This is going to be a packed post, so better get it started!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
I had the lovely joy of spending Mom's birthday just us ladies. I had a list of places in mind of where I wanted to take her, but the London weather followed to NYC so walking in the rain was not what Mom wanted to do on her big day. Instead, we walked down to Curry Hill for dosas and idle. That is another guilty pleasure food that I miss. I have learnt to make most of my Indian favourites, but the one dish I cannot cook is idle and dosas (yet). I don't know how Mom felt about the day, but I was pleased to have had the opportunity to spend some mother/daughter time with Mom. The fact that it was her birthday, made it even more special. The fact that she not only accepted, but opened and used her birthday presents meant the world to me. We are all turning over new leaves. It is never to late to live.
The one thing that I have thoroughly loved about this visit has been spending time with Kadin. He is such a little man trapped in the body of a (soon to be) 3 year old. He is a true joy to spend time with. I look forward to my visits home, cause I know they will entail some alone Kadin-Tini Foi time. These are the moments worth holding onto. They are the moments where we bond, where he shares stories with me (and boy does he have stories to share), and where we develop another 'Kadin-Tini' thang. I am looking forward to moving back to NYC and being able to see him more than just every couple of months. Until that day comes, I will have to settle for our Skype dates. Unfortunately those have been less frequent too given my travelling schedule.
This visit has been about spending some quality time with family. I never have enough time to balance seeing both friends and family so this time I focused on my family, making sure that I had some quality time with everyone. On Tuesday night, Bams and I went out for a good ole fashion happy hour. It had been ages since we had done one together, so it was time to relive the days of 2000 when Bams and I toured the bars of Third ave. We contemplated going to our old stop and ground, but given that we are not 22 anymore we opted to try a new place and went to Cask, a cute little beer joint around the corner. If you are in the area, I high recommend checking the place out. I would recommend NOT trying their bloody orange jalapeno margarita. May have worked in Austin, but not here. Their beer selection on the other hand is top notch. How I miss beer flights in the US of A.
After happy hour, it was off to meet up with some friends for dinner. Now I know what you are guessing. We went to Rio Grande...WRONG! Yup, went for a new place and went for Sushi at my local. So not far from the usual, but the last time I ate sushi there was 2 days before the red sox won their second world series.
I was not in the mood for a big do-up so I am pleased that it was just a small group of my closest. For the first time, we just lived in the moment. It was not about, "oh what have you been up to" or "what is new since we last saw each other". It was about living the moment like we used to. We topped the night with a night cap at The Wharf. Funny that even after all these years and months, they still remember and welcome me with open arms. How I miss nights like Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Mom took her two babies (Kadin and I) to go see the Lion King. I had the desire to take Mom to the Lion King whilst she was here in London, but she had made a promise to Kadin and was keen to keep it.
Kadin was well aware of the fact that we were going to the show Wednesday evening. He could not stop talking about it all day and kept singing the soundtrack. How does he remember everything? Ask him what airline he flew to Hawaii and which to Disney World and he will tell you. Ask him to sing and dance to the latest Usher song and he will show you. He has a memory of an elephant. Want to do a brand awareness study on toddlers, this is your kid.
Back to the show. I had no idea what to expect, but Kadin was quick to fill me in. We sat near the isles and he nicely pointed out, Tini Foi, the animals will come and pass us. I had no idea what he was talking about, but as soon as the show started I understood. If you have not seen the show, I highly recommend it. The sets, the costume and the choreography are out of this world. It doesn't matter how many times, you've seen the Disney cartoon version, this is worth seeing.
In efforts to try something new as a family, on Thursday we took a trip to Randall's island for a children's fall fair day at the golf course. It was a celebration of autumn, to up and coming Halloween holiday and it was all outdoors in the fresh crisp NY weather. If you didn't know better, you would have thought you were in the country-side, but the pony rides in the parking lot soon reminded you that you were still in the city.
For me it was a grand day in the sunshine, watching (and of course photographing) Kadin play mini-golf, running around and jumping off hay-stacks. If they only had cider donuts and warm apple cider it would have made for the ideal autumn day. If it was a focastle farms in 1988, then it would have been heaven.
That evening, Jamila, Bhai and I went to go see the So You Think You Can Dance tour at Radio City Music Hall. Yes you are reading right, Bhai went. In fact he was rather chuffed to be going as he missed the prior 3 tours. In fact (and he is going to kill me for sharing), but I started watching SYTYCD because of Bhai. True fact! He watched season 1 and kept talking about the talent on the show that when they aired the second season, I was keen to tune in. I am glad that I did. I loved SYTYCD. Some of the dances and dancers on that show are out of this world. They are rather touching really. I have missed out on the last couple of seasons, but try to follow on YouTube (not the same, but what can you do). It was a great night watching a show with Bams and Bhai. The last time we all went to a show together it was Nelly Furtado and not as entertaining.
Not quite ready to leave and wanting to spend just a little longer in NYC, on Friday morning before heading to the airport I met up with Bhai for a tea and chat in Bryant Park. We shared a really nice conversation together. It had been a while since he and I just chatted, so I am pleased that we had the opportunity for some one-on-one brother-sister time. It was a great way to spend my last hour in NYC, before racing to the airport only to discover my flight was going to be 2 hours delayed. Would have been nice if they posted that on the flight status BEFORE I left Kadin and family.
I spent Friday night resting in the hotel room. I should have been more social, but I just wanted to spend the night in curled up in bed and catching up on American tele. The next day I met up with Si and Bren who flew from London as well for some site seeing and touristing of Baltimore. We started with breakfast at Blue Moon (or was it Paper Moon...think it was Blue Moon) cafe in Fells Point. You forget the portion sizes of the states. I ordered the small stack of the pumpkin spice pancakes (you know I had to once they said it was on the menu), but they were way too massive to finish. I was sad not to take a take-a-way box of them. The reason I did not, was because we had plans to go for crabs for lunch. I did not want to risk not being able to finish steamed crabs in old bay.
After walking around Baltimore (stopping in Fells Point and the Inner Harbor), we headed to Costa Inn for steamed crabs. We started with a round of raw oysters and clams. I don't know why, but for some reason, the thought of raw clams bothers me. Fried, steamed clams I am fine, but not raw. Raw oysters on the other hand...those I cannot get enough of. After our starters the lady dropped on our table 12 large steamed crabs in old bay. I had no idea what to do with them, but thanks to Si for a demo, we quickly learned. Normally I do not enjoy eating with my hands (will only eat wings with two fingers), but I happily got my hands dirty with the steams crabs.
So you are probably wondering why I was in Baltimore. Our friends from London were getting married so a few of us flew over for the special occasion. It was a beautiful and intimate gathering of family and friends. It is funny, Nat is one of my best friends here in the UK. I started the day (bright at 0800) with a knock from her at the door to catch up before the wedding. She and Adam are my family here in the UK. All of us here are family, but this wedding reminded me that we all have another life in the US of A. There is this whole history behind all of us that we don't know about, we did not grow up knowing one another, we did not go to school, college, grad schools together. We lived together now, but we all carry this rich and beautiful past with
us. I am honored and blessed that I was able to be apart of Nat & Adam's special day.
On Sunday, I met up for brunch with Stan and her man (see what I did there)?!?! It was not a planned visit, but it dawned on me when I landed in BWI. Baltimore is close to Washington DC and a cab ride from Dulles is Reston, VA. So if you could drive from Dulles to Baltimore, then Reston must be in proximity right? Not really a hop skip jump away, but Stan and John drove up for the afternoon. I am really pleased that I was able to catch up with them. Stan pointed out that it had been over a year since we last saw each other in Hamburg...can hardily believe time is flying by so quickly. We went to this cute tea brunch place in Fells point and then walked around. There was an antique market in the center so we walked around. I was tempted to buy a number of things, but had to refrain. I do wish however, that I purchased that 1930s Bulova watch. What a beauty it was.
It has been a lovely week, starting in New York City and finishing in Baltimore. I have a soft spot for Baltimore. Not only is the home of the Orioles and Cal Ripken Jr, but Baltimore is the city where I ran my first half marathon back in 2003. I will always remember training and running that race.
To everyone to made this a special week, thank you. Thank you for the laughter, the moments I will cherish and the memories I will hold dear and near to my heart!
xoxo
T
When I first mentioned to my Aunt that I was moving to London, her response was, "Home will be 7 hrs in either direction." You cannot get any more truth than that statement. Obviously home will always be 12309, but there is a part of me that feels quite at home at 400 020. Only my parents are from here, but growing up I have always referred to visiting India as visiting home. (I know I am a strange ticket....but if you are just coming to that realisation I must say... You are slow). I have been wanting to make a visit to Mumbai for some time now, so I am glad that things worked out and I was able to spend my two week sabbatical with my family. I am going to do a bit of travelling on this visit; not around India, but will take some time to fly to Malaysia to visit with Aashin and Stuty.
It is a tough life I have been living lately...been away from the flat for the four weekends; travelling from Munich, NYC, Baltimore, Chesterfield. I know you all feel really bad for me now. This week way about relaxing and preparing for my next round of travels. Where am I going this time? I am off to India-Malaysia. I have had the pleasure of working for Mindshare for over 5 years now (going on 7 years now) and as a thank -you, I am entitled to a 2 week sabbatical. I had been debating on where to spend those two weeks, but when my cousin said he was moving to Malaysia in October the idea of Diwali in Malaysia was just too tempting not to see through. So to answer the question of why India-Malaysia? India is where my family is and I have been wanting to visit ever since Dec last year and well you know why Malaysia.
Four weeks ago we celebrated Big E's hen weekend in Munich with an Octoberfest celebration fit for queens. It is only natural that after the hen weekend, that the hen get married and that is exactly what she did. Originally from Nebraska, Big E opted for a CoE (Church of England) wedding up in Chesterfield where he fiance was from. For the rest of us that meant a beautiful weekend away and a wedding in which we all could attend!! 
SINCERE apologies!!! In my Munich bliss, I forgot to check the calendar for what happened Monday - Thursday. Sincere apologies, as on Tuesday marked the coolest lunch ever!! As the picture alludes to, I had lunch with Big Ben. Okay, not exactly, but I did go to the House of Parliament for lunch with a friend who is the head of media for the Scottish Parliament. It was such a cool lunch. Before our lunch reservations, he took me for a tour of parliament, it was a 'pitch-yourself' moment going through the House of Lords, House of Commons, and seeing the oldest part of Parliament (dating back to 1030) where William Wallace was 'tried' and where the Pope greeted people during his visit to England. Apologies, for leaving this out of last weeks post! Was an oversight.
