Story of my state id...

In the US you always need to carry some form of ID.The state ID has your date of birth and basically shows that you are a legal resident of America. I was in the office 4 times already and every time i was short of some document or the other. Today i was asked to bring a letter stating that i was on a dependent visa hence i would not be issued a ssn . If you live in US, it is very important to have a social security number(ssn) . As a dependent you don't get a ssn number. This is what i was told when i went to their office in dec2006. It was understood that without ssn you cant have a credit card, Bank account and u cannot work.
I ran to the ssn office waited there for a good 1 hour. The officer said 'who says you cant get a ssn ?' I reply 'sir, my friend was here yesterday she didn't get one'. lam afraid the laws have changed, and you get one !! In my head i am going ...did the law change overnight?? The officer tells me well i am not sure why the computer denied your friend but it lets me give you a ssn ". I think how can a computer decide...oh well I must be the lucky one. The letter states that the ssn will arrive by mail in 2 weeks and i would not be able to use it for work. Oh well, at least i can open my own bank account and have my own credit card:).
I now head to the DMV office to get my state id. I stand in the line for about 45 mins all happy , finally i have all the paperwork. The lady in the counter reads my letter and says" you have to wait till you get your ssn number dear". Iam like you are kidding me!! She says i cant register your name on my computer without your ssn. Come back with your ssn and i will issue a state ID. I beg literally ...because of my trip in two days and i didnt want to carry my passport . But yes, i was made to go back . So the story of my state id goes on....to continue. I wonder what the computer will decide by the time iam in the office the next visit!!

Mushroom Recipie:)

I made this a few days ago and it turned out pretty yummy.....
try and let me know how you like it

Take big mushrooms(10-12)
wash and cut them in slices.
Then in a pan add olive oil, put some cumin seeds, green chillies slit(1-2 acc to your taste)
Grate one big onion in this pan.
Fry it till it turns translucent.
Add ginger and garlic crushed about 1 tea spoon.
Fry the mixture till gets gloden brown.
Now add 1 tea spoon kasuri methi, 1/2 teaspoon tumeric powder.
Mix and add 2-3 grated tomatoes.
Add salt and 1/2 tea spoon sugar.
Fry the ingridients till tomatoes get cooked well.
Now add sliced Mushrooms and simmer the flame .
Once mushrooms get cooked add 1/2 cup milk.
You can add more or less milk to make more or less gravy. Taste and see if the salt is according to your taste. Add chopped coriander and serve.

This is a good side dish with Roti/paratha/Naan Bread

Test failed ...after i tried to assemble the futon I bought from IKEA... lol
I had no patience trying to hit endless screws only to find that something else was either loose or just not right. Till now every thing i have bought from IKEA was perfect ...but this experience was something else....But task accomplished i got both my dinning table and my futon ready....ofcourse i yelled and screamed at my futon several times for testing my patience...lol

Change

LikeThe sky turns blue to purple
like the weather from spring to fall
like plants grow to trees tall.
Change is the only thing constant.

From a child to woman i grow
My acquaintance and frineds i adore
Some stay same some try to differ.

Change is the only thing constant

Emotions changes

sometimes low and sometimes high

passions changes

love to lust

what remains constant

is change

Test

I have been thinking to change ...for quite sometime.Changing is so difficult.
So heres my test.....
I am not going to let anything/anyone annoy me.
Anything that irritates me or pushes my buttons ...i am going to laugh out loudly and smile away.It may annoy people around me but I want to see how this is going to change me.
Do i stay positive or will i succumb to screaming and shouting and getting upset.
I will write my experiences in my next blog....

Friday's feast

http://www.fridaysfeast.com/
Friday's Feast is a meme of five questions cooked up by the chef each and every week.
Heres mine... Enjoy!!!
Appetizer
List 3 emotions you experienced this week.
Happiness[ I found out that i might be able to work in this country if i did find some not for profit organizations]
Confusion[ Planning our Maine trip has put me into this roller coaster ride of where to go, what to do and where to stay. Same questions and different answers each time]
Fear [of becoming this girl who is stuck in the kitchen all her life...with only one question on her head...what do i cook for the next meal?]

Soup
Name a car you’d love to have.
Lexus SUV

Salad
Describe your typical morning routine.
I get up to my husbands bathroom singing...lol.. make my coffee, turn on the computer. Get my husbands lunch ready, Say bye to him.
Eat my cereal , listen to my music... take a shower and read the news paper.
Note : its not this order most time i may skip somethings sometimes.

Main Course
Hled anyone Famave you ever emailed someone famous? If so, who, and what did you say to them? Did they reply?
Hmm...never emailed anyone ...maybe i should do that....

Dessert
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones?
Nope , I don't ...i used to when i was in UK...about East enders. I miss the music though.

Tulip Festival

How would you like to be sitting amongst tulips on a nice sunny Day? Thats exactly what i did on Sunday . Off to tulip garden festival in Washington park Albany. It wasn't anything like tulips in Amsterdam ....but this view was very pleasing and refreshing. Colors from white, red, shades of pink, purple violet, mauve yellow and what not.
I may not be lucky like Aishwariya Rai to have a tulip named after me in Amsterdam ...but i am lucky to have just spent the whole day admiring them . Take a look and enjoy the pictures.

Clouds!!

Are you crying up above
when i see u clouds gather
Are you crying , when you pour
Are you moaning for the fight down below?

Are you mad when you thunder
You ask why innocent people die
is this place safe to abide
Death follows not by turn but by deed u say
You pour you shower you stop us from all bad deed we endevour
What you see man doesnt see
You teach us lessons in the way you live

How Rare Is Your Personality

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISFP)

Your personality type is caring, peaceful, artistic, and calm. Only about 7% of all people have your personality, including 8% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Black Book

I went to see this movie on Friday.
I don't do film reviews, But this movie really touched me. So here goes the story...This movie is set in Holland in the year 1944. The time of II world war and when the Jews were captured and sent to death camps of the Nazis. Its a story of Rachel Stein a rich Jew who tries to escape from the occupied land to the liberated land and loses her family in the due course. She then changes her name from Rachel stein to Ellis DeVries and colors her hair blond to join the resistance team to avenge the death of her family. In this process she falls in love with a Nazi officer and falls into a spiderweb of events that lead the dutch to believe that she is a traitor. She then finds a black book with one of the members of resistance, which leads to the real culprit.

A emotional , and very touching movie ...It does take you back to the time during II world war, showing closely how the Jews struggle for existence.
Filed with suspense& high intense drama, it is a must watch movie.I highly recommend it:)

Bright and sunny outside today!!

Went out for a stroll,
this is how it looks outside my apartment:-)

Back From phoenix!!!

I am back and with a great sun tan:-). Wohooo...what a trip!!! I arrived on monday last at about 10 pm at phoenix airport. Drove to my cousins place. He lives in one of the nicest places in phoenix. Lots of palm trees.

Apart from chilling out, catching up with all my other family members did a lot of outdoor activities.
Climbed the camel back mountain .. 1.1 miles up and return. Quite steep and i almost thought would never be able to make it. But i did and so did my uncle who was 64.It was the best thing i did after being sedentary at home for the last 6mns. After 3 hrs of hike... the last thing i did was to move my body any further.

The next day a few of other family members joined us and we all(12 ) headed to Grand Canyon. It was the most lovely trip we ever had ...on our drive to it we saw the landscape change from dry land filled with cactus to pine trees and snow capped mountains.
Grand Canyon was formed some million years ago when snow melted and gushed through plains sculpting them the way it has done now.
There are 8 points to view Grand Canyon from

To see Grand Canyon was amazing...









There was a bus which took us from one point to another. It was hot(96degrees f) but the trip was worth while.
The next day took a trip to Sedona. Hiked the Cathedral rock and did all the tourist views in Sedona.





One of the most spectacular views that i have seen . The trip from flagstff arizona to cathedral rock sedona was just amazing.
The cathedral rock in Sedona is a steep hike about 1.1 miles up and back. Most places are dry hot and some shady with a small stream running by. The rock looks almost like lord ganesha . What is fantastic is in the beggigng of the trail you see cactus bloom and in between the trail gets all this shade from trees and cool breeze and fresh air from the water gushing in the stream.
It is'nt tiring as the trail runs from one amazing view point to another.I will post some pictures for you to see and enjoy:)
The last day went Kayaking in Canyon lake. 8 of us in a kayak and 2 in canoe. It was tiring but good work out and lots of scenic beauty to view. Saw couple of Blue herons, few swans and ducks swimming across the lake.



With all this beautiful, wonderful memories i head back to good old Connecticut on Monday night:(