tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37347452008-12-26T19:13:15.951-05:00Why chai at six? Because growing up, my family and I would have chai every evening. Those moments of my youth are among my most favorite memories. <P>Who am I? A twentysomething working fulltime in Knoxville, Tenn. <P>Please note that all thoughts and comments described in this blog are purely my own and do not reflect the thoughts or attitudes of the company I work for.Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-46409839646949090862008-10-04T01:16:00.002-04:002008-10-04T01:18:08.696-04:00

That's right - it's gonna be a rockin' October, as per the Modern Gal. Badge design by Amanda Dawn.

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-31422983285742257622008-09-14T14:58:00.006-04:002008-09-14T15:38:04.309-04:00

One of my first essays for college was titled "Five Weeks in a Foreign Land." This was for an English class and I think it was supposed to be an assignment where we introduced ourselves to the teacher. I wrote about my experiences of living in the United States for five weeks and the strangeness of it all. This past August, I marked 10 years of having been in this country. I can't believe I've

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-72443000997000371852008-05-22T23:53:00.002-04:002008-05-23T00:06:23.037-04:00

I toured three regional farms on Sunday as part of the Market Square Farmer's Market "To the Source" farm tours. And aside from getting muddy, it was a great experience. It was interesting to hear how the farmers are trying to stay as natural as possible in growing their produce. You won't here of too much chemicals being used by them. If you are interested in future farm tours, visit the their

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-78090199851836103232008-05-22T23:25:00.003-04:002008-05-22T23:33:33.880-04:00

During my whirlwind 32 hour trip to Las Vegas, I spent Thursday night galivanting about The Strip trying to take it all in. Toward the end of the night, I took this photo. Can you guess what it is? Answer is below the photo. It's looking up at Harrah's Casino and Hotel. Pretty neat, huh?!

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-88208105354417086252008-05-22T22:59:00.003-04:002008-05-22T23:07:41.701-04:00

This photo was taken as part of a Fundamentals of Photography II class field. We went to Volunteer Landing to take photos in low light. It was a neat experience, though a tripod would have been really valuable to have with the long shutter-speeds. If I do decide to invest in this expensive hobby that is photography, I will prolly purchase a flash first. I used the hand-railing to steady the

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-24404858364869310402008-05-21T01:26:00.002-04:002008-05-22T00:25:14.986-04:00

This is the plate of little cookies I was given at Bouchon as part of my dessert. How lovely! They were quite delicious!

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-43096295168236633512008-04-16T01:14:00.006-04:002008-05-23T00:15:33.587-04:00

A few months ago, I took a fantastic class at UT called Fundamentals of Photography I. The teacher, Tom Geisler, is great and makes things very interesting. I didn't realize how much math was involved until he started making us memorize the aperture stops and shutter speeds.The great thing about the class was I was able to figure out what most of those dials on my SLR do now, and I know how to

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-49921407111985097322008-03-22T00:18:00.005-04:002008-03-22T00:46:58.761-04:00

I am amazed that I can be this cheap with technology. Example: I'm am writing this post using free Netzero dial-up (which is slower than a snail!) and my 5-year-old laptop is whirring every 5 seconds as it dies a slow death. It's actually been dying since spring 2007. In fact el laptopo did die then (it would not turn on), but Kent brought it back to life. And since it is not used frequently, it

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-76120620733194820872007-12-23T21:22:00.000-05:002007-12-23T21:24:12.455-05:00

Mark Bittman of the New York Times does it again. He now has a list of 101 Simple Appetizers in 20 Minutes or Less. Sounds delicious and fairly easy!

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-28785891174838394052007-12-18T14:54:00.000-05:002007-12-18T15:01:20.624-05:00

December is half-over. Christmas is in a week. And I'm spending my last 2007 hour in Rolla. My mum is preparing lunch and then we'll be off to St. Louis International Airport. My trip here was fabulous — as always. Coming home to see my folks is great. I eat good food, read my dad's magazines, chat with my mum and just laze about. I don't feel 25. Instead, I'm transported back to the days of my

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-37948303373151563992007-11-14T13:11:00.000-05:002007-11-14T13:27:54.814-05:00

I had noticed lately that I wasn't being as productive or energized as I generally am. I wasn't sure what was going on until Kent made me realize all the stuff that has occupied my time in the past two months. It turns out that this whirlwind of activity from the first week of September on —both work and non-work related — have left me really worn out. This has caused my body and mind to go on

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-18286484500181177642007-11-10T03:45:00.001-05:002007-11-10T04:08:15.541-05:00

I'm looking back at older posts and noticed I have a tendancy of always blogging during Diwali and the new year. So to keep with tradition: Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak!And this post wouldn't be complete if I forgot to mention how fast this year has gone. I'm not kidding too. I can't believe it's already November. It's been about 10 months since I left India. And the mother of the them all:

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-86249241806661209632007-10-29T13:08:00.000-04:002007-10-29T13:19:08.835-04:00

We tied Nikhil's dorda on his 13th day in Kennesaw, Ga. My dad flew down from Rolla and Nisha/Prashant/Aidan were also in town. Nikhil was being a little fidgety but we were able to get the dorda tied.Seeing Aidan was also very neat. We laid the two babies on a blanket on the floor to see how they would react. You can already see some part of their personalities forming!Here is a photo we took of

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-56969041939739689262007-10-21T17:44:00.000-04:002007-10-21T17:54:15.107-04:00

My family has been busy making babies! My sister Nisha in Florida gave birth in August to Aidan. And my brother Amit and his wife Deepa just had a baby boy on Tuesday. His name is Nikhil. I spent last weekend and this weekend in Kennesaw. Last weekend on baby watch hoping the little guy would be born. And this weekend to meet my chubby little nephew, Nikhil. Aidan will be in Atlanta next

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-54683140812385636792007-10-21T17:00:00.000-04:002007-10-21T18:02:13.180-04:00

When visiting Nisha and my newborn nephew Aidan in Florida, I took my Mum and Kaki to Clearwater Beach on a Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day to be outside and on the beach, and I only wish that Nisha and Aidan could have been there with us. We picked shells and strolled in the water and looked at the odd seaweed laying on the beach. With the light being perfect, I was able to take many

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-33485792023514623162007-07-22T02:23:00.000-04:002007-07-22T02:32:18.035-04:00

I've been spoiled this past month as I've gotten to see family on two separate occasions. I was down in Florida for Nisha's baby shower and got to have some pretty neat conversations with my nephew Kush, pictured below. He's four years old and at a perfect age where he's learning everything and having conversations with me and such! Then my dad, Amit and Deepa-bhabhi came up to visit me about

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-85011882957450940802007-07-21T19:22:00.000-04:002007-07-21T19:27:03.678-04:00

Mark Bittman of the New York Times has a fabulous list of simple meals that take 10 minutes or less to prepare. Among the list: Open a can of white beans and combine with olive oil, salt, small or chopped shrimp, minced garlic and thyme leaves in a pan. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp are done; garnish with more olive oil. Put three pounds of washed mussels in a pot with half a cup of white

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-40229159108021518882007-05-13T19:23:00.000-04:002007-05-13T19:31:01.758-04:00

Kent and I were in Greenville, S.C., this weekend attending my dear friend Nisha's engagement to Sachin. I was really excited for my friend but of course didn't have much time to pack my bag for the trip. I forgot my pajamas and had Kent go to Walmart in Kennesaw (where we spent Friday night) to get me some. And now I'm the proud owner of polyester, stretchy terrible looking pajama pants. In

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-47179369523295101052007-05-13T19:14:00.000-04:002007-05-13T19:22:22.659-04:00

Amit and Deepa came to visit me in Knoxville about two weeks ago. Kent, who is such a generous host, helped me play tour guide. We took them on the crazy curvy Dragon and hiked a short trail at Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in North Carolina. Then we drove down the Cherohala Skyway and watched the sun set. It was very lovely and we had a terrific time.

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-44583331692950767252007-05-13T19:08:00.000-04:002007-05-13T19:13:46.634-04:00

I took a cake decorating class at Sugarbakers on Merchants Road. It was a lot of fun and I learned a few cool things. This was my first time doing anything like this and just being able to make something look pretty — while also tasting good &mdash is quite rewarding. I wasn't as good as the others in the class, but if I keep practicing, I'll hopefully get better.

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-79652273467609540782007-04-01T18:12:00.000-04:002007-04-01T18:47:01.169-04:00

My kitchen has apparently become an inn for mice. I assume they somehow got in during my trip to India and so I've been setting traps to kill them. I thought they were all gone until Friday and Saturday nights we found a mouse stuck on a trap. Kent being there helped me deal with it. But with his soft heart he didn't want to do what I would do, which is take the trap — with mouse stuck to it —

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-48614094713563514972007-03-11T23:47:00.000-04:002007-03-12T11:13:36.971-04:00

Early morning train in downtown Knoxville on my 25th birthday.

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-27519401011329066132007-03-02T00:15:00.000-05:002007-03-02T00:16:13.301-05:00

I just love this photograph of me and my maternal grandmother. I felt a strong kinship with her. Plus I had a terrific time playing cards with her.

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-43447603768547481012007-03-02T00:11:00.000-05:002007-03-02T00:15:06.045-05:00

While captioning photos, I wanted to post a photo of my immediate family in India, naturally missing a few cousins. What a terrific time. I'm only on photo 350 of 2,000 so hopefully I'll have the photos up sometime this weekend.

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3734745.post-29940444707255171682007-03-01T16:36:00.000-05:002007-03-01T16:37:35.791-05:00

Jigshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066632590550512505noreply@blogger.com1