One year ago, I landed in the US on Oct 10th. I completed 1 year of my stay here. Today is oct 12th. My first year has been very safe and sound.

What has changed ? I am little more comfortable. Aditi has started going to school (it's been over a month now) and Ruchira has been busy with life in general. Looks like change is in the horizon. An unexpected change - Lots of things to think about.

November, we are off to India. We will be back on Decmber 4th. We are going to Rohit's wedding. Nothing more to say right now. Work is going on. I need to make some more - this seems less to me (at least from what I have heard or seen).

A lot has happened since I sat and wrote down. December 15th was my last entry. Let me browse through my mobile and write own the events since December 15th.

Firstly Ruchira and Bebo joined me - waited for 6 months for this day.

But let me go fwd chronologically:

1) Well December was in fact a month when bebo's bday happened and she posed like this real obedient girl in front of the cake. I loved the foto

2) I had been to Washington DC with Mayank and really enjoyed a nice walk in the capital. I remember walking a lot and finally going to a restaurant and eating a forgettable lunch and then taking a ride back in the bus.

3) The first snow hit Herndon in the middle of December and I was feeling the pinch of not having a car. I was sensing that it was getting tougher to ask colleagues to stop by my house everyday and ask for a drop. I was just plainly hesitant.

4) January was a month when Ruchira took up her GRE and TOEFL and one week went in filling up her forms and stuff like that. She was insanely busy both at work and at home but she did a good job at GRE and I am proud of her. Whether she is able to go to the Masons or not is a different thing to be addressed. Some days in January were unforgivingly cold and I had to wrap myself in the sheet. The last week of January, I made up my mind to buy a car. One saturday, I called up DCU ad Geico and with DCU I enquired about the loan and with Geico I got the insurance. I made the insurance purchase and then I went to Honda of Chantilly and brought back VED home on Jan31st. With Ved, most of my travel problems were solved. It was a relief to have a car.

5) I remember making a nice pongal and bisibele baaths every now and then and enjoying a nice lunch. My cooking skills improved especially when I started trying exotic stuff like a mexican style  chilly beans.

6) The Valentine's day and the next week after that were HARROWING to say the least. Snowing all day long and then shovelling the next morning to take inches of snow from a new car. Well, I was having the time of my life. But the best part was the workload was light in February. Which enabled me to have a more casual lifestyle rather than panic unnecessarily. As february was getting over Ruch and Bebe went to the showrooms and got themselves some good dresses and then there was Rohit's engagement. I remember amma inviting Rohit's fiancee to our house and then I speaking to her and her folks. The last week of february, I prepared a nice remix for Bebe and Richa to dance at Hyatt.

7) March was about a little more work and then Rohit's engagement and Bebo's dance for the zooby remix and then the birthday season and everyone whatsapping everybody else. I stopped cooking in March and started ordering Flying Curry. I finnaly got my driving license......I was tired to say the least.

Life has been pretty laidback at Herndon. Let's see what happens next....

There are days when I get really pissed off and this is one such day.

Note to self: You the know the reason.

I realize that I have to wait for more than a YEAR to get back to Bangalore. And that too for a short stay. This is not like my previous trips.

Am I doing this right ? Is this what I wanted ?

Finally last week I got my Social Security Number. There are 2 more big things to be completed. Get a Driver's License for the state of Virginia. Then get a car - without which it is impossible. I will most probably go for a used car. Don't know, let me see - what kind of APR I might get. If this visa thing had not happened, I would have been in Bangalore, and would have been thinking of maruti ciaz. Life changes so much - But I believe that's what makes life enriching.  Too much of change might be hazardous as well - Till now it's been good - rather I should say , it's not been bad. I hope it continues

Ruchira's parcel came yesterday with some books which I wanted and some clothes and some more pudis which I wanted. Felt great to see my stuff come all the way to me crossing the oceans!
Went with Mayank to Swagath, Indian restaurant for buffet lunch - It was ok.

I am waiting for the thanksgiving weekend - that's when I will buy a TV! I am keeping a budget of $500. Skype has become a day-in day-out activity occupying 1 hr. Hmmm.

If the night turned cold and the stars looked down
And you hug yourself on the cold cold ground

You wake the morning in a stranger's coat
No one would you see
You ask yourself, who's watched for me
My only friend, who could it be
It's hard to say it
I hate to say it, but it's probably me

When your belly's empty and the hunger's so real
And you're too proud to beg and too dumb to steal
You search the city for your only friend
No one would you see
You ask yourself, who could it be
A solitary voice to speak out and set me free
I hard to say it
I hate to say it, but it's probably me

-Sting, 'It's probably me'

With a little help from my friends I was able to move some cheap furniture into the second floor of my apartment. Now my apartment looks like a place where I can do something other than cooking and sleeping.

I feed the fish in the morning. I think there are about 15 fish in my aquarium. There are 16 of us in the apartment. 15 fish and 1 human being.

The cold weather has started. I will need to keep myself warm and active throughout the winter. Ruchira has couriered stuff from Bangalore.

There are three or four big things which I must finish before March or April - I must be able to do it. DL, Credit Card with good credit history, Car loan and car, TV. Lot of kharcha is there.

I had been to Chutney's with Mayank.  Hot bhajji and capsicum bonda with onion nimbu and chat masala at a 0.5 km from my place. Tasted real good. So many people from Andhra.

I miss Bangalore badly. Miss everything about it. I would have gone to DVG on a weekend or some nice restaurant like Cafe Pascucci which I visited with my daughter. I would have relished tender coconut and the coconut flesh.

Here I am: In a new place knowing about 4 people in the whole city trying to start a new life.

Sometime ago, I read a phrase like "After you leave your hometown, things will NEVER be the same". I'll hate to see that happen to me when I am back to Bangalore.

Change happens in life and we, as animals should adapt to change. I understand it - I bloody well understand it. In that case, why do we have nostalgia ? How does it facilitate growth and development and facilitate change - from an evolution point of view ? Rather it makes us crave for the past - which is pointless.

Exactly one month ago, I was in the airport leaving India, I'm happy that one month is over. But still 5 more to go to Aditi and Ruchira to land here. Skype is such a blessing. I am able to talk to my near and dear ones. However, I feel video-conferencing to home should be more than seeing talking faces. I should be able to go to my room , my kitchen in India while talking. Should get the feeling I am in the Bangalore house, 

My second week in Herndon was quite more happening than the first week. I got a laptop at work and got some documents which I started to look at. I met a colleague from India who has worked in Bangalore a majority of his professional life and he is of my age. In my new workplace, the people are older compared to that of my Blr company. Many are married with kids and many of them are older than I am. I have realized that this helps professionally as well as people will be able to devote similar amounts of time to work and adhere to timings. Right now one colleague from office is dropping me to work and back - But I have to find a solution here asap. This won't work fr long time.

Mayank, who is a cousin of Ruchira is helping me set up the apartment and driving me through the city of Herndon / Reston / Sterling and Ashburn areas. I am so thankful to him. The only cousin of Ruchira whom I had never met for the past 7 years of marriage - I got to meet him here. He is here for the past 1.5 years.

Although the towns Herndon, Reston, Ashburn are nearby from a US point of view, I cannot say they are nearby. These places are kind of scattered with vast expanses of land. Land esp. unused land is so abundant here, that it would be a city planner's delight. There is a spa for dogs and cats in the middle of nowhere. With so much land, you can afford to make mistakes in a city plan and redo terrains and roads.

Yesterday morning was spent cooking of a bisibele baath which turned out to be a winner in all departments and banana/apple custard. Point to be noted is , never try to argue with women about cooking. Especially with social media like whatsapp, there is no point is showing your cooking skills - it becomes a "i-am-better-than-you" slugfest. Sunday has been the most boring Sunday I have had for quite sometime now.

There are still lot of things to be done here to setup - So many things to actually do : to say I am almost settled. Let's keep going.