Diya at LCTC - St Patrick’s Day

 

Halloween 2022

And here it is - the threshold year of Halloween. From Princess and the Frog to the Fairy and the Vampire. The dynamic duo never failed to make Halloween a major celebration every single year. So what will it be next year? Well Diya will simply have to fly in for Halloween… on her wings or her broomstick! Or will it be a pumpkin chariot? 🤔 

Diya’s Account of her 17th Birthday & Homecoming Dance

On my 17th birthday, it was a day packed from beginning to end. I woke up and my parents had gone on a hike so I went downstairs and ate some cake. After that I went to Josee's house to do my nails, and then I came back home to shower. By then, it was nearing 5pm, the time everyone was supposed to come over. We had last minute reservations to Buca di Beppo because I procrastinated and practically everywhere else was booked out. Doha, one of my friends, was running late so we had to push the reservations back in order to have time for cake/presents. Eventually she arrived, so we commenced with the birthday celebrations.

I got a nice set of perfumes from Reese and Doha, and Josee had given me my gifts a few days prior (earrings, a journal, some nail supplies, etc). After cake and taking hundreds of pictures, it was time to leave. We all drove separately and arrived unscathed to the restaurant, despite the treacherous left turn into the parking lot.

When we walked in, the place was packed and we realized service was going to be slow. When we finally got seated, it took a bit for our waitress to come to the table. When she did, you could visibly see how overwhelmed she was with the multiple other large parties she was serving. We ordered drinks and started looking at the menu while we waited for our server to come back. When we finally got our drinks, bread, and main course ordered, we realized that the doors to the homecoming dance closed at 8:15 and it was already nearing 7:30. It was at least a 15-20 minute drive back to the school and our food hadn't even come yet.

Thinking quickly, I flagged down our waitress and asked if she could bring boxes and the check with the food so we could leave quickly. She did us one better: they boxed the food and put it in a bag for us, along with the check. From there, people were able to serve themselves from the to-go boxes while I paid. We ate in record time and miraculously made it back to the school for the dance with only minutes to spare.

The dance itself was really fun: the whole school was decked out with the 'disco' theme and everyone was dressed to their best. We took pictures, danced to shitty music, and overall had a good time. I ended up leaving early because I had my final practice SAT (which I got a 1420 on!!!) early the next morning, and I got back home and went straight to bed.

 

 

Interview with a Successful Person - By Aadi, for school

Name of Interviewee: Ankur Ganguli

Why do you feel this person is successful?  
She has a family, a house, a great career, good friends, and good relationships with people.  

1: What is success? 

Success is when you can achieve your goals and dreams, when you can do what you're passionate about in life.

2: When did you consider yourself a success?

I had a dream of getting into a good college so I could support my family and have a good life. When I got into a top engineering college in India, I considered that a success.

3: What successes have you experienced that were most meaningful to you? 

It is meaningful to find a balance across all the things that are important to me - my health, my family, and my work.

4: What struggles and/or failures did you experience on the road to success? 

For higher education, I came to America, and that was very hard because I had no support over here and I struggled in the beginning trying to learn a new place, a new culture, and new people while also trying to study.

5: Which struggles and/or failures were within your control? 

It was in my control to be open minded and learn about a new place and make new friends to find support. 

6: Which struggles and/or failures were beyond your control? 

Just being in a new country.

7: How do you push through the worst times? 

I tried to remember why I'm doing this and what my dreams are. These give me the energy to push through.

8: What did you learn from these difficult times? 

I learned that if you really know what you want and then focus on what's in your control and get the right help, then you can achieve any goal.

9: What price did you have to pay (not money)?   And, was it worth it? 

I had to do a lot of hard work and be very disciplined. I also had to be away from my family. The price I had to pay was I did not have as much fun as my friends around me. I didn't have enough money to do or have nice things. But in the end it was worth it.

10: What positive habits have you developed to maintain your success? Reminding myself what is important to me and building a discipline to do what I need to do instead of getting distracted by what everyone else is doing.

11: What advice would you give me about choosing my path? 

Figure out what you are passionate about and work hard towards it.

17 Dancing Queen - The B day!

Happy birthday Nannnu with the 4 Ns. No one is as special. Friends, family, cake(s), many many presents, dinner with friends with no adults to supervise and to top it off, the homecoming dance that gave an excuse to glitter up!!

Not to mention - driving yourself to all these venues by yourself. 

Cheers to many many more such fantastic years and days!!!

17 Dancing Queen: Pre-Celebration!

Way to turn 17!

Mitchell's fish market made an impression and so did the candle lit cake cutting and presents treasure hunt in the newly "planted" dining room. 

Best Laid Plans - Father’s Day Camping 2022

Sitting at Torino airport at 4am, after a brutal 2 week travel schedule, it seemed impossible that I would be able to join the camping trip we planned with our friends. A repeat from last year's Father's Day camping, with hopes of not repeating the finale. Last year, the trip had ended in emergency phone calls informing us that our house had flooded (again) and it seemed to be raining in our garage. Long story and a long year of catastrophes later we wanted to regroup with another camping trip. 

But I was so tired with a hectic weekend in Canada, followed by a back to back whirlwind tour of Europe that would bring me back home around 2pm on Friday. The plan was that I would quickly shower, switch suitcases and drive to wherever the rest were setting camp. I had no idea where that was or how long of a drive - but those were just details. 

And that is why, sitting in the bland airport lounge at 4am, my energy and resolve started to fail me and I wistfully entertained the idea of allowing myself one night of rest in my own bed before joining the family next day. 

What a miss that would have been. So glad, I ended up sticking with the original plan. Suvo and kids were planning to start around 3:30pm so I could start with them - if flights were in time, no wait with Lyft, quick shower and packing. 

 

Unbelievably all of that happened and here we are. Enjoying an absolutely perfect weather and almost surreal day of harmony with the universe that we cannot really plan for or control. 

Within 24 hours, we have packed in campfire, cooking, fishing, beach and water games, rounds of dumb charades, biking, hiking, some yoga and meditation, foot massage, and my favorite part - "lounging" on mats under a tree - the whole afternoon, and Diya felt inspired to paint this amazing picture to imprint this blessed day in our memories forever. Even Aadi, who was dead set against this camping trip, is enjoying beyond reason. 

We are waiting to make s'mores as I type this blog. Diya is cuddling my back, looking over my shoulder, literally, and trying to dictate what I write. We are listening to Black Magic Woman - reminding me of her day care days when we had to pack the Santana CD from home for her and she dictated the choice of music for her toddler cohort, refining their taste in music. The years flew by but some things never change, thankfully!!

Could this day get any better? The song has now switched to "comfortably numb" … or is it just in my head? :)

(Now, all I want is to go back home tomorrow to a house that is in working order!!)

Happy Father's Day!