Naming a child

Things to consider while naming a child 

1. Full names sound well- First name and last name should go well together. Read it loud to check how it sounds. 
2. Easy to pronounce-  By your natives as well as foreigners (whether you live abroad or if he/she would travel in the future). 
3. A good meaning- Unlikely to be bullied in school (not a cuddly name nor an opposite gender name). 
4. Let it be short- easy on the filling of applications and reading out on phone calls. 
5. Consider initials and nick names- not to sound bad. 
6. Important tip - Never choose to disclose the name to early. You would run into to chances of criticism unless you want to hear them. Sometimes it may help to check the pronunciation. In such cases, choose wisely who you plan to disclose it to. Also sometimes when there are other expecting parents around, you don't want anyone to steal that favorite name. 

Do you like India or USA?

This question is asked to every person who moves from India to USA, at many stages of such a person's life and by many people in their life. The old and repetitive question. You would hear it time in and again. 

My answer - I wish USA was near to India .. like Singapore/ Dubai ... so I can come to India whenever I want.. but I would not live in India, just come for a vacation. 

Reason - 

Pros of living in the states 

1. Land of opportunity - career, job, studying, etc 
2. Land of freedom - independence 
3. Cleanliness at its max - roads
4. Land of variety - food and entertainment 

Cons of living in USA 

1. How much ever you try to celebrate your hometown celebration here in USA, it won't match with that of India
2. You miss almost all events - weddings, coz of the traveling distance, flights costs, short vacation periods, and jet lag 

Pros of living in India 

1. Rich in festivals 
2. Heavy Spices n food 
3. Colorful clothes 
4. Family is there 
5. And so is events, never ending lists of celebrations- weddings, birthdays, baby showers, etc 

Cons of living in India 

1. High heat 
2. Traffic and pollution 
3. Mosquitoes 
4. Dirt 
5. Corruption 

Other miscellaneous differences are 

1. Easier to cook in US but more tastier food in India 
2. Comfortable clothes in US whereas beautiful dresses in India 
3. Simple outlook homes (in terms of layout and home decor) vs architectural unique homes in India 
4. Friends are family in US and family are friends in India 
5. Independent lives (each one car) prominently in US  whereas multiple transport options in India 
6. Store and eat - US, Cook fresh daily - India 
7. Variety of restaurants- US, street food craze - India 
8. India Vacation - US, temple tour vacation - India 
9. Studies full of options - US, studies full importance - India 
10. 4 seasons in US, summer and super summer - India 

The Masala smell (in the states)

Indian cooking uses lots of heat and spices - the Masala ! 

So what's happening as we cook our daily meals ? 

1. Only the gas stove is right for us. But prominently one only finds the electric stove or the induction one, which we still use. So what's wrong? It doesn't fit all our pans and pots. 
2. Kitchens are small. Less on storage. We have so much of utensils- a grinder, a blender, many pressure cookers and so much ingredients and freaking cook daily - all three meals! If it's Indian dishes- everything requires the stove. 
3. The exhaust fan has to go on. So much smoke. The fan makes a lot of noise and sometimes if it doesn't take all the smoke produced, imagine what happens. The house is full of smoke. And that's why I am sneezing my lungs out.., (yummy fish fry in the cooking) lol 
4. So what did we do to get the smoke out. Open the door, open couple windows 
5. Then what happens? The neighbors get the Masala smell. 
6. When you get to work, after cooking, or if the cloth was near the kitchen area.. you would be carrying it to work. Smelly! Colleagues would ask?! 

So what do we do? 

1. Shut the doors! Put jackets and clothes away, into closets and rooms. And shut the doors! 
2. Boil water with cinnamon and let the fragrance spread around the house. candles would do as well. 
3. Most important, change your clothes after cooking and before you step out. 

Tips to land a job

1. Have an excel sheet with all the info of jobs you have applied to. At what stage each application is and what's got to be done next. 
2. Have folders of resumes and cover letters submitted to each job position organized well. 
3. To apply for a job, work on a good resume and cover letter. 
4. Make sure your cover letter sounds exciting and shows ur enthusiasm. 
5. A resume should have most recent work on the top. Most important skills and dates should be clearly mentioned. 
6. Once called for an interview, prepare for the interview with all technical and behavioral questions and answers. 
7. While preparing- talk aloud the answers to possible and potential questions. Tools that can be used are mirror, recording answers, talking to a friend (mock interview). 
8. Be on time. Or even better before time. 
9. Always listen well to the interviewer. 
10. Give firm handshakes. 
11. Dress well. 
12. Have sticky eyes. 
13. Smile. 
14. Ask a couple of questions to each of the interviewers about theirselves and the company. 
15. Follow up after the interview. 

Is anything edible?

Food not to eat for a healthy lifestyle - a sarcastic look 

1. No grains which means no rice, no bread, no pasta - carbs makes you fat if you don't exercise enough to burn them all. 
2. No butter, No bad oils which is all the oils but for the oil used for dressing - olive oil - fats are fats! 
3. Proteins are required. But what do vegetarians do with just the dhal (lentils) without the rice (carbs). If you could have meat and seafood- again they are processed and packaged. 
4. Vitamins and minerals- found in the chemically pesticided fruits and vegetables. So they are unreal as well. 
5. No sugars - here we have a couple of items double scored out- no fruits, no fruit juice, no honey, etc. 
6. Milk is bad for you is a new buzz running around. Which means how come curd, that's made of milk. 
7. No caffeine- no coffee nor tea. 
8. No salt - causes hypertension 
9. No food- they either have sugar, salt, packaged, chemicals, GMOs, animal produced, etc. 
10. Water is the only thing not abused. 

Ideas to a non screen day

P.S- No experience.. 

A non screen day excludes the usage of phone, tv, tablet. Any electronic basically. But probably could include answering short phone calls. 

1. Cooking 
2. Cleaning 
3. Taking a walk 
4. Adult coloring / any art or craft 
5. Gardening 
6. Exercise / gym 
7. Go out - shopping or groceries
8. Meeting neighbors 
9. Take a long shower/ bath / facial / going to the beauty parlor 
10. Taking pictures (probably accepted to use the phone) 

What's your idea of a non screen day? What should the barriers be? 

Anti bucket list

Things I would never do / do again in my life 

1. Body piercing 
2. Skiing
3. Surfing 
4. Get a tattoo
5. Go to a haunted house 
6. Cliff jumping 
7. Hitchhiking 
8. Climb a mountain 
9. Get a pet 
10. Do public speaking
11. Mountain biking 
12. Buy a boat 
13. Play holi 
14. Hunting 
15. Go on a crash diet 
16. Swimming with dolphins or sharks