The Life and Times of Chai

I get lost in the morning. Over the past two days, I've been waking up at 5:30am and unable to go back to sleep. I get up with such gusto, thinking that I will take charge of the day, do all the things I can't do when the rest of the family is up. Instead, I find myself reading useless articles on the internet, flipping through photographs of people that live on my second (and sometimes third) moons, or cleaning out my inbox and getting trapped in answering the deep question, "subscribe or unsubscribe?"

Instead, I have a clear desire to write. I have a clear goal of meditating and practicing yoga. I have many articles bookmarked for intellectual stimulation. One of my favoritest meals is breakfast, so I can make breakfast. And, of course, nothing beats running in the morning as a quick pick me up.

And yet, I get stuck. I'm going to try and get out of this bad habit of tech heavy mornings and switch it to more activity and creativity based mornings. Just writing that gave me a sense of peace.

I'm writing this with a slurpee next to me. I've forgotten how much I loved these drinks. Anyway, it is crazy to be back in the hood. I have come to terms with the following:

As of right now, I can't see myself moving back to the Bay Area willingly.

Phew. I wrote it. It feels strange writing that, almost like a traitor. But, the reality is that this place is no longer me. Most of my friends that live out here are in the private sector or education. I, on the other hand, am not and will never be. I get the feeling that too many people out here are way into superficial things, like where you bought your house, the car you drive, and newest gadget you have. Now, I know each place has its thing. NYC has "oh my god, have you been to this new place or this hidden gem?" and DC has "oh my god, i know this politician's son and we are going to the World Bank's holiday party." So, I get it. But, for some reason, hidden superficiality makes me comfortable.

And, honestly, I don't dig having a car. Scratch that. I don't dig NEEDING a car to get around everywhere. It's annoying.

But, I love this place because it is home. It has given shelter, love, community, and delicious veggies to the people I love the mostest. And it holds a lot of memories than I can possibly remember. To the Bay, I love you, but I got to go back to the East.

The summer is finally here. It's amazing how fast this year has gone by. Didn't we just vote in Barack Obama? Weren't we getting over our Christmas lull, followed by winter blues? Weren't we just craving soups and crackers, while willowing away in our kitchens filled with untouched cookbooks?

Now I'm carrying a bigger bottle of water, a small face towel, and sunscreen. With all this humidity we face some hours of rain, so my bag also has a small umbrella. Ahh, the lovely DC summer has arrived on the scene.

This year has been wild. I've made strides in my professional career, including being selected for boards of two non-profits. I'm trying to continue to my hand at developing my own voice and criticism on theories and "this is how it has always been." I've been sought out by various media outlets for interviews, which has followed up by my desire to develop a media presence on issues I deem worthy being on our society's collective conscience. And, I've been applying to present at various conferences across our country on teen dating violence and sexual violence.

While the professional cup is overfilling, my personal life is also runneth over with projects. One project that has definitely been eating up a lot of time, but I'm damn proud of it. My friend and I started a blog documenting gender based public sexual harassment in the Washington, DC area. Surprisingly we have received a lot of fanfare from friends, strangers, and loved ones. It's been a trip. And, with that, I've been brainstorming a few book proposals! I realized, during my time away from Chat & Chai, that I enjoy, even gravitate towards, writing. All of this action on top of planning a youth convention for my community of Indians, another conference for Desi youth in the DC area, and a street harassment conference in October. Some how, I promise you, I'm still able to sleep.

I feel a little rusty coming back to this backdrop of public sharing in hopes that people get me. I'm thinking of different approaches to this blog to make it more cohesive and approachable instead of a diary. However, I'll explore that with you all another day.

Welcome back! :) I'm going to make myself a beautiful light dinner and enjoy that meal with T and Chandi.

I hope everyone had a lovely V-day, Anti-V-day, long weekend, or weekend. I had the opportunity to watch Coraline in 3D, see a rare photo of Abe Lincoln, and eat some yummy vegan Mac N' Cheese at Soul Vegetarian. Plus I took the famous 70 bus home! All of that was balanced with an emergency trip to the animal hospital (Chandi is a fighter), attending a goodbye party for a daily family member (*co-worker*) who was laid off, and feeling drained by work and other projects.

But, I got to play out one of my passions. I carved out time to cook this weekend, which has been rare in the past two weeks due to my travel and work schedule. I am delighted to share with you an adapted recipe included in "How To Cook Everything Vegetarian" by Mark Bittman. I love okra and bought a bag of frozen cut okra at HMart last weekend. I found this salad to be delish and a source of comfort as I craved my mom's food.

Crisp Okra Salad

Oil for deep frying
1 pound frozen okra, stemmed and cut round
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 small or 1 medium tomato, cored, seeded and julienned
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 lemon or more as needed
1 1/2 teaspoons chaat masala, or more to taste
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida

1. Defrost frozen okra following instructions on bag.

2. Put at least 2 inches of oil in a countertop deep pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Bring to 350F.

3. Remove any liquid from defrosted okra. Add chili powder, 1/2 tea salt, and asafoetida and mix. Make sure all other ingredients are ready to go.

4. Fry the okra in batches small enough not to crowd your pan and be sure to let the oil return to 350F between batches. Fry it until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes- the seeds will swell, and it will be deeply colored at the edges- then transfer to paper towels to drain.

5. Toss the okra with the onion, tomato, and cilantro. Squeeze lemon juice over all, season to tatste with chaat masala and salt, and serve.

Having peace and quiet when living with another human and a dog is a luxury. I try to wake up early to hang out with Silence. Silence, although a bit creepy, wraps around me and shares it's warmth. When I wake up early, I have the ability to make our lunches, to write, to read, to meditate. I feel less rushed, less hungry, and more fulfilled.

I, however, don't enjoy Silence at night. If I have work or my extracurricular goes past my bedtime, I hate being awake by myself. I feel really anxious and anger starts bubbling up. Usually I have to watch the tube to make my body comatose before heading into the bedroom. I do enjoy seeing Chandi and T asleep, but honestly I want to see that in the AM rather than the PM.

I even enjoy Silence in conversations when the person(s) you are conversing with is a connected soul. I don't like talking all the time (as opposed to those who have to talk [or "talk"] all the time) and Silence gives our mind the space to regroup and reconnect. When I travel, I usually don't listen to my iTouch, canvassing my mind with podcasts, long lost albums, and videos. I close my eyes and just listen. I write down lists of things to do in my planner pad. I read. But, I hone in on Silence.

What are your thought on Silence?

1. Reading friends' 25 Things About Me posts via Facebook. I know some folks are hating on it, but I really enjoy reading these gems about my friends.
2. Making my own meals after a week of eating out. As much as I love eating out, I don't like eating out for every.single.meal. It makes me feel ick. (Side note: I learned how to make sambar and idlis! To me, that is my soul food. Can't wait to share the recipes and pics.)
3. Sharing a blanket and a nighttime with T.

3bt

I hate feeling I am getting sick. It is the worst feeling because you are just waiting for it to hit. And when it hits, at least you can deal with it. Do you take meds before you start a cold? I don't.

I can't believe it is already the fourth day in the second month of the ninth year in the second millenia after the birth of Christ. Crazy, eh? Many of you have been saying how fast time is flying. I hear you.

Speaking of hearing you, I fell in love with Wally Lamb's writing. He is an awesome writer, isn't he? I know that I am late to jump on this wagon, but I can't stand reading Oprah blessed books and then I eventually ban the author. However, when people are getting rid of books and giving them to you, you end up with popular titles on your bookshelf. They leap in your lap when you need a book to read on your cross-country flight.

Later this month, I'm going to two areas of our nation that I haven't been to in my adult years. I am excited. Wanna know where? One place hails as the happiest place in the universe. The other has a needle.

I finally figured out why I don't blog as often. It's not because I don't have time. I do. It's not because I don't have material to write about. I do. It's not because I think blogging is ancient. I don't. It's not because I don't like you. I do. It's because my laptop is now a desktop due to unforeseen circumstances and therefore I can't plug-in where ever I want. Hopefully a laptop fairy will grant me my laptop wish soon (I can do with a refurbished Apple). :)