anyone there? anyone?

it's been raining for days.

so i created a new blog.

rootsandladders.blogspot.com

come say hi.

home. and other things.

hello, homeownership.

i should probably wait to post pics until we have it properly furnished but i actually have a little time to post something right now and who knows when that opportunity will present itself again. SO. here it is! please come and visit.

i love this house so much. the whole thing is pretty amazing but very difficult to capture in photos. the previous owners were a general contractor (hence the custom-built awesomeness and immaculate condition of the house) and the longest serving female fire fighter in this county (way cool). we are only the third family to live here and no one has died in this house (kinda important to us considering what happened in our previous dwelling). the best part? we are only paying slightly more a month than what we were paying for rent. so while it feels like a grand palace to us... we don't have to sell our souls to live here. i've never been a fan of soul-selling.

kismet abounds in the story of how we came to own this house. and if i had more time, i'd go in to detail here. maybe one day.

one day i would love to get back to regular documentation of my life. i miss the process of organizing my thoughts and beliefs and dreams via blog posts. also, i've been reading your blogs (those of you who are still blogging). i've even written some very long-winded comments to your posts only to have them deleted when i hit 'post'. something to do with weirdness when i post on blogs at work. sorry about that.

this friday is our six month wedding anniversary. we've accomplished a lot together in these first six months. i think that has to be one of my favorite parts about married life... that feeling of being able to conquer anything together. though it does mess with my head sometimes. i've always prided myself in being independent and sometimes it feels like i'm cheating at life to have someone to share responsibilities with. but i'm getting over it.

we don't have anything special planned to mark our sixth month anniversary. i will be on a plane heading to hong kong and then penang once again. if i think about this trip too hard my anxiety will shoot through the roof (considering what happened when i was away last time). luckily i've been so busy with working two jobs, moving, and getting over a wretched cold that i haven't had much time to obsess over it. now i just need to get my hands on some sleeping pills for that 23 hour flight.

ob-la-di

life has been a whirlwind lately.

• while in hong kong my dad went into the hospital.
• shash called me at 4:30 a.m. (4:30 p.m. florida time) to tell me my dad would be going in for open heart surgery.
• i was on a plane by 9:20 a.m. (i'm still amazed at how easily it was for me to both change an international trip last minute and make it to the airport in enough time via the train. hong kong is pretty awesome.)
• i made it back in time to see my dad before he went into surgery - 5 bypasses! FIVE! i didn't even know they did more than four prior to this event.
• he's doing very well now. it was hella scary but i'm still amazed at how fast one can heal after having his heart worked on. i am so thankful.
• while i was in asia shash bought me a new car (2012 honda civic - i haven't had a brand new car in, geez, years). of course, the whole surprise! new car! bit was trumped by my early return for my dad's surgery. but it was still pretty exciting.
  
• it's so nice to drive something with a new car smell (my explorer really took care of me through the years but it was time for it - and the gas guzzling - to go)
• this friday is the inspection on the house we are buying. i'm so very excited but am doing my best to keep a lid on the excitement at least until we get past the inspection.
• i feel like everything that is happening in my life right now is so BIG! HUGE! INTENSE! that BIG! HUGE! INTENSE! is now the norm.
• and i don't think i've mentioned this here, but i'm also practicing therapy part time in addition to my full time traveling job (surprisingly, it's working well despite the weird schedule)
• i head back to asia in september. the good news is that our subsequent trips will not be as long as the first one. two weeks away from home is way too much.
• lastly, i'm really into making green smoothies right now. so good.

oh, hello

• monday i leave for hong kong and malaysia.
• am i excited?
• no, not at all.
• i'm sure that will change once i get there. i mean, how could i not get excited about seeing a part of the world that i've never seen before? but for now, i'm mostly sad.
  
• i'm used to traveling all the time but i'm usually only gone for 2 to 3 day stretches. never two weeks.
  
• i've never been apart from shashi for that long.
• and i know it's kind of lame, but this makes me really sad.
  
• and i know it makes him scared.
• because we recently found out that this happened about five years ago. IN OUR BEDROOM.
  
• so, you know, staying home alone is not nearly as fun now that we know this.

keepin' it real

last weekend i was in the bahamas. gettin' married and shit.

tonight i'm all by myself. in a hotel room in san antonio. drinking wine, eating a lean pocket, and watching a sex and the city marathon on E!

i love how life has a way of keeping you in check.

the wedding was awesome. it was quirky, awkward, funny, and sweet... everything you would expect from a ceremony that wasn't rehearsed, had to represent two very different cultures, and had two introverts as the reluctant stars. i'm sure (ok, maybe the word sure is a bit strong) that i will write more once i have the professional photos back. but for now here are two photos i took in our room after the ceremony.


you see, while we were taking photos on the beach, we were soaked by a rogue wave. and as a result the many layers of my silly white dress were matted with wet sand. so that amazing husband of mine (yes, i just said husband)? he washed and dried the dress for me so i could wear that ridiculous thing for the rest of the night.

i think this was one of my favorite moments. sitting by ourselves, doing a post-game recap, and taking care of business. it was sweet and it was real in the midst of an event that is generally expected to have this other-worldly, fairytale quality to it. but i so prefer the real. i find it comforting.

so now it's back to normal life. and i couldn't be happier about that. i also couldn't be happier about the fact that i am thisclose to practicing therapy once again after a year and a half hiatus. and that means i can start studying for boards. which is awesome because it will be like being back in grad school! without incurring more loans! YES.

it also appears that after several false starts, my other job will be taking me to hong kong in may. so that's kinda cool.

i think that's all i've got for now. there are other thoughts swirling around in my head but i'll save them for another day.

g'night.

one by one

today i'm grateful for

• the thunder and the rain
• getting some exercise in before the thunder and the rain
• this cup of coffee from our keurig
• that was purchased with a gift certificate from my employer
• homemade welcome home signs greeting me at midnight after an otherwise routine business trip
• all major wedding-related details paid for and surprisingly under control
• this cat who is sitting in my lap
• giving our family and friends a good excuse to go on vacation
• courage
• living downtown
• the kindle app on my iphone - books! available immediately! and i can easily travel with several at a time!
  
• ted talks on our t.v.
• perspective

this

this post pretty much sums up my feelings about having a child.

it's like i can't wait... but i can.