Wednesday, July 30, 2003

Bye Hemant! Have a nice time. See you in three weeks. I called twice to say bye but you didn't answer your phone so I decided to leave a message here since I know you read it.

My friend Bonnie had to give a presentation about her growth as a counselor. She said that when clients first come to us they are like crumbled crackers.....so she gave each of us a bag with a crumbled cracker in it. Then she said that counseling to make people feel better is a long process just like cheese. So we all got cheese to go with the crackers. Then as the client goes through the process everything soon becomes bubbly..... So we all got some bubbly to go with the cheese and crackers. And then she took out a box of Triscuits and said,"At the end of the process the clients become whole again!" I loved her presentation so I just had to share it with everyone.
Of course I have no idea what I am going to say because I feel like my growth has been stunted. I know, though, that its not going to be as elaborate as Bonnie's because I seem to be very busy. But its going to be good.

Saturday, July 26, 2003

Shalini is getting married today in Chicago. She is going to be Mrs Shalini Anand.

My friend Lara is pregnant and all she ever talks about is how her body is changing and the strange things that happen when you are pregnant. Lara and Melissa, my other pregnant classmate, really know how to clear a room. THe other day most of the class including the guys were all in the reception area of the clinic when suddenly these two started talking about their favoite topic....before anyone could say "Mother Boo" all the guys had left. Lara had her first sonogram done yesterday. She is very excited because they found out that the baby is going to be a boy. ......... although she wanted a girl. She has been walking around with her " firt pictures" of the baby and showing it anyone adn everyone walking down the corridors of the clinic. She even scared a client by saying, "Look at his penis. I am so proud!"

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY BHANJO!!! Thanks for always finishing my beer :)

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAL!!!

Sunday, July 20, 2003

I just realised I have been so busy in the last one month I have not been able to get online to chat with all my buddies back home.

Friday, July 18, 2003

Okay! Thats it! I seem to be writing only about this damn clinic and the dearth of clients. I have decided that enough is enough. I was woken up this morning by my mother and my sister who had just returned from the gym. My sister, apparently, "has to do something that she has never done before". In her case it is EXERCISE!!! I don't know how she does it!! Anyway she doesn't have to go early in the morning because my parents go to the gym in the evening. That is beneficial for her because like everyone else in my life she sleeps and sleeps and sleeps. At one point she was a regular Rip Van Winkle. And ,as everyone can see we are all, suddenly, a very health concious family. I think only the dog doesn't exercise these days. In fact he doesn't even like having a bath anymore and behaves like he is being punished. What a mutt!!!!:)

Thursday, July 17, 2003

Midweek crisis! I have been sitting at the clinic since 9:30 this morning and have not had any clients because they cancelled. I was hoping to have 12 hours down by Saturday so that I would then have only 28 to go. Now I will have only 9 hours covered by saturday and will have to try and cover 31 in two weeks because thats when this semester ends.

Friday, July 11, 2003

Chocolate chip cookies!!!! We ate some store bought ones yesterday. They were okay. Usually people in my house know better than to buy them but....... Anyway I realised its been a long time since I baked. So I thought I would make either choco chip cookies or apple pie on Sunday. I'll see you at three, Nihir.:) because you are probably going to be the first one there.

Tuesday, July 08, 2003

I love reading Peanuts. Its about a group of kids and a dog. My favorite characters are Snoopy and Lucy. Snoopy's dream is either to be the head beagle or to write a book which is constantly criticised by Lucy and always starts with the line,"It was a dark and stormy night..... The shots rang out." I read a strip yesterday where he started his book with," It was not a dark night....and then it happened" So Lucy tells him that he needs to make his book more exciting and so he adds," Then it happened again!" Snoopy also reminds me of my dog because he constantly wants to eat and looks longingly at Charlie Brown hoping his food will come faster.
http://www.peanuts.com/comics/peanuts/archive/peanuts-20030624.html
http://www.peanuts.com/comics/peanuts/archive/peanuts-20030706.html
I also love Lucy's idea of therapy.
http://www.peanuts.com/comics/peanuts/archive/peanuts-20030616.html

Contd.....
July 5th:
THe BBQ was fun..... small crowd lots of chicken....Actually three different types of chicken..... Shaan Tandoori Masala (never fails!), Khatri production ( quite good!) and Patak( rocked!). Washed the chicken down with 2 glasses of wine. Entertainment was provided by Mukesh's neighbour, who got drunk enough to start a dometic violence scene and got his kid to use profanity... cool!! If only I had my visiting cards with me.... It was a good time to tell him to come to the clinic for counseling..:)
Went over to see Vivek and Aanchal in the morning. The three of us and Rashi then spent the afternoon in Aurora where Rashi found some really good deals. Everyone came home in the evening. We decided to beat the heat with cold coffee and ice cream. Then we played a game of Taboo followed by Pictionary. I went over to Aanchal's again to make Sambhar or as Vivek says " Sambar"
July 6th
I lost track of what day it was..... thought it was still Saturday...... went to the mall in the afternoon with Priya, Madhu, sapna and Rashi to kill time. Sapna wanted to an A/C from Sears but then figured that it wouldn't be a good idea to put it in the window considering the unsafe time and location we are living in. So basically she and I window shopped tried on interesting stuff and then waited for everyone at the food court while we ate chinese food. We got home and thought we would go to a walking trail but the sun was still too strong. So I went out with Suji( Shyamala's aunt) instead. We went to her friend's house in Canton to have an indoor picnic. At night Shyamala's grandfather wanted a margharita.... unfortunately they stop serving alcohol after 10 pm on sunday nights so we went home and drank Corona with him.
July 7th:
My cousin Malaicha's birthday....... Most people usually mispronounce her name because of the way it is spelt..... We had an economics teacher in school who used to call her Malai- cha rather than Malaika....irritated the hell out of her!! Just the thought of it makes me laugh. There was a time when I didn't even know malaicha could talk.... She was so quiet.... Everytime all the cousins got together we would be sitting and talking and cracking jokes and she would just sit there and smile. Then of course in the 11th we went to the same school...... the first shocker was that she could talk..... after a couple of months we discovered that she also knew bad language...... she was so angry with the eco teacher one day, she came and sat next to me and said, " the f****** bitch!" for a minute it thought that I had misheard what she had said. Of course by that evening everyone knew and she got umpteen calls from the entire clan to ask if she was ok...... and if she had actually said what she did........
I am at the clinic at the moment.... Listening to the entertainment provided by Mother Nature in the form of severe thunder storms and possible tornadoes..... my poor car.... I feel like putting it inside the house in case it flies away....hehehehehe!!!!!

Saturday, July 05, 2003

I am having a good time this weekend although I am stuck in the District (apparently this is no longer a village)
3rd July:
I didn't feel like going into my house yesterday after I finished at the clinic. I have developed a tendency to sit outside and just look at the house. I decided I wanted to go somewhere but I didn't want to go alone. So I called Rashi and told her to freshen up and come out, that we would go for a drive. We went to Target and searched the clearance racks until we found some good stuff and then came home. I still didn't feel like going into the house so I just sat in my car listening to music. Until Shyamala called to find out where I was and to tell me that we were going for a movie at 10....... 2 Fast 2 Furious..... The movie was good but there were some ridiculous, unnecessary scenes. But I was happy..... Watching Paul Walker made my night...... he is sssooooooo SEXY and has the most beautiful electric blue eyes and an adorable smile.... mm mm mmm mmmm mmmmm!!!!!:) yum yum yum yum yum!!! hahahahahaha!!!!!
July4th:
Had a really good day! Woke in the morning and went for a walk. I actually had a choice as to what to do with myself today...... One choice was to go to someplace near Cleveland, with everyone from Cleveland, for cherry picking and the other was to go to Pittsburgh with Sajit and Chitra for dosai..... It was a tough decision but the South Indian side of me decided that dosai was more fun.. Besides I had a craving... And you should have seen me beam from ear to ear when the South Indian coffee arrived in the tumbler and steel katori. I got everyone to drink out of the katori.... Chitra was sure I was pulling her leg so she actually got Sajit to ask the waiter if that was how we were supposed to drink it....hehehehehehehe!!
Came back to Akron at 9 and went with Aanchal to watch the fireworks. They were really pretty!!! I am now going over to Mukesh and Bhabhi's place for a BBQ..... I am finally hungry!!!:)
To be continued............

Wednesday, July 02, 2003

On July 2nd, 1982, a man in San Pedro, California, tied 42 helium balloons to a lawn chair he was sitting on. It rose 16,000 feet in the air and travelled a distance of 15 miles before landing safely. The FAA fined the man $1500/- for flying without a licence!!!!

Another loooooonnnnnnggggggg day at the clinic. I think I am ready to suffer from burnout..... without having any clients. I should be thinking of panic jitters instead!!:) DOes anyone know anyone who knows anyone who knows someone who wants to come in for counseling? I'm available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays:).....Apparently one year, the students actually went to the undergrad classrooms to get clients. Now we can't do that because the college counseling center which caters to the students got pissed off. Bureaucracy and red tape are stinky(according to another frustrated classmate)!!!!

Tuesday, July 01, 2003

A walk in the rain, a game of basketball, a well played cricket match, awesomely delicious chicken curry(even if I say so myself), yum scrum paneer makhani and oreo's coffee 'n cream.... Mm mm mm mmm mmmm!!!