Hello....Again

Every once in a while, during the week, I compose an "idea" for a post for this blog. I tell myself that over the weekend I will copy the pictures from my camera, write up a grand story related to the "idea," and then finally break out of the blogging doldrums that I've found myself in. As is typical of me, the weekend comes and goes without a post, and I'm left wondering whether whatever "idea" I had would still work for a later post.

It turns out that it doesn't really matter because I've forgotten all the ideas. I think they were good, and if they were I'm sorry that I didn't follow up on them.

The irony is that I'm posting something now, and I don't have a grand idea. Instead, I spent an hour catching up on my Uncle Bill's blog and thinking about all the things that have happened to the people I care about and how easy it is to fall out of touch. So, I've decided that I'd post something even if it's not interesting. Maybe I'll come up with something....The last two months have been busy, so I should come up with something...

Ok - first of all, we had two Indian guests visit us for a month and a half. They were of course Vivek's parents, and they were here for a reason that I'll get to in a bit. Initially enthralled by the WWF (World Wrestling Federation for those who don't watch the CW) and Deal or No Deal (that was my father-in-law, and I think the models helped with that), my in-laws quickly became big fans of the Wii, particularly the bowling. By the time they left, they were both pros, and were able to bowl strikes and spares at a rate that I didn't think was possible. Even though I was worried about having two people stay with us in our one bedroom apartment for so long, I enjoyed their visit and was sad when they left. I was surprised at how adaptive they both were and often found myself floored by some of the wise-cracks I heard come out of my mother-in-law's mouth. It was nice having someone other than Fritz to talk to and interact with during the week (Vivek still works out of state during the week). Fritz misses them too, since I don't treat him as well as they did (at most he gets 1 treat from me a day...poor guy). He might be happy to have the extra space though. The apartment was so crowded that Fritz could often be found making a bed out of the toilet seat (closed) in order to get away from all the commotion.

The other thing is that the four of us went on a long road trip to Salt Lake City. This was my in-law's second trip to the United States so we wanted to make sure they got to see the Rocky Mountains and the northern parts of the Midwest. Our trip took us through South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho before we got to Utah. Here's one of my favorite pictures from Yellowstone. I've posted more pictures here.

Once in Utah, Vivek and I got married again. Really. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of that. We had a great time though, and it was great to see our friends from places other than Minneapolis and everyone in my family again (most of my family made it - pretty cool). Sadly, even though we were not in Minneapolis we did not manage to escape the snow...Believe it or not, it snowed during our Memorial Day wedding. I'll grant that we were in the mountains. But still, it shouldn't snow in late May. Not even in Minneapolis. And we were in Utah. Damn snow. Thanks to A though I did have a hat for the weather! Actually, lots of us had hats, thanks to her.

Other things have happened as well. I am now an Aunt ("Aunt Khena", how weird is that?) because my sister-in-law Vidya had a little baby girl, Vaidehi, in May. It's pretty exciting, and I look forward to the time that I'll finally be able to meet my new niece.

I am also now wisdom toothless. During our drive to Utah I started getting horrible toothaches. These were so bad that while we were there and getting ready for the wedding, I often had to stop what I was doing and instead do what I could to not cry and make a scene. Thankfully I was able to get an emergency dentist appointment the day before the wedding. Apparently one of my wisdom teeth was so badly decayed that the root was infected. I was given drugs and I kept my wisdom teeth until after I got back to Minneapolis.

I'm fine now. And even then there was so little pain that I never took painkillers. I think the swelling was never worse than it was here in this picture (and I can't tell if my face was swollen in the picture, though I'd like to think it was). So, a couple days after my surgery, things started to get quiet again. Vivek's parents went back to India and I tried to settle back down into work.

Long time, no post

March flew by! Yikes! And April is already almost half way over. You wouldn't know it by the weather here though. I look outside and the trees are still bare, the sky is gray and, holy crap, there's snow on the ground. What happened to Spring? Will I have to wait until June to see a flower or leaves on trees? This is insane!!!

I've heard that we're not alone though, so I'll try not to complain too much. But, this never ending winter is really starting to get to me. Maybe it's the lack of sunshine and Vitamin D. I don't know. Even poor Fritz is going a little crazy with the extended winter. What's a cat supposed to do in weather like this? Should he shed or shouldn't he? Should he attack the toy, or shouldn't he? He just can't seem to figure it out, and the confusion has made him a little batty.


At least Vivek is still being very positive about it. For some reason he likes the snow and the cold. Crazy man. A couple weeks ago he was worried that the lakes were starting to melt so we went out and took a few pictures before the lakes thawed...This was the end of March and the temperature was finally hitting 50 for the first time. (See how happy we look! Those were the days!) Oddly enough, it snowed two days later, and on April first we had several inches of snow on the ground again.Even then, I didn't really mind the snow too much. I thought that it was winter's last hoorah and that we were well on our way into Spring. I was wrong....I guess I'll just continue to look forward to May. It should be better, right?

Slow life

Well, I suppose it's time for another post...it's been a few weeks and there are a couple things that have happened.

Topic # 1: Super Furry Animals (not Fritz or Vivek). Yay! My favorite Welch band found its way to Minneapolis! We weren't sure if we would be able to make it, but Vivek miraculously recovered from his fever in time for lab happy hour (a newly instituted, weekly pool and beer event), dinner, and a long night listening to music (that was entertaining, bad, and then fantastic). There were a few memorable moments to the night - the first was an opening act by Jeffrey Lewis. With songs about Top Ramen and the comic book animated Creeping Brain I found myself wishing that his act would go on a little longer. Another, much too loud, act later and we found ourselves staring at five Super Furry Animals. And they certainly were furry! I couldn't tell at first because the lead singer came out wearing a Power Ranger's helmet - as you can see....
He also ate celery as a sound effect at one point.

Topic #2: Fritz goes insane! It seems that Vivek's absence during the work week has confused Fritz. When Vivek's gone, Fritz acts like he's lost and can't figure out what to do with himself. He's always happy to see me when I get home from work, but once he realizes that Vivek isn't coming home he starts yeowling and running around the apartment. Sometimes he even hides in his cat tent (given to him by the parents of his cat buddy Lindy).

When Vivek finally does get home, Fritz doesn't know what to make of it. A couple weeks ago, Vivek was petting Fritz when Vivek tried to amp up the petting with a second hand. Fritz freaked out and went into attack mode as Vivek brought his hand over. For his trouble, Vivek suffered bleeding puncture wounds and scratches all over his right arm. The next day Fritz walked over to Vivek, sat down in front of him, and gave him a mean spirited meow. Vivek stepped around him, and in return, Fritz attacks him again! Thankfully Vivek was wearing pants, so he was fine. That was the end of the misbehaving though, and ever since Vivek sprayed Fritz with water, things have been cool. I guess Fritz just needed to know that Vivek isn't a total pushover (though, it's really really close!).

Topic #3: Vivek and I have been married 6 months....Hooray! To celebrate we bought a cheap bottle of champagne at Costco. I'm drinking it now, in fact. It went well with the frozen pizza we got from Costco, and to me is the perfect Oscar watching beverage.

Slow life indeed.....

Oh yeah, see if you can figure this one out:

India Wedding Photos!! - Really!!!!

Well, we got a CD with our wedding and reception photos from the Indian photographers. We've posted them in two public Picasa albums that you can find here. There were actually many more photographs than what we've posted, but most of them were bad at worst, and hilariously funny at best (though not in a good way - see the post called O! for an example of that type of photo).

We may try to add captions at some point....maybe I'll start now. Anyway, enjoy!

Another trip to the symphony

Thanks to a great wedding gift Vivek and I had tickets to the orchestra this weekend. This time we had tickets to the Orchestra's Sounds of Cinema series. Our night included a screening of the classic silent film "The Battleship Potemkin" as the orchestra played a soundtrack compiled from the works of Shostakovich. It was a pretty unique experience, especially since we were allowed to bring our popcorn and drinks in with us. I have to say that it was slightly strange to hear the low rumble of popcorn munching during a live performance of Shostakovich. Even so, I think it was a great experience - the movie was great, the popcorn decent, and the music was outstanding. We were up at the highest levels of the hall this time, so I felt comfortable taking a few shots of it before the concert started. You can see the movie screen in the first shot.

And here's my scotch and popcorn....If you're wondering, the floor here was sticky. I don't think that's standard for the symphony. And it wasn't my fault.
The ceiling and walls in the hall have all these odd cube things in them. Since we were close to the ceiling this time, I thought I'd get a shot. Anyone have any idea whether these should help or hurt sound quality in the hall?

Being camera happy I took a last shot, this time of the mountain of snow along our street. Some very kind person cut a path through it so we can get from the street to the sidewalk. Here's a picture with Vivek's foot in the canyon.

Four years!...geeze it's cold out!....*yawn*

Many of you may not know the story of how Vivek and I met. If you don't I may tell you someday, but the story is not that interesting. The important point is that four years ago, on Martin Luther King weekend, some friends and I drove to Chicago and I met a guy with a fourteen letter last name; first name, Vivek. Even though I'd like to say that it feels like we met yesterday, I can't....I mean, a lot has happened in four years, and I've started living the next decade of my life. Also, being surrounded by 20 year olds all day is starting to make me realize that I'm an old lady. Not that old, but I'm old enough that I have very little in common with the young tikes that come in to be in my thrilling experiments. It's weird. There are of course many other things that make me feel like I'm not like them. I'm married now, for one. Well, mostly married - wedding #2 has yet to happen.

Anyway, to celebrate being together for four years, Vivek and had all these plans in mind. In honor of the good ol' days (I'm old because that's how I now think of them) Vivek and I were going to hit the night clubs in Minneapolis. Then, it got really freakin cold here. Really cold. So I chickened out and refused to go ahead with our plan to tear up the dance floors downtown Saturday night. So we had dinner at a place called Amore Victoria in Uptown (very tasty, though I'm uncertain about the veg status of my food) when Vivek got back from CT Thursday. There we made plans on how we should best spend the long weekend. Because the projected high for Saturday was -3 degrees, we decided that it would be a day spent at home. And, we did not leave. Somehow, it felt like we were giving the weather a big F U by staying inside wearing our sweats all day. I think that Fritz captured the spirit of our Saturday quite well....

Sunday, however, we were forced outside so I could finally go to the Frida Kahlo show at the Walker Museum. As with most things I had waited to go to the show for as long as I possibly could. You see, the show had been going on for months, and was now in its last days. So, Vivek and I had a late breakfast at a nearby diner (also very tasty) and then drove to the museum. We were almost there when we noticed that traffic was much heavier than usual. Then, waiting at a light in front of the museum, I looked inside and saw hundreds of people standing in a very long, and apparently unmoving line. Looking at all the cars ahead of us I realized that this event would be very very crowded. And I hate trying to appreciate art when all I can see is a corner of the painting if I jump to get my eyes above some tall guy's shoulder. Yes, I hate crowded museums....I'll never forget the time that I got to see the backs of people looking at the real Mona Lisa. So Vivek and I decided he needed a hair cut and we could wake up early and catch the show this morning...and off we went!

On our way out this morning I decided to bring the camera along, thinking that the crowd would be worthy of a picture. I especially thought this because I believed that today would be the last day of the show. Funny thing though. As we approached the museum the streets were almost empty. See...
When we got to the light, I peeked inside the window, and there were no people! None! "Are they closed!?" asked Vivek. "They couldn't be," I said, "the show is supposed to end on the 20th, and today is the 20th!" As those last words escaped my mouth it began to dawn on me that even though Saturday was lost to me and Vivek, it still counted as a day. So I checked my watch. And well, today is the 21st. There ended the Frida Kahlo adventure.

If you read this post after reading *yawn* in the title, then you only have yourself to blame for being bored right now. I'll end with another picture of Fritz, this time enjoying a cold afternoon with his favorite human.

Minneapolis Weather -- January 19, 2008, 9:08 AM

It's nice and warm here, and I'm thinking of going for a walk in my shorts and sandals.

He's gonna get schnockered!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Last night Vivek and I decided that we couldn't spend our first New Years in Minneapolis at home, playing video games (Vivek just got a new one - Medal of Honor 2 for the Wii, which, despite his claims, is very violent). So, we had dinner at a place called "The Duplex" and then drove around for about 30 minutes before we finally decided on a place to spend the last two hours of 2007. It's true that we did not have plans ahead of time. I've been recovering from a cold, so our typical New Years celebration, dancing, was out of the question, and we still have no Minneapolis friends to bug on nights like these. Anyway, we eventually ended up at a peanut bar where we found a couple stools at the bar and marveled at all the 80's music that someone had queued up on the jukebox. It wasn't a bad place, and I'd probably go back with a group of friends to chat with over a beer (in fact, their draft beer is served in giant mugs, something I'm finding to be a recurring theme here).

Anyway, besides the 80's music, there were other great things to listen to at this place. Here are a couple phrases that I overheard last night. They're not funny on their own, but imagine they're being spoken by Frances McDormand's character in Fargo (but with a man's voice), and you'll get why Vivek and I were chuckling through the night.

"Jonas! Jonas! .... He's gonna get schnockered!"
"The housing market is still way down?" "Jah"
"Who cares? I gotta seat!"
"Oh! You know goddamn well whose coat that is!"

There's something about the Minnesota accent that just delights me whenever I encounter it. It's so much more interesting than the Missouri and Utah accents. The Minnesota accent, when encountered, is a great thing. And, I swear I didn't hear it, not even once, until it started snowing up here. Maybe the snow brings it out in people, or maybe I'm just looking for it more, but I hope that it doesn't go away when the snow starts melting.

Anyway, that's as interesting as our night got. It was definitely better than watching Vivek shoot at people at home (on the Wii, of course) but may not make for an interesting post. But honestly, if you didn't chuckle at this one, you really need to watch Fargo again.