Thank you Mr. Mallya

It was about a week before our unexpected Florida trip, we were on one of our usual after dinner walks when we spotted a red and grey airplane in the air. I love planes, I love to fly and I love to travel and all those are understatements. Since I had not been on a plane for past 9 months, I looked at it longingly and blurted out, when will get to fly with you. Saumya, my first born shares my love of airplanes, flying and traveling besides many other things. She asked me what plane is that and I said ‘northwest’, now part of Delta. Her response was so its not ‘kingfisher’, I want to sit in a kingfisher. And we had some discussion about its color and what she likes about it but nothing came out strikingly special.

Fast-forward to the day of our Florida trip, we were sitting in our seats, Saumya next to the window and guess what she says, ‘Mamma, it’s not a kingfisher’. I was shocked that rather than being excited about the flight and the trip, she was bummed that it was not a ‘kingfisher’. I told her that they don’t have kingfishers here; she took it as a cold fact and asked so when can we sit in one.

I don’t remember our exact conversation then but I do remember my thoughts later, I was very surprised; Saumya took her first flight at the age of 2.5 months and have sat in multitude of different airlines since but her affection for Kingfisher and her aversion for the big blue plane (Boeing 747, KLM) are remarkable. I think the reason for her not liking the big blue plane is very clear, she has to watch whatever they are playing on the big screen and she doesn’t get to pick the cartoon she wants but I haven’t been able to figure out what is so exceptionally good about the ‘kingfishers’ besides their very inventive advertisements that she hasn’t been exposed to yet. Don’t get me wrong, their service was very good, food was delicious, they were very sensitive to kids’ presence but I think a lot of it depends on the crew and experiences vary.

Whatever it is, may be the fact they served dinner to kids before they did to the rest of the flight, the fact that she was carried up and down the plane in the arms of a steward (most domestic flights in India still board and deplane on the tarmac like the olden days and passengers are transported to the airport building through a bus) or that she was provided with puzzles and crayons besides the regular television option, but Mr. Vijay Mallya did something right that clicked with a four year old and has stayed with her for more that nine months. Good Job Mr. Mallya, now you just need to start flying to this part of the world. And thank you for a wonderful experience…
As far as I am concerned, as long as I get to fly, I don’t mind if there is television or food on board. I am okay with carrying my own bottle of water and flying my own plane if it gets to that but I just wish to continue to fly as long as I live…


A little side story, I worked in the aeronautics department for a few months and got plenty of opportunities to fly around in little planes. The reason I choose to work there was that of course I love to fly but also that my dad is an aeronautical engineer. Anyways, so flying in the little plane often involves sitting with the pilot in the cockpit and during one of such journeys, the pilot let me control the plane and that excitement of being able to fly on my own and letting the plane turn where I wanted to still lives with me. Thinking about those moments still gives me a rush of adrenaline… it was a very fine experience… just wanted to mention it…

A couple of pictures that I took from air...

Lake Superior at Duluth...


St.Paul from mid air...

Life's Good...

We came back from Florida trip with barely enough time to get ready for going back to the school but even with half done laundry and undone dishes kids did manage to attend the school each day of the short week.
I had a few deadlines at work, you know the kind where you thought you have wrapped it up and left it behind only to discover that it has been sneaking up on you. But even though it’s not out the door yet, I think I have it under control.

So to compensate for a highly haphazard week, we stayed home all weekend, trying to mount the pile of laundry and get to the bottom of the sink, and I am proud to announce that succeed we did but you know how it is, as soon as you are done sparkling you kitchen sink, you have the urge to drink tea and the within minutes it’s the same story again.
Saturday lunch was a goat meat curry cooked the traditional Indian style, just to bribe my DH for the upcoming navratris (10 days of no meat and no wine for the family and no cereal or lentils either for me). DH has a hard time being restricted to a vegeterrible diet as he calls it but succumbs to it twice every year based on lunar calendar that the Hindu religion follows.
Just so if you haven’t experienced an Indian meal yourself, I need to inform you that they tend to fall on the heavier side and have some sort of sleep inducing ingredients in it. So to avoid taking a nap in the afternoon, we spent time at the library and then evening shopping for unnecessary things at the mall.
Sunday was equally laid back, we had friends over for lunch and then again to stop the sleep inducing agents to overcome our senses, we decided to kick off our apple picking season by spending the afternoon at the nearby orchard. We had lots of fun and now lots of apples to feed an army, but it should work out just fine with the upcoming vegiterrible days when my main diet is restricted to fruit, milk and yogurt.

So after a relaxing weekend like that, the week ahead is bound to be good.
It started this morning with a coffee like liquid oozing out from the water dispenser of the refrigerator door and further inspection revealed that this was fermented barley liquid popularly known as beer that was kept in the freezer yesterday before lunch and then over the course of conversation the preferred drink shifted to red wine leading the beer to its fate where the liquid survived but its oomph is lost. By the way, if you are ever in a similar situation don’t throw out the beer, it is a very good hair conditioner. I am sure tonight my DH wouldn’t mind sleeping next to a beer fragranced wife but if you were to follow this beauty tip, you might want to check with your significant other… Anyways, so I cleaned up the freezer but forgot to check the ice maker, hopefully kids won’t get an urge to eat/drink ice before leaving for school otherwise I know about the meeting I am having at the end of the day…

With that beery note oops, I meant to say cheery note… will be back later.
I know I am a little behind in updating words with the pictures but the way I justified it to myself is that it’s better to have too many memories to keep up with than the other way round…

She seeks sea shells on the sea shore...

We spent the morning on the beach right in front of the hotel, it was a lot of fun...
We built sand castles and then collected sea shells, a whole bucket full of them.















In the afternoon while kids took a nap, I strung the shells with holes in a twine. (a turquoise gift wrapping twine that the concierge desk provided us with to convert our finds into pieces of jewelry). The plan is wear these pieces of precious memories this evening...

Logging in from Sunshine State...

We flew into Orlando today afternoon with DH, he is on business and we are here for fun... as usual!!!

So for the next two days we'll be calling space coast our home before we hit the regular attraction of an Orlando trip... Will keep you posted. For now we are loving the muggy and humid weather, finally some heat that is good enough to complain about, we are loving it...

Be back soon with some pictures