Ode to Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes announced his retirement from professional football earlier this week. He was one of the best footballers around and certainly the best in his position during the modern era. A role model both on and off the field. Here is a recent interview he gave to BBC. He is a quiet camera shy person with modesty and humility rarely found in people of his trade. I find that astonishing for someone with an amazing-out-of-this-world-fantabulous talent. I recently read that United fans wear a t-shirt in his honor that reads "Get up, go to work, play the game, get showered, go home" which is exactly what he did for 17 years he played for United. He was never in the news for non-football reasons! He played during an era where United dominated English football and he commanded a starting position pretty much all through when he was fit. More than one manager has said that he was/would have been the first name on their team sheet and anyone who has trained with him regards him as the best footballer. He will be sorely missed not just by Manchester United fans but by football fans everywhere. I am a huge huge fan and I was really sad when I heard the news. All I want to say is:

Thank you Paul Scholes

for your tackles and your goals

You were absolute class

perfect weight on every pass

even the ones you played on a hunch

and boy your shots packed a punch!

Never before and never since

Oh ginger ninja,  Oh ginger prince

will we see a midfielder so pure

and of that I am sure!

And its Summer again!

I am so happy that after all the snow, freezing temperatures & rain, the weather is finally awesome! A long weekend in this part of the world. We didn't plan any trips for this weekend since A had some work. But the weekend has been fun, and we have been enjoying the great weather. On Friday night, we went out to eat in one of the Italian restaurants in the area. They had outdoor seating, it was just so nice to sit out and dine. Yesterday, we went on a short hike, and then went to see 'Chalo Dilli' in the evening. Quite liked the movie, lots of laughs and, as usual, Vinay Pathak was awesome. I think Lara Dutta acted well too.

Since the weather is going to be good over the next few months, we got some balcony furniture. I also bought some plants & flowers. I got petunias and begonias, and am trying to grow tomatoes, hot peppers, cilantro and mint. Really excited! The flowers look so beautiful, just love admiring them every time I look out!! I plan to make more additions in June & July.

We went on a vacation to India for 3 weeks in March-April. Overall, the trip was great. We went to Chennai first, met all my relatives and attended my cousin's engagement. It was good to attend a function in India after a long time and to meet everyone. Then we went on a trip to Coorg with my parents. Had a fabulous time there with them. After Coorg, we went to Udaipur. Udaipur is such a beautiful city. This was my 3rd trip there but the first time that I got to spend some quality time there with everyone and visiting places. All the lakes and the Aravallis, just beautiful. We went around the city a lot. Also went and stayed in a palace turned resort a little outside of the city with A's friends. I had close to a 1000 pictures at the end of our trip. An interesting and mostly fun trip, spent quality time with family and friends, but at the end of the 3 weeks, I wanted to come back to our life here.

So here we are, back to our jobs and routine. Work has been busy for us. Really can't believe it that it has been a month & a half since we got back. Looking forward to the rest of the summer..

Petunias in our balcony..

Tongue tied & twisted

It is sad when this happens, especially with people with whom you think conversation should be easy & natural. You are staring blankly at someone and absolutely no words come out. You can barely have a conversation lasting more than a couple of minutes over the phone. The silence is uncomfortable but so is the small talk. Jeez. How do you deal with such distances?

Winter Wonderland..

I have been meaning to write for the longest time now but never got around to doing it. And it's already 2011. I am excited about this new year. I actually have a set of resolutions for this year, a first for me!

The second half of last year was an emotional roller-coaster. Without getting into the specifics, let me just say that I had been extremely touchy. Hopefully, I am through that phase and am more in control of my emotions now.

Besides all that, we moved into a lovely new place. It's funny how we think ourselves to be one way or the other, only to realize later we were probably never that way in the first place. Or maybe we just change over time. I used to believe that after living in one place for years, I would hate moving to a new place and settle down all over again. I always knew that A was more flexible and adapted to new situations fast but I think I surprised myself this time. I absolutely love our new place and it's been great fun exploring new things here together with A. Think I am more open to bigger moves now..

Our customary camping trip was to Maine end of summer last year. Really, Bar Harbor - Maine, has got to be one of the most beautiful places I have been to within the United States. Loved it. Reminded both of us of St. John, USVI.

And thanksgiving of last year was a fabulous break. We got other with all of A's cousins and their families. Hope we continue this new tradition over the years. It really inspired me to organize something like that with my cousins. It will be awesome fun.

Here's hoping this year is fantastic for everyone!

Random Thoughts...

It's been a while since I posted. Time has been flying by really fast. Busy work weeks, busy weekends - sometimes, I am really happy that there's so much activity and at other times, I just want to stop and freeze the moment or the hour or the day!

We enjoyed South Africa - the football matches, the people, Kruger, the countryside and all the driving. I'm so glad we went, even with all the last minute confusion. I don't see us doing such a trip again anytime in the near future, this was our chance, and I'm happy we took it. On our flight to Jo'burg, I got into a conversation with this American lady, middle-aged, who was travelling to South Africa, with her husband and two grown-up sons. They were to see a couple of matches, visit Kruger, and then travel to Namibia. She talked about how she and her husband had traveled quite a bit before they had kids, and that they had liked it so much, that when they had kids, they started making trips with them. She parted with some advice, 'Continue to work really hard, so you can travel to all these great places!'. I loved her enthusiasm and it gave me a lot of hope for the future, not just about travel but life in general..

So glad it's Friday tomorrow! Really looking forward to the weekend. I am hoping for a quiet one at home........