Go East !!!

Hi everyone,
Summer is here. And as we all know, it will be gone by the time we finish saying that. So let us make the best use of this precious commodity as much as we can. Next weekend, July 10th, we have our summer picnic at Andrew Hayden Park. Our new committee members are putting in lot of efforts and hours to give you a fun filled day of food, games, jokes, music and dance. I hope to see you all there. Thanks in advance for making our picnic another successful event.
And then I know, you are all wondering what to do with the next 6 or 7 weekends. Here is a wonderful idea (not mine though, a couple of our community members have made this trip long before me) – Let us go East !!! Take a drive East to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island (about 20 hours each way with 4 breaks) or if you have time constraints, fly to Saint John and drive along the breathtaking Fundy coast all the way to PEI, stopping first at Echo Caves at village of St.Martins. There is a wonderful beach you can visit here. Here you can collect pebbles of magnificent colours to decorate every corner of your home. The next stop is Fundy National Park. Stay a night either in Moncton or PEI and make sure you visit Hope Well Rocks both at high tide and low tide. Admission fees are good for two consecutive days.
Best provinces to indulge in fried, baked or roasted potatoes are NB and PEI. Never step inside fast food chains, instead opt for local eateries. And my carnivore friends can go for the juicy and succulent lobsters as well as the clam chowders. Do not miss the magnetic hills in Moncton where your car in neutral will climb up the hill, making both adults and the kids scream in astonishment. The best point in our entire trip is Cape Enrage, a free attraction on the Fundy coast. Standing at the top, you can take in the breeze, sun and the waves all at once.
Pictures always speak volumes than words. So view the rest of our trip through the eyes of my camera…
Anbudan Anand
5 July 2010

Thamizhum Thamizharum

To my teachers...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdJzWo6r

இன்று என்ன ?

ஒவ்வொரும் நாளும் போல் இன்றும் ஒரு நல்ல நாள். எழுந்தவுடன் ஊரைப் பற்றி நினைத்தேன். உழுதுண்டு ஊருக்கும் கொடுக்கும் உழவருக்கு நன்றி சொன்னேன். பெற்றோருக்கும் படைத்தவனுக்கும் வணக்கம் சொல்லி, உணவருந்தி, உலகத்தை எதிர் நோக்க வெளியே சென்றேன்.
பர பரவென பணி செய்தேன். பனியில் நடந்தேன், பாட்டு கேட்டேன். மீதி வேலையை மிக விரைவில் முடித்து வீட்டை நோக்கி விரைந்தேன். மனு முடித்து வைத்திருந்த வீடியோ பார்த்து வியந்தேன். சத்யநாராயண பூஜையில் சாஹிதியின்
சங்கீதம் கேட்டேன்.
இனியவள் கொடுத்த இரவு உணவுடன் இன்றையப் பொழுதும் இனிதே முடிந்தது.

The new way to your woman's heart !!!

How to entice and win over your wife (or girl friend, if you are young enough to date)?

We all know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Feed him. That is all it takes to make him smile, happy and be merry. But it is not that easy to make your wife’s face transform from the ‘ever present’ police look into a friendly grin. Giving birth to children and bringing them up among all odds and challenges that life throws at them mercilessly everyday make it harder for them to smile. So I try my best to bring charm into Latha’s routine life.

After taking some valuable road travel tips from Sivakami and Muthukumar who have successfully undertaken couple of cross country trips along with their two daughters Priya and Kamala, I decided to take my family too on a long road journey to Denver, Colorado, USA, the Mile High City. Denver is about a mile high above Mean Sea Level and hence the name ‘Mile High City’. But no sooner than I proposed my plan about the 2800 KM road trip last December, Latha, Manu and Sibi politely refused the offer, not in its entirety, but just the driving part of it. The very thought of spending 36 hours together in one car, one way, with me, triggered some sort of uncontrollable fear and panic attack in their mind and they didn’t want this trip to be the sole reason for starting the third world war.

So we decided to fly instead, but not on the same day though. My family flew to Denver, couple of days before I did and came back to Ottawa, a week after I returned. Now is the time to reveal the secret as to why Latha agreed to the destination (Denver) – Her sister, Leela, lives down there with her husband and two children. That makes us only eight of us, which is not enough to create Christmas Commotion along the foot hills of the rolling Rocky Mountains. Leela wanted this holiday season to be as memorable (or noisy?) as possible and so had invited two more of our extended family, bringing the total to 16.

Food, fun, laughter, songs, dance, day trips in and around Denver are all the things that I anticipated and was in abundance. What came as a surprise was the valour and grace of Leela’s husband, Raja. He was always around to help every adult and child who needed something. Drop a morsel of food or snack on the floor and he was there to scoop it up. Spill water, coke, tea or coffee and there he was with the mop and the bucket. Ran out of hot water, he was there to fire up the secondary water heater. His tireless attitude to share all the chores of running a house hold, triggered some unwanted side effect in my beloved wife of 23 years. Once we returned to Ottawa, she slowly and nicely started setting expectations that I learn and demonstrate ‘the responsible-husband’ syndrome that she has witnessed during the Denver trip.

More than ever I needed my mother to be with me now, to protect me from my wife’s unreasonable request to vacuum the house or clean the floors. Since my mother is no more on this earth to come and rescue her most pampered and spoiled son, I turned to the next source for help – God. I prayed and He listened. The help came through Sibi. He convinced Latha to buy the new toy in the town (Costco) iRobot, the robotic cleaner. Like with any new invention, we had our own share of suspicions, doubts and questions about the advertised skills and capabilities of our new cleaner. But slowly apprehension turned into admiration. IRobot sits quietly in its docking station with its charging lights blinking and turns green when ready for action. It undocks itself from the station on the pre-programmed schedule, goes around the house with a rhythmic whirring noise, scoops up every bit of dust on its way and once done, comes back to the charging station and docks itself and wait for the next cleaning schedule.

It does not fall off the stairs even once. As soon as it senses a drop in the floor, it stops and changes course. In the beginning it looked as if it is missing some spots, but no, it covers every square inch of the room or hall. I don’t know whether to call our iRobot new child, new toy or new pet. We all stand around and watch when it works, walks and runs. We empty and clean the dust bag after every run just like we change diapers for our babies. No need to take this ‘pet’ to ‘vet’ or for walks to the park.

Latha is a happier person now and always has that smirk in her face that new toy or pet owners have. And I escaped from the dreaded vacuum cleaner work. Next time when I go to Denver, I will have a man to man talk with Raja and give him some expert advice on alternate ways to a woman’s heart.

Seeing is believing....see our iRobot in action >>>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi4jcG5s1nU