Mia is here! She's beautiful and amazing. If you are not on Facebook/Twitter, here is what I posted there. And you're really missing out if you're not on Facebook, I NEVER update my MySpace any more. I mean really, Facebook is much better.




Photo album (you do not need to be a Facebook member to view the album): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=47121&l=7ce7b&id=713074537

It's finally feeling like what I think of as spring here in New Jersey, nice and hot.  It's a nice 69 degrees outside and not a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather! Last month when we left for California, around the 10th of April, there were no leaves on the trees. When we got back, spring had sprung, there were signs of green life everywhere and this lifted my mood greatly. My neighborhood is bereft of grass, so the trees add all the greenery and they took so long to come in, it still felt like winter  well into April. Of course I am grossly late in reporting this, oh well. Soon it will be sweltering summer and I'll once again complain about the weather.

Enough about the weather, how boring is that? What's going on in my world? Well, I'm totally preoccupied with being pregnant, of course. Anyone who has the misfortune to ask me about it gets the full story, I'm sure they regret asking about it. I can't help it though, I'm quite excited about it. I'm 13 weeks and everything is good so far. I didn't have any vomitus morning sickness, only nausea. The only thing I suffered from greatly in the first trimester was being dead tired alllllllll the freaking time. It was horrible, my house didn't get cleaned for 12 weeks, haha. I would wake up with Farhan, get him off to work, and start my nap almost as soon as I got home from dropping him off. I am happy that finally I seem to be getting some energy back. A few other things are a bit worrysome, but I have faith that everything will be ok. I've been referred to a Perinatologist because my blood pressure is at the cusp of being high and needs to be monitored closely. We also found out from our tests that I have one of the genetic mutations for cystic fibrosis so we're testing Farhan to see if he has the mutations as well. I pray that everything will be ok. It's actually quite a high probablity for us whities, something like 1 in 29 people have one of the mutations. The number is a bit less for Asians, 1 in 90. So here's hoping that we don't curse our baby with gunky lungs from the inception, God! I think so much of pregnancy is about worrying, what to eat what not to eat, do I have Rubella or toxoplasmosis or hepatitis, or listeria or anything? It's crazy! But we're really excited about our little one and trying not to worry about things that can't be changed and doing our best to eat well. :)

See I told you the whole story would come gushing forth. I can't help it.

In other stuff, I do have a life, we've seen a few good shows lately. We saw August: Osage County and it blew me away. Such a great story, intense, so moving, and funny! We had great seats thanks to a connection in the cast, we were front row mezzanine level and I think they were the best seats in the house. If you are in NYC please take time to see this show. It's the best play on Broadway right now. We've also seen an Off-off Broadway called Armor of Wills that I enjoyed very much. Our friend PJ composed the music for this small show that played at the Under St. Marks theater, and while it's closed already, I hope they had a good run. The play was really good! I enjoy smaller shows, you feel totally connected to the cast because they are literally 5 feet away from you. We also attended the Mashable.com MashBash party a few weeks ago that featured the ledgendary Grand Master Flash, and it was fun!! It was at Webster Hall and it totally made me feel like an 18 year old raver again. Though being 11 weeks pregnant and 28 years old did put a damper on the crazy fun that I would have had 10 years ago at a party like that, mind you. But good times.

So other than that I was so happy to catch up with my good friend David last weekend in Brooklyn! It'd been many years since we'd seen each other and it was awesome. We met for dinner with a group of his friends from college he was visiting and then we all went to Union Hall to see Mike Birbiglia. He was funny! And it was a great deal at $7, we're definitely going to keep up with who's playing at Union Hall and go back.

So yes good times. Good times indeed. I hope everyone else is doing well and enjoying their springtime allergies. Heh.

I've been out of town for what seems like forever, since April 9th, in California. It's been great but I feel totally disconnected because I've been away from computers and the Internet. Which has been a good thing, it's hard to disconnect sometimes. But I hope everyone is doing awesome. I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes and everything, makes me feel good.

So last night we got back to Santa Clara from a 2 day trip to Yosimite, and I have been floored by the amazingness of that place. Everywhere you look is simply breathtaking. Just amazing. So I have many pictures to post that I will share later! Definitely the coolest place in the US!! :)

We take the red eye back to New Jersey tonight, but for now, for today, we're headed to the Winchester house for a tour of the spooky. Have fun out there, everyone!

M

It's getting more and more interesting thinking about seeing everyone at my 10 year reunion this August. Just in the last few weeks it seems, I've 'found' so many more people from MHS, and I'm really happy that the reunion committee has gotten organized and is busy making sure everything is set up.  May they have luck finding all the classmates still lost to obscurity, I honestly think it will be neat to see everyone. Though I always held out hope that we could at one point do some sort of joint reunion with a few of the other classes, there are so many people that it will be great to see from the class of 1998. Strange, it still doesn't seem like that long ago, even though so much has happened in the past 10 years. I think we had it pretty good, in high school, even if our school had a reputation that we proudly bore and joked about. Creek dawgs, Ghettocreek, whatever. But actually I think we had it quite good, looking back. From what I can surmise now, Meadowcreek has fully embraced this ghettorific image and is no longer a shadow of its old self. While in high school, I may have had a somewhat typical bad attitude, I do have fond memories of that formative time of my life. And it will be good to reminise with others at the reunion.

I've been very sick this week with the flu. Sicker than I have been in a long time. Looking back, I realize I shouldn't have flippantly said, "Oh, why should I bother getting a flu shot, I never get the flu.." yeah, I think I jinxed myself. But I'm on the upswing, I actually got out of bed today and even was able to eat a little bit. Good news: not eating for three days has enabled me to loose 10 pounds. Surely not the best method of dieting, but I'll take it.

We went to go see Sunday in the Park with George last Saturday and it was most interesting. Sodheim musicals are never straightforward. Musically it was gorgeous, as could be expected. It was presented beautifully with the amazing Broadway trickery, I have no idea how they did the animation for the set, but it was amazing. It was like the walls of the set were alive. The whole play is about "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat. Those links will take you to the wikipedia articles, they will explain better than I can. It was very interesting, and I am glad I saw it. I think I would like it more if I saw it again, it was hard to digest everything. But it was beautifully done.

A friend visited last week and it was a lot of fun taking him around NYC. We went to the Top of the Rock, and on the Staten Island Ferry. We drove around and had a really good time. We've found a great route to get to the Holland Tunnel that saves us so much time. Otherwise we get stuck in traffic for 45 minutes, just to get to the tunnel entrance. Driving in Manhattan is the best, it's the way to see the city. Everything is so close together, but if you take the Subway it seems so disconnected and far apart. I personally don't like to drive though, I let Farhan take the wheel. He is from Pakistan, and thus used to driving in lots of traffic with drivers who have little regard for traffic law.

Well that is that, I hope I get better soon because this being sick isn't fun at all. And now Farhan's getting sick, so I will have to take care of him.

Happy New Year to everyone. May 2008 bring you joy, happiness, prosperity and general good times.

So the dates are official, we'll be in Georgia for Christmas from the 22nd til the 30th. We're driving, yikes, because we waited too long to get tickets and they're like $500  a person. So we will drive. But the good news is that I will be able to bring my kitty with me instead of boarding her, which I always hate doing. I miss her so much the entire time we're gone, so it's a good thing to be able to bring her and I'm excited. My grandma is elated that she will get to see her, note no such enthusiasm to see me. No grudges though, my kitty is special and her and Momo have a special bond. 

The date for the party is official too, December 29th, from about noon onwards I'd say. Any time you can stop by, hang out, have some drinks, etc, is fine. I'm looking forward to seeing anyone who comes, and the invite is seriously open to whoever wants to come. I suppose I should put together an official list and evite everyone, so if you want an invite please message me your email addy. But if you don't care to do that, it's still ok to come, just pop me a message and I'll tell you the address so you can get directions.

I'm sick with a cold for the second time in as many months, so I'm feeling a bit run down. Here in Jersey we've already seen snow three times since December 1st and it's been much colder this year than it was last year this time. I'm thinking that this winter will be harsh, cold and snowy. Good times, right? Well I try to make the best of it. Every time it snows I still get giddy and excited and shout, to anyone who happens to be around, "Oooh look it's SNOWING!" I guess it comes from growing up in Georgia when any snow event was out of the ordinary. I guess overall I do like the snow but only when it is fresh. Snow in NYC gets utterly disgusting in such a short time, then we're stuck with nasty black muck until it melts.

Well since I seem to be rambling, I'll stop. Blame it on the Sudafed.

I can't believe it's already October, this year has flown by so quickly. We're busy making our plans to visit Georgia for the holidays. I have loved talking with all my friends this year on MySpace and I miss you all so much.

And while I am down in Georgia I want to see so many of you. But a lot of my friends are spaced out, from Athens to Dahlonega to Gwinnett to Downtown Atlanta. I want to see all of you.

So, I was talking with my mom today and she suggested we have a party at their house, which would be a great idea, IF all my wonderful friends would be available to drive up to Lavonia for the day to see me.

Drinks would be plentiful, food would be weighing down the tables, and of course Farhan and I would be there to party hardy with anyone who'd come.

It's about an hour drive from Dahlonega, and hour from Gwinnett.. a little longer if you live down in Atlanta.

Please leave a comment or message me, and it's not definite. But I wanted to throw it out there to see who might want to come to see me. If I get a good enough response here we can see if we should actually start planning. :)

Ta, more later, my lovelies.

I sent this email and thought, hey, why not post it here too.

Thanks everyone for the b-day love, it was nice to hear from everyone!!


----------------------------------------------------------
Now, here's what you're supposed to do...and please do
not Spoil the fun.
COPY AND PASTE THIS EMAIL...THEN , delete my answers
and type in your answers. Then send this to
a whole bunch of people you know.... and send it back
to me so I can see
your answers. The theory is that you will learn a lot
of little known
facts about those who know you. Remember to send it
back to the person who
sent it to you!

****all answers subject to change by tomorrow

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I don't think so

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Yesterday when
watching the news about Va. Tech.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? If I take the time
to write neatly, then yes. Most of the time no.

4. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No

5. If you WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS
WITH YOU? Sure

6. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Nope. Not at all..

7. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

8. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way.

9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cinammon Toast
Crunch

10. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No

11. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? At some things.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? ?? Hagen Daas
Dulce de Leche

13. RED OR PINK? pink

14. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU? My
inability to be organized

15. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my grandfather and my
aunt

16. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Only if they want to.

17. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue
Jeans and black shoes.

18. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Baklava

19. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? a speaker
at the Va. Tech convocation.

20. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Silver

21. FAVORITE SMELLS? fresh rain, clean clothes,
chocolate

22. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE
PHONE? Farhan

23. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Of
course

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Billiards


25. HAIR COLOR? brown

26. EYE COLOR? green

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Sometimes

28. FAVORITE FOOD? Kebabs, cake

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? definitely happy
endings

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Can't recall

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? turquoise

32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer!!!

33. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs

34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ras Malai

35. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Not sure.

36. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I never know about these
things.

37. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Son of a Witch by
Gregory Maguire

38. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don't have a mouse
pad.

39. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Deal or No
Deal

40. YOUR FAVORITE SOUND? coffee making, rain, waves

41. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? The Beatles

42. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I suppose.

43. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Georgia

44. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING?
Whoever wants to send me them.

45. EVER FLOWN IN AN AIRPLANE? Yes

46. A PLACE YOU WOULD LOVE TO GO? Galapagos Islands

47. Person you love to hear sing? Anyone who can
carry a tune.

I've been so bad about updating here, and it's really the only way my friends back home can get caught up, unless they call me, which they don't... so yeah. I'm sorry, I'll try to update more often.

Things are good, I guess that's why I haven't been updating. We're just busy and time flies by. We actually got to take a vacation over Labor Day, we went down to Cape May, the most southern point of New Jersey. It was awesome. Our first real honest to God vacation ever. Every other time we've gone on a trip somewhere, we've had other things to do, like a conference, or a wedding, or something. We didn't even get a proper honeymoon. So this vacation was well deserved and we had such an awesome time. For some photos, visit my fotolog.

Now we're back in the Rat Race though, as soon as we came back there were site problems at work and the cat had some health issues. We went from zero stress to full throttle the day we came home. That's life though, and that's why vacations are so nice.

So that's that. Been working on a new project which is keeping me busy. But it's awesome to have something to work on. If you are a database professional looking for a job, let me know and I'll send you the link.