Loss for word(s)

This picture sums up how I have been feeling since a week ago but is there that one word that can perfectly describe how I feel?

Starting last week, me and a friend who lives London have been texting each other about how we are going to see each other again soon (but not soon enough). We suspect no one else back home can truly understand how we are feeling. She drags herself to work and dreams of eating prata. I have no mood to cook and can only think of the tiny red dot island. 

Is there a word that can describe our longing of going home, anticipation, lack of focus and restlessness? I thought about it for awhile and I cannot find that elusive word.

I am no wordsmith but I try to get it right the best I can when it comes to using words. Many times, the meaning of words seem close but no two words mean exactly the same thing. This reminds me of the movie Pursuit of Happyness when Will Smith (Gardner) explains to his son:

Chris Gardner: Probably means there's a good chance. Possibly means we might or we might not.

Christopher: Okay.

Chris Gardner: So, what does probably mean?

Christopher: It means we have a good chance.

Chris Gardner: And what does possibly mean?

Christopher: I know what it means! It means we're not going to the game.

No doubt it is playing with words to his advantage but isn't that the fun of it all?

After spending time looking through online thesauruses and googling about being homesick, going home, etc, I hit the jackpot.

Impatient.

This is the root of all the feelings and behaviour that I am experiencing. The answer came when I saw the picture of those tapping fingers. So much for me thinking that it would be some bombastic four syllable unpronounceable word.

Feeling satisfied now that I don't have to word hunt anymore, this is what I am back to doing:

Growing a Christmas Tree

I am so excited to show you my Christmas Tree that I grew yesterday! 

My Christmas tree grown out of cardboard and food addictives

My friend was so right to say that she knew this would keep me self entertained because I was taking hourly pictures of it. Too bad the 'blooms' have started disappearing overnight before I had a chance to decorate it.

In case you are thinking if I need a reminder if Christmas is over, that reminder should go to the post office who just delivered this on 19-Jan. Seriously, I wonder if there are more post Christmas mail coming. Anyway, this is how it looked before growing it:

Do onions make you cry?

Yes, food prices are on the rise. It is the same every year and fingers are always pointed to the weather as the culprit. Too bad the sky does not have fingers to point back to merchants who are taking the chance to jump onto the bandwagon.

For this matter, one vegetable has been hogging the news here in India recently and it is none other than the crying onion.

By the end of Dec 2010, onion prices have increased to 40 percent higher than from a year ago and it is the hot topic of discussion amongst people of all levels from the government to the domestic helpers.

Newspaper reports that similar onion crisis has brought down Indian administrations twice before in the 80s and 90s. In response, the government stopped all exports of onions and started importing from China as an interim solution.

On the home front, I suspect that my cleaning lady took onions from my kitchen on Monday. I say 'suspect' because I do not count the number of onions that I buy! But surely, I would have bought more than five to use over the week.

Sigh. It actually troubled me for a day about how to broach the topic with her since firstly, I cannot be 100% sure and secondly, I do want to continue using her. She definitely didn't help herself by complaining to me last week that onions are getting very expensive.

What did I get myself into? It is easier to manage employee's issues at work than to confront someone about missing onions! >_<

People have warned me to watch over domestic help at home because they can hide anything in those layers of saris when they leave. I already take care to put away valuable things but onions?? I mean, really???

In the end, I asked her if she had thrown away any onions while cleaning the kitchen that day because I think my onions are missing. How stupid does that sound? Gr...

Of course I was not expecting a confession but hopefully, I sent across a message strong enough to tell her that I am aware of things and do not try to be funny!

Well, so onions do make me cry in more than one way other when dicing it. Hope it is only happening to me.

Eating Out: Seasonal Tastes @ The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace

Our first picture together!

Was treated to a belated birthday lunch by my friend and her hubby and we headed to The Westin hotel located in Hitec city area.

Oh my! This is the best buffet spread I had so far here in the city! In fact, the variety they had for appetisers were so good that I never made it much to the main courses.

The food that I had stuffed myself silly with were several helpings of: Salmon sashimi, smoked tuna, sushi, grilled prawns, hummus with pita, chicken and leek consomme, grilled prawns, antipasti.

For mains, there was a good mix of local and international options. Too bad I didn't have space to try the Japanese and Chinese soup noodles. I tasted my friend's hubby of Andhra curry which they cook on spot customised to your preference of meat and it was good! However, too bad that when I ordered, it was customised to my Chinese face and the flavour was somewhat more muted. The roast chicken and honeyed potatoes that I had managed to eat were yums too.

Dessert was a good variety of local desserts, pastries and cakes. Their ice cream station deserves a special mention. They had a whole ice cream freezer with 12 different flavours and someone to scoop it for you. Unlike most buffets, ice cream is usually sitting in a tub for you to help yourself. On the downside, I didn't think their cake items were particularly great.

Overall, it is obvious that much effort have been put into the vast menu options and also the freshness of the food served. Attention from service staff can be a bit over attentive, especially when one is already so busy eating and talking to friends.

At a price of Rs1000 + taxes (Mon-Sat lunch), it offers great value as compared to the other hotel buffets. I definitely got my value from three solid hours of eating, skipped dinner and was still stuffed before bedtime.

Heard that the Sunday Brunch costs slightly more but that is what I will be going back for the next time.

My full plate of appetizers

Dessert - Carrot Cake

My first shot at SKII

My SKII starter kit


I have finally succumbed and decided to give SKII a try. Much has been said about this product by women and men who will attest to its miracle and benefits.

There are friends around me who are walking adverts for this brand but somehow I had just been resistant for no particular reason. Maybe I just didn't want to be disappointed in case this does not work for me (which means my face got no hope!)

Anyway, after deciding that I will take the plunge, a dear friend got me this as my Christmas present. Thank you!

My present has just found its way to Hyderabad and today is the first day I am starting to use it. With abated breath, I am waiting to see if I will join the group of people who are walking testimonies (I want to be in this group!) or if this will be just another beauty product for me.

Stay tuned.

Eating Out: N - A Modern Grill (at Road 36 Jubilee Hills)



The restaurant sign to look out for

The hubby's colleague had suggested he bring me here for my birthday dinner and it was a great recommendation!

This place, located just about 10-20m before Croma is a hidden gem that is difficult to locate unless you are looking for it.

Walking into this place, you can tell that much effort have been put into the decor. The indoor sitting area has high ceilings and there are partitions to accommodate bigger groups who wants privacy.

Though the weather was chilly, we sat outdoors and it was comfortable as they had small fire pits (like your outdoor heaters in US or Europe) to keep customers warm. The design was more Balinese style with rattan furniture and gravel floor. The soft lights and trees completed the outdoor ambiance well.

Outdoor sitting area

Now for the menu. Though it is called a grill but the menu was more slanted towards Italian with a good selection of pasta, risotto and pizza. We totally enjoyed the dinner as the food was cooked without adapting to the local tastes buds. The hubby who is always fussy about food, who complains more than compliments, actually liked what was served.

This probably explains why the place was running full house on a Weds night, catering to expats and well heeled locals.

For dinner, we started off with a order of mushroom soup and garlic bread. Thumbs up! The soup was freshly made and it is comparable to what I have had at Italian restaurants. I would have preferred for more garlic on the toast but I am a garlic monster, so not sure if most would agree with me on this one.


Mushroom Soup and Garlic Bread

 Our mains arrived and I had the Porcini Risotto with Pine Nuts while the hubby had 4 cheese pasta with chicken. The risotto was good and they were generous with the pine nuts but the portion was way too much for me. For the 4 cheese pasta, the flavours of the cheese were well balanced but there was no Gorgonzola in there and it was a bit disappointing for me.

Though having said this, this place is still considered a great find for a city where the international food scene is developing.


Porcini Risotto with Pine Nuts

 

4 Cheese Pasta with Chicken

At this age, I do not need candles on my cake but what is a birthday with no cake (or at least what looks like a slice of cake)?

So, I ordered Tiramisu which we both finished it happily.
Right proportion of coffee, liquor and sponge fingers though I suspect it was not 100% mascarpone cheese in there.


Tiramisu for dessert

Overall, place is definitely in the pricier range but the food is good and the service staff is well trained. So, we will return again and this time, I want to try their grill and pizza.

Happy Birthday to Me

To all my family and friends who had sent well wishes and birthday greetings my way, thanks! I really could feel the love from all the way here.

It was a better day than expected as there was zero expectations and here is why:

1. No cooking for the day. Yipee! No reminders of life being kitchen oriented.

2. Happy looking Gerberas delivered to the house as a surprise by lovely friends.

3. Hubby came home early to bring me out for dinner at a new dining place. We both gave it two thumbs up!

Gymming at Ozone Fitness

Going to the gym is one of the key social activity to my life here and I have been wanting to share what the gym here is like but as usual had no motivation to write this until now because I have a story to tell!

Saturday is when the gym is more crowded and I see different faces as compared to the usual ones on weekdays.

I was on the treadmill as usual, watching HBO with my earphones as I try finishing my usual run. Just so you know, I absolutely hate running on the treadmill but this is the only way I can get any running done here. So, I am very focused on finishing it up and get off the moving rubber.

At the corner of the room, I have my favourite treadmill machine as the television screen is the clearest. It is almost perfect except for that huge MacDonald's banner across the road telling me that I need to eat McNuggets. Trust me, that banner works.

Back to story. So that day, as I was looking at the distance tracker moving ever so slowly, someone came to use the treadmill beside me. I turned and glanced upon this lanky guy who picked this machine when all the other ones were available. In my head, I knew either that this so happened to be his favourite machine or this guy is out to impress. Come on, isn't there like a unspoken rule in the gym to try to space out?

But this guy provided me with more amusement for the next 10-15 mins than the television did. Firstly, from the corner of my eye, I saw him starting to do warm ups on the treadmill! I was so tickled that I tried very hard to not let the corner of my mouths twitch upwards.

Next, he started running and was trying to look at my monitor! This is another pet peeve of mine in gym. Why does anyone need to do this? My answer: Competitive or Show Off. Ok, I admit sometimes I have the urge to do so too but its quite hard for me because I don't have height advantage.

Anyway, my live entertainment ended in about 15 mins when he got off the treadmill. I decided to give him the benefit of doubt that he was just warming up.

So, what do I do at gym for almost half the afternoon if you are curious?
I work out in the weights/ training room with the trainer for about 30-45 mins, running for another 45mins and 20 mins using the steam room (my fav part!). Too bad they do not have a massage service.

Before I signed up, I was justifying to myself the membership price and now I think it was money well spent. The place is clean, personal trainers are with you each time you visit and they will change your exercise routine every 4-6 weeks, not crowded, near to my place, etc.

Here are some pics to share:

Reception Area on the ground floor

Machines in the Cardio Area

The McNugget advert that tempts my mind



More Cardio Machines



Shower Room

Happy 2011 everyone!

Is coming up with New Year resolutions suppose to be tough? I didn't think so until I had wanted to pen mine down. There are no light bulbs going off in my head!

Does this mean that I have no plans to achieve anything this year? Hm... that doesn't sound quite right too. >_<

There are some years when I knew exactly what is on the list. The likes of completing a marathon, changing a new job, etc but 2011 doesn't seem to be one of them.

Just 365 days ago, I didn't think that I would be married before the year ended, nor thought that I would be unemployed and living away in India of all places. Doing household chores on a almost daily basis was not anywhere on my radar at all.

So, 2011 became part of the year when me and the hubby will be living away from home. Before leaving, I had already designated it as a year of rest (read: lots of me-time) and also serving my "national service" of being domesticated. I hope I will pay my dues in this area once and for all!

Coming back to making New Year resolutions. Well, I am not going to force myself to have resolutions when I really seem to have none. But I have decided that though I do not have finite ones that I can put down on pen and paper, I will continue to enjoy the things and people around me and to go with the flow in this new year.

Though I have no clue as to what God has installed or will be throwing at me this year but I will continue to take it as it comes with a smile.

So, to those who are also like me this year with no resolutions, let's just continue to enjoy the present and count our blessings as they come. 

Happy New Year!