365 X 4

"Are you looking to get married?" is the first thing that I ever said to her. I distinctly remember saying that. Sadly, it was the first thing that popped into my head as she walked by. You see, she was wearing jeans and pink t-shirt, but she had left her bindi on her head at the Maharashtrian convention. So for me it was bit of a joke.



The thing about it was that I had to say something. I saw her walking by, and there was no way that I was going to let her get passed me with saying something to her. I felt like a kid on a playground, making a joke at her expense, just to get her attention, all the while hiding my crush on her. My crush mind you was based entirely on looks alone. There are those people in the world that one feels compelled to talk to and to be around. And for me it was her.



After she stopped with a look that said sarcastically "great another winner vying for my attention," I hoped with all hope that she would stick around for a little bit longer. Thankfully she knew one of the people at my table and decided to stick around for a little while longer. After more bad jokes, she appeared to have had enough of me, but for some reason she stayed. We ended up talking all night. Not one of those in depth, I really got to know you conversations. We talked about Janis Joplin (it was fourth of july weekend and I had the lyrics "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" - completely unrelated to 4th of July except for the word freedom, I know) and football. She described passionately to me her heartbreak when her hometown team lost the Superbowl. I dont remember much else about what we talked about. I do remember thinking that I wanted to keep talking to this girl talk.



We went to a dance club later in the evening. As we were tucked away in the corner, her dancing and me trying not to embarass myself, in my most self confident way, I asked her "do you think I should kiss you now, or wait till we get back to the hotel." To which she gave the best answer, she did a turn, flashed a killer smile and kissed me.



Four years ago today, in front of 420 people, we promised to love and support each other for the rest of our lives. But more importantly, we promised to keep talking about football and classic rock and to smile and kiss each other like we just met.



Wife o' mine, you rocked my world when I first met you and you still do.



Happy Anniversary Love.

He's So Vain, He Probably Thinks This Blog Is About Him

Shaan, or as he has come to be known more commonly, Little Bean, had an elective surgery for the first time in his life on his three month birthday, back on May 10, 2007. You see, my son is tongue-tied. Literally. He was born with the condition known as Ankyloglossia. Basically, his whole tongue was connected with no free part at the tip. So the snipped it. Now it looks normal. The condition is genetic, and it was passed on courtesy of his mother, who also had the medical procedure done, known as a frenulectomy. If untreated, he condition, which varies in severity, can cause speech and feeding impediments. Little Bean has been growing like a weed, so there was no issue there, but it was affecting how he was eating, causing a lot of pain to my wife.

He was no worse for the wear after the surgery and it doing his normal routine, including eating, sleeping, pissing and shitting every third day. But I guess it begs the question, if the condition, was not known to have any negative effects for him, would we still have had the procedure done. If it had just been something that would have caused him to be teased, would we have tried to spare him that. No doubt people do it all the time with teeth, in the form of braces, but where does one draw the line with looks, and being comfortable with what you are given, or from the parents point of view, raising a child, who will be comfortable with the hand the genetics has dealt them. Parents sometimes can not see flaws in their children, for other, the stand out like full moon on a clear night. I guess its just another aspect of life you have to find a fine balance in. Although I must say, dealing with what you've got, and making it work for you, is a lot easier. To dodge my own questions, I don't know what I would have done.

ABCD

Seeing as how I was five years old when I immigrated to the States, I can never claim the title of American Born Confused Desi (ABCD), but my boy can:



I just like the rest of these. He smiles all the time now. Great way to be woken up, if you are going to be woken up at 6:00 a.m.

The Boys Are Back in Town

My two best friends are coming into town this weekend to celebrate my birthday. I havent seen these guys in over 8 months, I am planning on getting pickled-liver-drunk this weekend. This is the first time they will be meeting Shaan - one of whom is the namesake of the child. My wife has decided that she will go and stay with her sister, as it tends to be a bit tornado like when we get together. The fridge is stocked full of beer, my parents sent a gift basket of 12 bottles of various wines for me as a gift, and any small children that can accidentally get injured have been cleared out. Good times. The weather will be 70 and perfect. Friends, booze, BBQ, wife, baby -perfection. I really miss my friends, so this is something I have been looking forward to for a long time. We never have a bad time together, even when there is no event, just spending time together. Thats the thing about friends like these guys, I can go 8 months without seeing them and its as if a day hasnt gone by.

p.s. I'm turning 32