Wonderful memories-"Bundles of Joy"

Thanx Liz and deepti for sharing Ur memories......

Its always nice to go back and refresh all our memories.Just today my friend (who is from turkey)and i had a discussion about Indian's and marriages and how i got married.It made me so happy just to see those wedding pictures and actually sink in that past feeling.Marriage is so important to all of us and it was important to me too..may be because there was a lot of pressure in my house to get married as soon as i finish my education.So soon after my MCC graduation there were lot of proposals and i hated to get dressed and go stand just like a show piece front of them.So in between i convinced my dad tht i cud study in correspondence.He had to agree coz for some reason my marriage was getting delayed.Then i joined BIT for MCA and also got a job in JNCASR .

Here my life had started to take a new turn when i got a spam email from my husband(vikram).First ignored it..but eventually started chatting and exchaging emails.Then we decided we shud meet and after tht fell in love .It was a huge step for me becoz love is treated as a sin in my house and i didnt want anybody to know abt it.Luckily Vikram was also the same caste(...) so managed to make it look like an arranged marriage.It was dream come ture for me because from the time i met vikram i wanted to be with him for the whole of my life.Then after tht life is moving in full speed.I quit job got married in 2004.Then we went to korea but cud not stay there so came back.Then in 2006 he had got a project in San Diego but i was pregnant with Anish.

So our son "Anish" was born and then came here coz Vikram was already here.So new people new place..all for good..but just waiting to return to the land where we always belonged.

My Past On A Page

First, let me give Liz a big Thank You for putting up a post and sharing her story with us. I was almost tired of being the only one writing on the blog.

Where do I start? It has been a long ride...yet, the world tells me that it is only the beginning. So, before I begin to bore you with philosophy let me hit the rewind button. I'll try keeping this as short as I can, but if you find me getting into nitty-gritty details just jump to the next interesting line you find.

So, just after college I began work. I could not think of studying more since I was handling two courses in college itself - our B.Sc. and a three year graduation course in NIIT, side by side. It took up my entire day and I simply did not want more books. So I began working. Getting my first job was a breeze. Funny enough as it may seem, although I was so inclined to get into the IT industry, I entered the service industry as a Customer Care Representative in a car showroom...yes, I'm sure most of you did not know that! I changed jobs and with a measly experience of 6 months I managed to get promoted into car sales in the second firm. Can you beat that? Well, it was a short stint though. And, while my employer and co-workers firmly believed I could do very well (which I would proudly say I did, since they still remember me in those companies! haha!!) I knew that was not my cuppa chai. I was thirsty for something more.

While I began my search for a better career, something where I could prove my mettle (and make use of all that I had learned back in college and NIIT), my family began the search for my better half. I let them do their bit while I did mine. I simply was not interested! But, like they say, "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans". As you might have guessed I got married in 2002. Deepak, my hubby entered my life and so did a great job. And, then on there was no stopping for good times. Although I was employed to be a Relationship Manager, I ended up working as a Content Developer and Designer, for starters, and then over a couple of jobs I moved onto Technical Writing (main job profile) and also handled assignments that dealt with designing. Was I happy? More than you can imagine. I loved writing, so I loved my job - The last one being at i-flex solutions ltd., Bangalore back in 2006.

Things could not have been better and time moved on. But, that is when we knew something was not right. There was something incomplete in our lives and something missing. Of course, that is not difficult to realize. It was - A baby! While it could seem like the easiest of things for most people, for us it was perhaps the first challenge we faced as a couple, as a family. I got diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and we went from pillar to post looking for a (possible?) solution. I saw about a dozen doctors, went through a hundred tests, ate a thousand pills, had a million ultrsounds - all for zilch! The only thing we got out of all this was frustration and a feeling that life was just plain bad. So, plans for a baby took a backseat in our lives but hope never died.

Early 2006, Deepak got deployed here in New Jersey on a project. I quit my job and joined him soon. I came here on a dependant visa (and still am), so I am on a sabbatical of sorts. Life in a new place came as a refreshing change. Almost like a breath of fresh air. And, I believe it is that which helped us in a way to re-analyze things. To re-start and re-live life all over again. While, visits to the doctor (yes, ONE - not n) continued here too, we decided not to think too much about it. I, for one, decided to enjoy my life. So what if we did not have a baby....We had our whole lives ahead. (at least that is what I convinced myself into believing, but it was so hard, I cannot explain!!). So I decided to live it to the fullest. And, just when I thought that way and put loving life in front of hating it, God perhaps decided that we had gone through enough. Sometimes things work best when you stop worrying, they say. I cannot agree more!

We were blessed with baby boy Samvit, early in January 2009 and like most of you have put it... I joined the roller coaster ride too! Today, he is all of 17 months old and is my happiness personified. Yes, that is my little dose of nostalgia .... my past on a page.

Going Down Memory Lane

Ok.. finally getting to sit down and actually do some blogging. After Deepti put a lot of effort into initiating and creating this blog, I think it was time I wrote something! So like Deepti suggested, I thought going down memory lane would be a nice way to start.

The three years that I spent in bangalore was time I know I can never get back. I look back at those times and wish , if only I got it back just to have that same kind of fun we used to have. Offcourse we did have our share of bad grades , trying to figure out what 'rings' are in those math classes and getting yelled at by Lakshmi ma'am for not understanding those statistic theories. But we also had laughs in those classes too. CMS girls remember the word "corresponding" ?! We had so much fun in that CS class just making fun and that word never got out of our heads! Lakshmi ma'am was fun apart from her serious classes and I enjoyed her classes. As far as math is concerned.. I can't remember much(oops)! The ladies can fill me up on those.

After MCC, my parents told me to try and write my GRE exams so that I could have a chance at coming to the US to do my MS . Since the schools here have 4 years of their bachelors, I went to chennai to do a one year course and simultaneously studied for my gre exam. I will never write that exam again!!! Once that was done, I applied to schools here and got into a school in New Jersey for MS in CS. Not that I had this urge to come here.. but took it as a opportunity and decided to come to the US.

So I did my MS here then worked for a year in Atlanta. Got married in 2006 to my dear hubby whom i met in school here. And then we became parents. We have a wonderful son named Jaiden , who is going to turn 2 next month. What can I say about him.. apart from being curious, naughty, tactful, playful, notorious and looks like he is on a caffeine rush all the time.. he is simply adorable. He has a mind of his own that I fail to understand 90% of the time, and has a huuuugge loving heart.

As far as being a mom.. it is a roller coaster ride ( I hate roller coasters)!! From the day he was born till this moment... it is one continuous effort to be that one good parent. The past two years , I must say .. has been such a learning process and still haven't learnt enough. Apart from me screaming my head off to him for not listening or eating when he should , and having "wars" with him.. there are moments of great joy.. in his laughter... when he plays, when he took that first step, when he repeats a word that you just taught him , when suddenly he tries to sing that song that you have been singing to him for a long time and finally when he closes his eyes at the end of the day to only realize that he is an angel (Plus this whole roller coaster ride starts in the morning again)!.

I think I have written too much! ok ladies... that is my memory lane. I hope to read more about all of you and let me congratulate all the moms and to-be moms out there! oh yes...cannot forget the fathers.. Happy Father's Day to the fathers out there !