The week is almost over!

The week is too hectic these days! Monday to Thursday go by very quickly, with taking and fetching Prathna to and from the kindergarten, office, Norwegian classes for both, and more. Of course, all house work needs to be done as well! Now, it is Thursday, and it is possible to breathe a little easier. However, there is too much to finish before the India trip, which is approaching very fast! Less than a month left, before we embark on the journey. I wasn't feeling anything before but now I am getting excited!

It will be nice to meet everyone, and it is wonderful that Bhuvan can also come! And a surprising development has made it even better. Ashu is going to get married, and that too in Delhi! And we will be able to make it to the wedding. It will be after a very long hiatus that we will attend a wedding (almost 6 years), and it will be nice to meet mama, and all the sisters!

We are still considering a trip to Goa or elsewhere, although nothing concrete has been planned yet, but we must get on with it soon, if something has to materialize!

An eventful weekend

The previous weekend was one of the most eventful we have had here in Norway. A few of "unplanned" things added to the load of already planned activities and ensured that the days were completely packed. On Friday, Prachi and Prarthna went to the city center to have their renewed visa stamped and to get a new tax card for Prachi. On the way back, Prachi missed her bus to office (it went right before her eyes). So she called me, and it being a sunny day after a prolonged hiatus, I decided to take her to work. Then we decided that I will eat there as well (I can never say no to that, as lunch at her office is a veritable feast). Sometime during the day, we also decided to go to Åsane Senter as it was night-open there, and we could pick a few bargains. So we drove up there and bought a few things (including some which were surely needed). We came back hungry and tired, but the shopping trips for the weekend did not end there, as Sangeeta cajoled us into coming along to Nesttun next morning. This day (Saturday) was also the day that we had planned to go see a movie in the theater after a prolonged gap (around two and a half years). We had made arrangements to drop Prarthna off at the Deans. After all, a hindi movie was playing in Bergen, making it a must-go event. We managed to drop Prarthna, find a place to park, and make it to the theater around 5:10 (it was some trouble as we had never been to this theater, and it is extremely difficult to find your way in Bergen, with so many roads closed for construction). We both really liked the movie. After the movie was over, we rushed back to pick Prarthna (the way back to Dean's was surprisingly easy, considering we had some trouble coming in about where exactly to park). We sat there for some time (Prarthna was in a much better mood) and then went back home.

Sunday was another busy day! We had a "paath" for Guru Nanak Birthday starting at 10. We left home around 10:05, picked up Sangita (Man Singh had said no at the last minute, as he didn't wake up on time) and then we went to Eidsvåg. It was quite good, as always, with wonderful food, and nice chats with people. We met a few new folks who have been here since jan/feb. Then we came back home, and slept for a while. After that, we decided to call Sushila and Prem since they were leaving for Nepal. I went to pick them up, and they stayed for tea and patra (they already had a dinner invitation).

So, it was a full and fun weekend!

Taking flight....

Gosh, I am not going to lament yet again about not writing for a while, but now will accept that it is difficult to write and that I will just have to try my best and do it when I can. Many days ago (while on a trip to Germany), I counted how many flights I have been on, and while it does not compare in any way to the business travellers that we have these days, it is still a respectable number (I think). I have written once before on this, when it was a decade of flying. My coming back to this should tell you that I am fond of it, and would really love to see as much of the world as I can (I still have a very long way to go). So here is a list (this includes all take-offs, so a certain trip can have 2 or 3, depending on connections):

1996 - 6 (India-US-India)
1997 - 0
1998 - 5 (India-US-India)
1999 - 8 (India-US, Chicago, Milwaukee)
2000 - 8 (India, LA)
2001 - 19 (India, San Francisco, Colorado, Portland, Chicago)
2002 - 22 (India, Japan, Colorado, Texas (2), Indianapolis)
2003 - 10 (Phoenix, Miami, LA, New Orleans)
2004 - 1 (back from New Orleans)
2005 - 12 (Atlanta, India, Norway, Spain)
2006 - 32 (Oslo (2), Orlando, Baltimore, Germany (2), Stockholm, Gothenburg, Paris, Belfast, London, Copenhagen, India)
2007 - 2 (Back from India)

Total: 125