for us. Time to get back into a routine, with work, exercise, swimming lessons we're taking together, and our new family addition (I mean Roxie, not a baby, people). We spent yesterday transitioning - cleaning up our house, then sitting down for a day of movies (all the old Star Wars), popcorn, Subway sandwiches, ice cream and candy, and lime-flavored drinks. And our cat.

Happy birthday Akka and Tanuja!

Here are some pics.

Sure glad May is over

For some reason or the other, we're both happy May is over. It was a wonderful month of birthdays for both friends, family and Hasan. We had a nice but too short visit from my youngest cousin Akhila. It was a wonderful month where we took our first real "get on an airplane and go somewhere on vacation together" trip. But it was also a month of finals for Hasan, which he aced but is still nothing one would like to go through again, and a car accident for me. I'm ok - but I got a good banging around to my neck, back and hips. I was worried initially it would reactivate all my injuries from the accident in 2004, but so far so good I think. Just a huge hassle of doctor's and therapy appointments to keep when life is already so busy. Have to take it all with a grain of salt though - it could have been a lot worse.

I had grand visions of writing about our trip - we left for Miami on a Thursday morning and got to spend the afternoon by the pool with Rob, Fabiana and their son Robert and dinner with good friends Nick and Karen. We stayed there overnight and then left for our cruise aboard the Norwegian Sky on Friday afternoon. Docked in Nassau, Bahamas on Saturday morning and spent the day exploring Nassau - including a 2.5 mile walk in 85 degree heat to find an off-the-beaten path beach and restaurant that ended up being closed (ugh!). We left for Great Stirrup Cay island on Saturday evening and docked there on Sunday morning. (That's the cruiseline's private island.) Spent a lovely day on the beach on Sunday and then left for Miami that evening, docking Monday morning. We even got to spend the rest of Monday in Miami. It was an absolutely wonderful time - something we really needed and enjoyed. Lots of really good parts - but seeing my nephew Robbie might have taken the cake...he is SO cute.

But anyways, like I was saying - I had grand visions of writing some good stories from the trip, but my patience for sitting upright at a computer is low these days. So just look at the pictures, I say. I warn you...there are a lot (I also have no patience for sifting through these pictures.)

Here are some additional pictures from the month - Hasan was sort of missing me this month I think...he took a lot of pics of me. It was a bit prescient I suppose - the pics of me in the red shirt are from the morning before I got in the car accident...kind of eerie.

Today, I'm off to Milwaukee for the weekend to visit my aunt and uncle at my cousin's house. They are visiting from India and I haven't seen them for years...and Hasan gets the house to himself for a few days. Uh-oh...

Spring is here!

I was so looking forward to spring coming because I simply thought it would mean warmer weather. What I didn't know was what spring means in a place with real seasons. I cannot begin to explain the beauty in nature around me...outside my work window are trees of deep purple, of lavendar, of light pink, and of a bright fuschia. There are bushes with white flowers. There are dandelions EVERYWHERE. As I drive to and from work, there is just an incredibly display of beauty with trees, bushes and flowers of all the different colors (yellow, red, eggplant, orange, lots of purple, and so on) and sizes right next to each other. I've never seen so many shades of green before even! It's really quite spectacular and I'm thankful to have such a surprise. It really makes me like this place a bit more.

The warmer weather is nice too :) In April, we had a few days of 85+ degrees which then fell back down to mid 60s. I am fine with mid 60s, although again yesterday we had an 85+ day. I actually didn't go outside at all because my legs were so tired. I've been working out a lot gearing up for our trip to Miami and the Bahamas this week (need to lose the weight I've gained since becoming a Philadelphian) and I was just too exhausted to walk around. Plus I'd worked like a madwoman making brunch for Hasan and his mother in the morning. (Banana & raisin pancakes FROM SCRATCH, eggs with mushrooms, red onions, spinach and cheese, and a fruit bowl of strawberries and blackberries) I was content to watch Tivo and eat popcorn and nap.

In April, we've been getting out more. Went on a driving trip into Montgomery and Bucks Counties, north of Philly. Spent some time walking the streets of Newtown, which is the town Ben Franklin built to get out of the city. Very charming and cute. Had some yummy ice cream here at the Zebra Striped Whale, which is owned by the same people who wrote the children's book. Lots of churches on this drive. I mean LOTS. Felt a bit guilty to be out driving on a Sunday.

We went to northern New Jersey to visit my cousin Deepak and his wife Teja, who are about to have a baby soon. Very excited for them! Enjoyed some nice Indian takeout and watched the two gents play chess - not sure exactly if someone won...I was looking at pictures from their wedding the whole time.

We also got to go to the Boston vs. Philly basketball game thanks to our friends Greg and Rashida. We even got premier passes which got us into the "exclusive" restaurant/bar. The really cool part was getting to walk right next to the players/teams area on the court, seeing Cheryl Miller (she is pretty tall) and having everybody look at us and wonder who we were. Yea...I said it - It was cool to act like a star. Wish Kevin Garnett was playing, but even without him Boston won.

And....we met our new kitty!! We named her Roxie. She was rescued along with her mom and 3 brothers and sisters. We went to meet her when she was about 5 weeks old and was still with her family. They were all sooooo cute. They were living in one of the rescue lady's parents bathroom. They were so playful and running all over us etc. The rescue people told us that she was their favorite. :) Normally you can bring a kitten home at 8 weeks, but our doctor at U of Penn advised us and the rescue people that it would be better to wait until 12 weeks since we had the virus in our house. No matter how good you clean, you neverknow. So she comes home to us on May 29th...we're so excited. I talk to Rachael, the rescue lady, often to see how she is doing. Yesterday she told me that Roxie punched her little brother in the eye, so much so he needs medication now. Boxin Roxie, that's her new name. I hear she loves attention and doesn't much care for her sibling getting any. She'll be fine here - going to be doted upon to no end, I'm sure. She's a climber - when we visited her, she climbed all the way up Rachel onto her shoulder and was playing with her hair - crazy! And what's more fun to climb than a 6 foot 4 inches guy.

Here are some pics. Next up, pictures from our vacation!

Welcome Tanuja!

What an exciting time for our family...my sister has adopted her new daughter Tanuja. A bright eyed 2 1/2 year old that I hope to meet sometime soon. It's pretty crazy...when you watch someone go on a journey for so long, have ups and downs, and finally arrive - it's almost like they were always there. Even stranger is that this is just the beginning of a whole new journey for her, for us as a family. If the love my sister has shown me in my lifetime is any indication, this little girl has found a wonderful place in which to grow.

Now if only I could get her to set up the webcam soon...I'm missing out!!!

March pics

Beyond the trauma of the loss of Cookie, we had a March filled with family, bits of spring peeking in, and a lovely drive through Fairmount Park of old mansions built in the 1700s and 1800s.

Here are some pics.

I miss you Cookie

It's been hard for me to think of sitting down to write this post. So strange that just a week ago I was so very excited to share the good news. Actually, it's not very strange to me - rather, it's just plain scary how quickly life changes.

A week ago, on St. Patrick's Day, it was a wonderful day. We finally got the call that our application to adopt a kitten had been approved. I was quite sick with cold and fever, but I rushed to get dressed and go with Hasan to pick her up. We had seen these beautiful 3 kittens for adoption at the pet store...3 sisters, the "mellow" one of whom I had taken a liking to. I had wanted mellow because let's face it, this would be my first pet and I'm scared of things with claws. I don't know if we actually ended up getting the mellow one I was so intent on when we picked her up as they all looked the same...but it doesn't matter. On the drive home, we named her Cookie, as in Cookie Monster. What a scary few hours when Hasan purposely left me alone with her while he went to class. Scary indeed - ha! Within a few hours, I had bonded with this 8 week old, grey tabby kitten like we had known each other forever. Thank God I was sick because I got to spend morning, noon and night with her on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Everything she did was so funny, or cute, or maddening, or worrisome to me. I made sure to make her first vet appointment for the following Tuesday. I wanted to make sure she had everything she needed. A few close friends know we had bought everything we thought we'd need even before we ever brought her home. I was so, so, sooo excited to have her in the house. I was trying to teach her what to do, what not to do, where to sleep, where not to poop...all this love that I guess I had been wanting to give, she began to bring out of me. Thursday afternoon I was so excited because I got her to sleep in her bed. I put her there and just petted her to sleep. She would look up if I moved, but then I'd pet her again and she was back to sleep. I felt so proud.

Little did I know she was getting sick. When she didn't eat her Thursday afternoon lunch, I was a bit worried. But they say cats are finicky. When she still hadn't eaten by Friday evening and all she wanted to do was sleep, I knew there was something wrong. Saturday morning I took her to Philadelphia Animal Hospital where they ran tests on her, gave her a subcutaneous hydration shot, and gave us antibiotics and a calorie supplement to feed her with an eyedropper while we waited for bloodwork to come back. Poor thing just wanted to be held by us all day Saturday. She was so cooperative when we forced her mouth open to feed her. And then she would vomit. It's the worst thing ever to watch something you care for be sick. Sunday morning, I got an awful call from the doctor: "She has panleukopenia and if you want to try to save her, you have to get her admitted to University of Pennsylvania Vetinerary Hospital." So that's what we did right away.

And from there began 60 awful hours. If you ever need an animal taken care of, Penn Vet is the place to be. They took such good care of her and us. Calling us every few hours, telling us exactly what they were doing and why. When she made it through the night to Monday morning despite being very very sick, I was hopeful. She had lots of ups and downs on Monday, but when she made it to Tuesday morning, and Dr. Hollinger told me she was playing and hanging on her cage in the morning, I truly believed she was going to be ok. She was in the isolation ward (basically an isolated kitten ICU) because her virus was very contagious but she was hanging in there. All that changed in the afternoon - the Dr called and said her blood pressure was very low, her blood sugars were falling, and they were going to try a plasma transfusion. But by 7 pm that hadn't worked and she said it was time for us to make a decision about euthanasia.

We went to the hospital right away, and could just see our baby through the window of the unit. She looked sooo tiny and tired. Her poor 2 lbs body was so full of wires and IVs and she just couldn't move. Hasan thought she was sedated but no, she was just that tired and sick. I knew then she had to leave us...now. I just couldn't take it. After she passed, the Dr. brought her out to me for a few minutes to pet. How could she still feel so soft and look so beautiful? I just didn't understand how a few days ago she was hanging from our kitchen table and now she was gone. I still don't understand it. But I know she's better off now. I pray she is getting to play with her sisters in some cosmic heaven.

Just on Friday I was saying to Hasan how thankful I was that she was with us - how much just the past couple of days with her had taught me about giving love unconditionally. I think that's why she came to be in our lives - I think it must have been horrible for the other kitties who must also have been infected to have just died in their cage in pain...at least she had 2 dedicated doctors and us with her for her last week on this earth.

Some moments, it's hard being at home...I keep seeing her little crazy body running around and climbing things. This is very hard for me to process - to realize the finality of it all. She is the first creature - human or not - that I care about to have passed away. Death seems like an awful thing because it's so final - there is no more. I had only 7 days with her.

But I keep thinking of her so tired and lifeless and realize she's better off. The doctors told us that when she had bursts of energy and was being silly in her cage, she made lots of the other doctors and nurses passing by laugh - this makes me feel good. She was a beautiful kitty and she made us laugh too.

Here are some pictures and videos of our lovely time together.

I really miss you Cookie.

Cookie Monster Andrews, 1/24/09 - 3/24/09

Happy Birthday, baby Corwin!

Had a wonderful day off work yesterday. Good friends Chris and Hillary, and their 1 year old daughter Corwin, were visiting in NYC from LA. I took the day off and took the new BoltBus service into NYC (only $10 each way!), getting in around 11 am. Then taxi'ed over to the MOMA on 53rd and 5th Avenue and got to meet them along with Hillary's father for a lovely lunch at the Museum cafe. Afterwards Chris graciously took Corwin back to the hotel as Hillary and I walked around Rockefeller Center. We stopped in at a wine bar, smiled our way into their letting us eat our YUMMY cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery while we sipped a "full and intense" pinot noir with a lot of "finesse" (or so the wine list said). Spent some lovely hours back at the hotel playing with Corwin (and salivating over the remaining cupcakes) and then walking around the totally-renovated Grand Central terminal where I discovered a wonderful spice company - Penzey's. I bought some of their hot chocolate and cannot wait to try making it at home. Then I took the Bolt Bus right back home and was on my couch by 8:15 pm. How cool!

It's really good to have a friend for 15 years. Who would have thought 15 years ago when Hillary and I were finishing up undegrad at NYU that we would be walking around those same streets again...at these new places in our lives. There is something very comforting about all of that I think. Something that makes you realize that even though you have no idea what the future will bring, it brings good stuff and that good people are there with you throughout.

Here are some pics of the day.

Is it spring yet?

February was a good month. We had our first dinner party together...we hosted Greg and Rashida at our house where I made my honey mustard salmon that seems to be a hit every time I make it (phew!). We all played Monopoly but had to cut the game short when there was a serious dispute over the rules. Ahem...

Hasan and I went to the Philadelphia Car Show which was a treat as we got to sit in some of our favorite cars. For now, at least, that's the closest we'll get to them.

I took a walk over to the Rodin Museum which is just a few blocks from our apt. I can't wait for it to be spring and there to be flowers and trees in bloom around it. It will be gorgeous.

I spent a lot of time cooking...more like experimenting. Lots of stuff was awful. Tried to make this Costa Rican snapper with rice that was so awful I had to throw the fish out and just keep the rice to eat. Note to self - I'm not a big fan of white fish. Made "salmon bulgogi" which I don't need to make again. Thank God Hasan is such a trooper. And I'm glad it's now March which means it's his turn to do the grocery shopping...giving me a break from thinking up new fandangled things to buy at the store and make.

We ended the month with a nice drive down to Maryland, just outside of Newark (pronounced new-arc, not new-urk...they are VERY particular down there about that) for Hasan's cousin's daughter's first birthday. Got a chance to meet some new family and see a beautiful sleepy Maryland town. So very different than Philly...

I'm looking forward to March - although my new friend here Meredith said today that March is the worst because winter feels over but it's definitely not warm enough for spring. Sounds awful - cold icy rain most days. Although tonight we're supposed to get 8 inches of snow. Meredith and I went to see the movie Taken today - definitely a heart-pounding adventure. Made me think twice about letting my children ever go anywhere by themselves.

Speaking of children, big birthday kisses to my cuties this week - Corwin, Tallulah, Adam and Gordito (Rob). Can't believe it's been a year since they were all born.

For more pics of the past month - and don't worry, I spare you pics of the salmon bulgogi - click here.

Next up - our kitty! I cannot wait to get a kitten. I think about it every day. We just got its litter cabinet the other day and need to put it together. Then we'll buy all the supplies so that we are prepared to bring it home, and we'll find a vet. Then we can go visit the shelters and adoption agencies to find one we like. I AM SO EXCITED.

Snow Day!

Yesterday was my first snow day since moving here! What a nice day. I woke up at 6 am, feeling that I had a ton to do as I was supposed to leave for Boston yesterday afternoon for training and hadn't begun to pack or anything yet - plus I had meetings all day. I happened to peek through the blinds and saw inches upon inches of snow outside. I tried to wake Hasan up to go play in the snow with me, but he just yelled out NO! So I got to work on my "computer errands" as I like to call them. When he awoke, he was more amenable to going outside - although I gotta say he didn't get his jacket and boots and gloves and hat on fast enough for me. I rushed out ahead of him, and ran for the snow to make a snowball to hit him with by the time he got outside. Lo and behold the snow was hard as ice - ICK! What a disappointment. I was a frowny face by the time he got outside. Nevertheless we went for a short walk, and then proceeded about the business of de-snowing and de-icing our cars. By the time we were almost done with the first car (mine), my hands were in major hypothermia and I wussed out and got in my car with its heated seats while he cleaned off his car. I know - selfish. But if your fingers felt like they were going to fall off, you'd have done the same thing.

I proceeded to work from home, feeling anxious about the travel thing. But, thank goodness, I checked my flight status around 10:30 and found out that my flight had been canceled - YAY!!! So I had a fairly light day of work, phone meetings all day...interspersed with investigations into getting a cat. I'm on a campaign to get us a cat - Hasan loves the idea, but he's being the financial warden on this one and making sure we can afford to properly take care of it. So I just have to make a plan for it and then we can get one. I think he's already named the cat anyways...so I think this will be an easy sell ;)

I finished up work around 4:30 and proceeded to sit my butt on the couch, watch loads of Tivo'd shows and went to bed at 9 pm.

Couldn't have asked for a better day.

Return to the homeland

I just got back from a lovely 6 days in Miami. It's always always ALWAYS good to go back to Miami. I was there for the Internet Retailer conference, but I got there a few days early just to spend time with my dear friends Fabiana and Karen. What a perfect time to go - sometimes winter in Miami can be downright cold (in the 50s) but the weekend was just gorgeous (in the 70s) and a PERFECT break from the 20 degree temperatures in Philly. I stayed at the historic (and storied) Fountainebleau resort. They recently spent $1 billion to renovate the hotel. The hotel was very beautiful, but kind of a pain when you think of the fact that it was about 30 blocks north of South Beach where everything is going on, so you are beholden to the hotel for food and drink. And it was expensive - $9.10 for a small latte and plain croissant! Thank goodness for being able to submit expense reimbursements to the office.

I got to spend a wonderful day in South Beach with Karen - going to the Art Deco street fair on Ocean Drive (and buying a pair of earrings), having lunch at the Front Porch Cafe, and sangria at the Hotel Victor. But of course the highlight of my trip was little Gordito (his name is actually Rob) - Rob & Fabiana's son. He's crawling now and ever so eager to walk.

I did miss Hasan terribly - strange since we've spent so many months apart in our relationship. I was even eager to come back to the cold temperatures. The trip gave me plenty of motivation to come back to Philly, work our plan, and figure out a way to get back down there permanently. Who knows where we will be next year?!

Here are some pictures from the trip.