Day 224 : Yet Another MRI.

And after all those wonderful celebrations, comes the D-Day. Madam's next MRI scan.

So as always, we set off for Mt. Elizabeth hospital, got her admitted (the children's ward was full, so she got admitted into the rather boring and depressing adult ward which quickly got her bored in 2 minutes), did the whole routine of changing into scrubs, getting vitals checked multiple times, get wheeled into the MRI centre (totally unnecessary but we make it a fun wheel chair ride), wrestled with the anesthesia process as always, waited outside as the little one got her umpteenth MRI done, waited for her to come out of the anesthesia, slowly got her to drink water and juice and eat some food after several hours of fasting, kept her entertained until discharge, gave into all her macaron and chocolate demands, and all the while waiting for the results.

Usually the doctor comes before discharge and gives us the update but today, he was caught up in a surgery and we were asked to come back tomorrow.

So that was that.

What was beautiful about the day?

The fact that she braved through another day in the hospital, and was as fresh as ever when she got back home after several hours.
The fact that we have such a bunch of supportive friends, a few even came down to give us company in the hospital, even though it was only a scan and not something more serious like the surgery. God bless them!
The fact that we could all still smile and laugh and crack jokes in the midst of it all.

I guess for now, that will do. Tomorrow, we get the results.

276 more to go. 

Day 223 : The Real Birthday & Diwali!

So Madam's "real" birthday falls today, October 30th. The reason why neither of the two birthday parties were help today was because we wanted to take it easy. Tomorrow, she will be going for her follow up MRI scan and we didn't want to do a late night, high intense celebration right before that.

Instead, we made our way to the temple in the morning and had a quiet Diwali celebration in the evening at home. After the visit to the temple, Madam and I even made a visit to McDonalds for her favourite treat - Nuggets with Ice Cream. We also spent some time reading through all the birthday messages that came pouring in for her.

Thanks to our helper who was super enthusiastic about celebrating Diwali as well as Madam's birthday, there was a pretty Rangoli outside our front door, there was a lot of prep for a puja and there was payasam and puri and channa made especially for the occasion. Such was her enthusiasm that she even convinced me to wear a sari to conduct the puja! It was the first time the husband and I found ourselves doing a proper puja at home of any kind, all on our own, and of course, we had to take the help of Google on how to go about it.

So yes, that's how the "reel" birthday (as Madam likes to call it) was spent. It was quiet, peaceful, and I think in a lot of ways, spent in mentally preparing for tomorrow.

At the temple

Rangoli

Puja prep

Diyas

Sari time

277 more to go. 

Day 222 : Birthday Party #2!

It was time for Madam's second birthday party! So once again it was time for some shopping (not just for the birthday but also lights, flowers, sweets for Diwali), prepping the house, dressing up and all that jazz. It was yet another real fun party! 

As usual, it started with the cake cutting (the gorgeous floral cake was courtesy of my friend who had attended the party with her two lovely little darling kids) and then ended with the kids and adults going wild with some serious dancing! 

The kids were so tired and hoarse by the end of it all, but nobody wanted to end the party. Only after many promises of meeting again soon to dance together could the kids be separated. 

Ah, what a beautiful evening and what a beautiful birthday! 

Blowing the candles!

The gorgeous cake!

Play time!

Me & the kiddos in our kaala chashmas, all set to shake a leg to the song!

And then we danced....

And danced...

And danced!

278 more to go. 

Day 221 : Inspector Singh, Again!

I breezed through one more of Shamini Flint's Inspector Singh murder investigations. This time it was the "Inspector Singh Investigates : A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul" that I picked up from the airport bookstore, where else?!

Once again I thoroughly enjoyed the mixture of humour and thriller. I believe I have been through most of the series and I am going to really miss reading them once I am through the last one or two remaining.

But for now, Inspector Singh & Shamini Flint rock!

279 more to go. 

Days 218 - 220 : China again!

Yup, I found myself back in China, for the second time within 2 weeks!

The key highlight was the food this time. Our global CMO was in the town and she ensured the team went out for dinners on both the days I happened to be there.

On the first day we went to Mr & Mrs Bund on the Bund in Shanghai, which is like one of those super high end Michelin star restaurants or in my CMO's own words, "One of the best restaurants in the world!". And the food didn't disappoint at all.

On the second evening, we made our way to Chinese restaurant that specializes in the hairy crabs that Shanghai is famous for, also a Michelin star one, if I may add. I avoided the crab, but gorged myself on everything else that was laid out on the table, topping it all up with some Chinese rice wine (too strong!).

The downside was that I had a horrible experience travelling back because of continuous delay in the flight timings thanks to Shanghai's overcrowded airspace. But that was more or less compensated by the really cool Italian film I watched called "The Perfect Strangers"on the flight. It was a super low budget film - set over a dinner party and featuring 7 characters - but with absolutely brilliant writing, direction and performances. Loved it!

Thus wrapped up yet another, and hopefully the last for the year, China trip.

280 more to go. 

Day 217 : 8th Film Festival!

Today I realized that we had gotten into the International Film Festival of Prayag, originally conducted in Allahabad but to be conducted in Delhi from 2017. With that, we are on to our 8th film festival for Pularum Iniyum Naalekal! Who would have thought!

283 more to go. 

Day 216 : The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man!

Yet another incredibly hilarious, totally recommended book - "The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man" by W. Bruce Cameron! I caught myself laughing out loud SO MANY times! I picked it up from my favourite Times bookshop at the Changi Airport on my last visit to China, mainly attracted by that dog's picture on the cover. But what a superb find!

286 more to go.