Donating blood for the first time !!!

April 15th, 2010 - Vishu Innayirunnu. Kani kanuvanayi ravile nerathe unarnnirunnu. (5 am)

Since I got up early, reached office early. Felt so positive today - had adequate time for all. I guess, getting up early is much much better than staying late in the night and then getting up late... Early mornings are so fresh and needs to make it a point not to miss them.

There was a blood donation camp going on near my office. Thought, I will donate my blood for the first time as its for a good cause and today is a good day. Avar 3 forms fill cheyyan thannu - kure medical questions... Chappu chavaru athu ithu, ellam kazhinju... Forms fill cheythu thirichu koduthu. Aviteyirunna ammachiyoru chodyam - have you been residing in the US for the past 3 yrs. Oho, 3 kollam US'il thanne odiyittulla blood matrame edukkukayullo ? I said, no, I'm from India and infact today I'm just completing my first month in this country. I didn't know about this particular rule and thought that any healthy man who is not suffering from any illness or not taking any medicines can donate blood. Hence came for it. She said sorry abt that - may be next time !!! I said - ok, done. :)

Jeevithathil ithu vare blood donate cheythittilla. Blood test cheyyan thanne chora edukkunnathu kanumbol feels sad !!! Appozhanu 300ml chorayoottunnathu !!! Just kiddin... Now feeling differently and I want to donate blood if needed. Dont know something is changing abt me and I like this change !!! Angane adyamayi donate cheyyan poyathu inganeyumayi !!! Ivite entha indiakkarante choraykku vilayille ? :) Karmam karmam. Just kiddin...

Vishu in US

15, April, 2010 --- 1185, Medam, 2.

Vishu day
=========
Ivite innu vishu anu. Well, nattil innale ayirunnu. Normally Medam 1 anu vishu. Ithavana athu Medam 2 ayi. I used to wonder - how come vishu falls exactly on April 14th every year. It never happens that my actual b'day (Malayalam one) never falls on the same english date every year. This year also, if it had been on Medam 1 it would have been April 14 only. For some reason vishu was on Medam 2 and hence April 15th.

MEDAM
========
Medam marks the beginning of new year in Astrological terms. This is the first rasi. If you had been to any astrologer or have seen your horoscope this is the first house. Any counting begins from this one only. The top third column from the left and it belongs to Sun, sun is at its hottest this month. Summer holidays chummathano thannirikkunnathu !!!

Memories...
==============
Being back to my life... Vishu kkani always brings back the nostalgic memories - being at home, the night before vishu parents will be arranging everything for kani. In the morning, I will be woken up with mom's hands closing my eyes, bringing me to the pooja room. Idinjil kathichu vachittundakum. There would be fruits, pulses, cereals and in the middle - being surrounded by all this - my Lord - Krishna !!! Oh thinking abt that sight itself is so heart warming. Then parents will be giving us Vishu kaineetam. We go to kudumbom - father's ancestral home, paradevathaye(Mahavishnu) thozhunnu. Then go to ammath (Moms ancestral home) there also salutes kudumba daivam (Bhadrakali), comes back... burst crackers.... so much fun. Me and my sister used to see who collects more kaineetam. And usually she wins. :)


And today here I'm - feeling lonely in this big beautiful world !!!


My vishukkani
===============
I had brought with me a small idol of Mahavishnu - Srivallabhan. Actually my each day starts with him only. Hence woke up, saw him as the first glance, took the $10 as if receiving it from my parents, laptop played the song - Kani kanum neram... Thats it. Ithayirunnu ente vishu kkani.


After this I called home. There is a time diff of 12.30 hrs b/w here and there. It meant that at home its already the evening. Sun is abt to set there, while the day is just going to begin here !!!Talked to my parents and sister. Needless to say, they all miss me and I too miss them. Mom was telling, ithavana kanikonna poothittilla !!! Seems that too miss me !!! :)

U never realize the value of things you miss, unless you miss them !!! Well, I accept this - life is like that. U can't hav everything at the same time, cheer up my boy !!! :)

Orkut'il kure nalla krishna related videos upload cheythirunnu. Frnds'num relatives'num vishu asamsakal scrap cheythirunnu. Pinne facebook'l oru puthiya account create cheythu. Eni athinte oru kuravu vendallo !!!

Oru kochu bhoomi kulukkam !!!

It was Sunday, April 4, 2010. Time - 3.30pm. Lake forest, California.

I was in the bed, in the net (internet) wathing the funny serial - "Akkara Kazchakal". Suddenly the bed began to tremple, began to shake and move sideways... The window curtains were also flowing left and right. Oh, my god. Suddenly I realized... I was experiencing a real earth quake !!! It lasted for 10-15secs and then slowly the earth came to a standstill.

That was quite inexplainable !!! Heard of earth quakes but experiencing it was different.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-us-baja-earthquake-science,0,52222.story

=== Here is the news on it ====
"A strong earthquake south of the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday damaged buildings in northern Mexico and shook high-rises in downtown Los Angeles and San Diego. At least one person in Mexico was killed and others were feared trapped in their homes.

The magnitude 7.2 quake struck at 3:40 p.m. local time in the state of Baja California, Mexico, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was 16 miles southwest of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico, a town 20 miles south of the border with California. Seismologists raised their preliminary estimate of the strength of the quake after initially calling it magnitude 6.9. The quake was felt across Southern California and parts of Arizona."