Growing up, my mom always clipped coupons and meticulously planned her weekly shopping trip to maximize quantity and minimize cost. It always amazed me the amount of money she saved. I am far too lazy to go through and clip coupons and plan out everything I'm going to buy. 9 times out of 10, I don't even look at the grocery store circular before going to grab what I need. I realize in order to save money efficiently, I need to shop around for the best sales and plan accordingly. Times like these make me miss my mom doing the grocery shopping.
We moved into our new home on Saturday. Since then, I've been watching the thermostat like a hawk..no joke. I've been always a bit colder than I normally like since we moved. This is, for those that know me well, really odd because my perfect temperature is "toasty" Shorts and a tank when there's snow outside, yes please. In our apartment, I would blast the heat like it was free (because it was, yay for all inclusive rent!) and that spoiled me greatly. Now I've accepted the fact that I must retire my adorable nighties and PJ shorts until summer for sweats and fleece pants. =(
Can I move back to North Carolina please?
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Identity Crisis
Juliet once said "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
I have always had a love-hate relationship with my name. It's short and sweet but oh so complicated in America. I've gotten Hair-rell, High-rul, Hee-rall and a plethora or others over the course of my lifetime. Nevertheless, I liked my full name, it suited me just fine and led to many, many user names and emails addresses. If I had to pick the one thing I most disliked about my name, it would be the fact there is no possible nickname. Can't call me Hi, Hir, Ral, Al...when everyone has a super awesome nickname, all I got called was Harold (thanks a lot sis) and Hirally. Sigh.
Then came the day I had to change my last name. I always managed to ignore the fact that my upcoming nuptials would require a name change. Then it hit me..as I was sitting in the Conway's Social Security Administration office, I was really doing this. There was no turning back. Then came the thoughts of how I wanted my name to be. Keep my middle name, take my old last name as my middle name, keep everything and hyphenate! HVA, HPA, HKA, HVPA..the initials themselves were complicated, everything sounded like a disease!! The possiblities were endless and kind of scary. I'd have to live with this for the rest of my life. I slightly panicked a bit.
Typical Indian tradition has the girl taking her husband's first name as her middle name along with his last name. This is something that everyone in my family has done...well I was never one to follow the rules because everyone else was. I decided to keep my middle name (which is my dad's first name) and only take Kunal's last name. I really didn't want too much of Kunal in my name.
HVA, my new initials..they just don't flow as nicely as HVP did. I decided to drop the V and just be HA. So now, I will forever be known as laughter. Ha ha ha.
I have always had a love-hate relationship with my name. It's short and sweet but oh so complicated in America. I've gotten Hair-rell, High-rul, Hee-rall and a plethora or others over the course of my lifetime. Nevertheless, I liked my full name, it suited me just fine and led to many, many user names and emails addresses. If I had to pick the one thing I most disliked about my name, it would be the fact there is no possible nickname. Can't call me Hi, Hir, Ral, Al...when everyone has a super awesome nickname, all I got called was Harold (thanks a lot sis) and Hirally. Sigh.
Then came the day I had to change my last name. I always managed to ignore the fact that my upcoming nuptials would require a name change. Then it hit me..as I was sitting in the Conway's Social Security Administration office, I was really doing this. There was no turning back. Then came the thoughts of how I wanted my name to be. Keep my middle name, take my old last name as my middle name, keep everything and hyphenate! HVA, HPA, HKA, HVPA..the initials themselves were complicated, everything sounded like a disease!! The possiblities were endless and kind of scary. I'd have to live with this for the rest of my life. I slightly panicked a bit.
Typical Indian tradition has the girl taking her husband's first name as her middle name along with his last name. This is something that everyone in my family has done...well I was never one to follow the rules because everyone else was. I decided to keep my middle name (which is my dad's first name) and only take Kunal's last name. I really didn't want too much of Kunal in my name.
HVA, my new initials..they just don't flow as nicely as HVP did. I decided to drop the V and just be HA. So now, I will forever be known as laughter. Ha ha ha.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Dish Dilemma
Living with someone comes the notion that household tasks are split somewhat evenly. Kunal thinks I have it so easy, I come home at a set time every day and have plenty of time to relax before starting work around the house. However, regardless of my schedule, I think we should contribute 50/50 to keeping our home up to (my) standard. If I clean the kitchen, you should clean the bathroom. if I do the bedroom, the living room is calling your name. And my most favorite; if I cook, you do the dishes.Usually I nag him until he agrees to do them. If they still aren't done by the time I'm getting ready for bed, I start getting antsy. Of course, Kunal assures me that they will be done before I wake up. And usually, they are being done right as I'm waking up. Kunal, too afraid to face my wrath first thing in the morning, wake up earlier than usual to do the dishes before I get to the kitchen and give him mean looks and slam cabinets. Haha
When I go to work on the weekends, I usually leave Kunal with a few tasks to complete by the time I get home. To my amusement, he usually texts me asking when I'm coming home and when I reply with on my way, it's a mad rush to get everything completed before I walk in the door. I don't understand why if you have all day, wait until the last minute to do something. Even when I went to NC for a week, I told him a list of things to do..and what did he do? Wait until the day I came back to get everything done, putting the finishing touches as I walk in the door.
I think the majority of our agruments have been about cleanliness. I am super picky and a bit OCD when it comes to how I want things cleaned, swept, mopped, etc. Slowly, I'm trying to teach Kunal the proper way to clean. Do the dishes as you cook, don't leave your coats on the back of every chair we own, throw away receipts intstead of collecting them on the dining table. Hopefully one day he will understand. Fingers crossed.
Until then, I am looking forward to calling a maid once a month to deep clean our new home. Now that the space has doubled and Kunal still won't do something unless he's told (10 times), I'm definitely going to need the help!
When I go to work on the weekends, I usually leave Kunal with a few tasks to complete by the time I get home. To my amusement, he usually texts me asking when I'm coming home and when I reply with on my way, it's a mad rush to get everything completed before I walk in the door. I don't understand why if you have all day, wait until the last minute to do something. Even when I went to NC for a week, I told him a list of things to do..and what did he do? Wait until the day I came back to get everything done, putting the finishing touches as I walk in the door.
I think the majority of our agruments have been about cleanliness. I am super picky and a bit OCD when it comes to how I want things cleaned, swept, mopped, etc. Slowly, I'm trying to teach Kunal the proper way to clean. Do the dishes as you cook, don't leave your coats on the back of every chair we own, throw away receipts intstead of collecting them on the dining table. Hopefully one day he will understand. Fingers crossed.
Until then, I am looking forward to calling a maid once a month to deep clean our new home. Now that the space has doubled and Kunal still won't do something unless he's told (10 times), I'm definitely going to need the help!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Workaholic
I've finally realized why time flies so quickly when you're a grown up. The majority of my life consists of work. I've started working 6 days a week, sometimes 7 if I feel like it. All my days just roll together, sometimes I forget the exact day of the week! There really isn't a reason behind me working excessively, it's not mandatory by any means. I just don't mind it. It give me a routine to stick to. It stops me from going shopping and spending money unnecessarily. And I must admit, it is nice to get the extra money.
With working every day, it seems as if my weeks run together and before I knew it, January is over! I honestly don't know how the last year ended so quickly. I feel like it was only last week that we decided to begin our house hunt. And now, we're less than a week away from closing!
Since I work the hours that I do, I get my time to relax every day after work, so I'm never desperately awaiting the weekend to rest. This is why I started working overtime in the first place. If all I do on the weekends is eat out and go shopping, why not just put my energy in at work where I'm being productive and earning extra money. We're definitely going to need it for when we furnish our new place.
Since Kunal is getting busier at work with his deadlines approaching, he has work to do on the weekends as well. Only benefit is he can actually work at home while I must go in. Usually when we're hanging out, we kind of ignore everything else to just enjoy our time with one another. This typically isn't good for all the work Kunal must get done. So the way I see it, I'm also helping him out by not serving as a distraction.
I'm sure that eventually I'll stop working all those extra hours. The days when the sun is out, it's 80 degrees and there's a roof top party in the city to attend sound like a good time to cut back to 40 hours. As for now, as long as the sun sets before 6, there's frost on my car, and a down feather coat on my back, I'll be perfectly fine putting in my excess energy at work.
With working every day, it seems as if my weeks run together and before I knew it, January is over! I honestly don't know how the last year ended so quickly. I feel like it was only last week that we decided to begin our house hunt. And now, we're less than a week away from closing!
Since I work the hours that I do, I get my time to relax every day after work, so I'm never desperately awaiting the weekend to rest. This is why I started working overtime in the first place. If all I do on the weekends is eat out and go shopping, why not just put my energy in at work where I'm being productive and earning extra money. We're definitely going to need it for when we furnish our new place.
Since Kunal is getting busier at work with his deadlines approaching, he has work to do on the weekends as well. Only benefit is he can actually work at home while I must go in. Usually when we're hanging out, we kind of ignore everything else to just enjoy our time with one another. This typically isn't good for all the work Kunal must get done. So the way I see it, I'm also helping him out by not serving as a distraction.
I'm sure that eventually I'll stop working all those extra hours. The days when the sun is out, it's 80 degrees and there's a roof top party in the city to attend sound like a good time to cut back to 40 hours. As for now, as long as the sun sets before 6, there's frost on my car, and a down feather coat on my back, I'll be perfectly fine putting in my excess energy at work.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Taking a Step Back to Reflect
If you asked me back in college where I saw myself as I'm about to turn 25 (next month) my answer would have been completely different than my reality. I wanted a job at a pharma company, to live on my own in a new city, surrounded by my best friends. I wanted to live life carefree and unattached, having the best times with the best people. Basically, like every other girl, I wanted a Sex & the City sort of life. Cliche, I know.
In reality, I work at a cosmetic company, I live with Kunal in New Jersey, and I'm surrounded by more strangers than friends.
I still am not sure how we managed to leave the greatest state in the country for America's armpit...but here we are. I must admit, the first year was a huge struggle. All our friends were back home, the winter was unbearable, and we both were so homesick. But slowly, we made some friends, the season changed and we found New Jersey to become a little more bearable.
We've come a long way since we graduated. We both had moved back home with our parents, we made a 3 hour distance work for 5 months, 8 hour distance for 8 months and then the day came when I packed up my life in my car and made the solo drive up to NJ. I'm sure my parents thought I was crazy, I know my friends did. Leaving home to move in with my boyfriend? I sounded like the girl I never wanted to be, following a boy. This was so unheard of in Indian culture but if you know me, you'd know that I am not one to follow any rules but my own. As it turned out, it was definitely the right step.
People always say "Everything happens for a reason" and I am now a firm believer in that. If I hadn't stopped working at Global in February, I would have never decided to apply for a job at H&M to pass time. If I hadn't worked at H&M, I would have never had a job to come to in NJ when I decided to move. If I hadn't moved, I wouldn't be a chemist at a multi-billion dollar company.
We're about 2 weeks away from closing on our townhouse. As I look back at our past trying to fathom how we got so grown up that we're buying a townhouse, I realize life really is all about the risks you take. I'm so thankful that all my risks have led me into the direction I want to be. But, as my OCD/pre-plan everything personality is ever so present, every risk is definitely researched fully before undertaking.
In reality, I work at a cosmetic company, I live with Kunal in New Jersey, and I'm surrounded by more strangers than friends.
I still am not sure how we managed to leave the greatest state in the country for America's armpit...but here we are. I must admit, the first year was a huge struggle. All our friends were back home, the winter was unbearable, and we both were so homesick. But slowly, we made some friends, the season changed and we found New Jersey to become a little more bearable.
We've come a long way since we graduated. We both had moved back home with our parents, we made a 3 hour distance work for 5 months, 8 hour distance for 8 months and then the day came when I packed up my life in my car and made the solo drive up to NJ. I'm sure my parents thought I was crazy, I know my friends did. Leaving home to move in with my boyfriend? I sounded like the girl I never wanted to be, following a boy. This was so unheard of in Indian culture but if you know me, you'd know that I am not one to follow any rules but my own. As it turned out, it was definitely the right step.
People always say "Everything happens for a reason" and I am now a firm believer in that. If I hadn't stopped working at Global in February, I would have never decided to apply for a job at H&M to pass time. If I hadn't worked at H&M, I would have never had a job to come to in NJ when I decided to move. If I hadn't moved, I wouldn't be a chemist at a multi-billion dollar company.
We're about 2 weeks away from closing on our townhouse. As I look back at our past trying to fathom how we got so grown up that we're buying a townhouse, I realize life really is all about the risks you take. I'm so thankful that all my risks have led me into the direction I want to be. But, as my OCD/pre-plan everything personality is ever so present, every risk is definitely researched fully before undertaking.
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