Diwali (plus 1 1/2 deer)

Vasu, myself, Brintha, Mom, Brintha's roommate, and Cathy

Vashei, myself, Brintha, Mom, Katy(Brintha’s roomate…if I got your name wrong, I’m sorry!), and Cathy

Hello, all!  Just here to say I’m still alive.  Things have been hectic(read: exhausting) recently between preschool, moving the store (I’m shaking my fist at you, kid from Alterations, that got to carry a toaster…a toaster!  I got to push a giant cart full of books and you get to carry a toaster!?!?!), schoolwork, getting sick from preschool (so many germs), thesis, schoolwork, thesis, schoolwork…thesis.  I did get my thesis draft back from my director, and he likes it!  I’m working on revising, so hopefully I’ll have it spiffed up a bit by Monday to send back to him and to everyone else (This is total optimism and probably not an accurate representation of how things are actually going to happen.  I’m trying though.)

On to brighter, happier, less exhausting things, I got to go to the Renganathan’s Diwali party last weekend where I ate way too much delicious Indian food and then dashed because I had to go help move a bookstore.

The delicious Indian food in question.

The delicious Indian food in question.

I <3 Indian food.  I have no clue what most of it is, and it always looks so good that I never bother asking.  I just kind of dig in on the assumption that Vashei has yet to give me something I didn’t like.  This assumption has worked for me for years and years and years, and it worked this time as well.  As you can kind of tell, I knew I should take a picture, but I couldn’t wait.

Diwali, for those of you who don’t know, is the Indian festival of lights that happens every year around this time, apparently originating as a harvest festival.  It seems that it started off as a Hindu celebration, but over the years it has been adopted by pretty much all Indians regardless of faith.  In the Hindu faith, people light lamps and open the doors and windows of their houses to invite the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, in.  The lights are to help her find her way.  There are many many articles out there on the subject, so check out this concise little National Geographic for Kids article or this BBC one.  Just Googling it I learned that, since President Obama took office, they’ve celebrated it at the White House as a way to embrace what Michelle Obama calls “all of the many cultures and faith traditions that make us who we are as Americans.” (here’s a nifty little Huffington Post article)  I consider myself lucky to have so many friends and neighbors who are culturally different from myself, so its nice to see the White House agrees on the matter (although, in their case, I’m guessing it also makes really good PR 🙂 ).  I got to grab dinner with my friend/college roomie Vinnie this week (it was sooooo good to see you btw) who pointed out that while I get really excited about Indian food because I so rarely get it, for her, since she grew up eating it, it’s just food.  I guess the point of that story is to cherish your cultural differences and share them when you can, because they might be normal to you, i.e. just food, but they give other people a little glimpse of who you are and where you came from.  My example, that I’m sure I’ve blogged about before, is the pirogi.  Southerners just don’t know what pirogies are.

diwalidad

My dad getting philosophical (yes, that’s his philosopher face) about squirrels. I’ll spare you the rest.

The Renganathan’s have a really beautiful view from their back porch of the woods and into the golf course.  The squirrel philosophizing stemmed from the three, substantially larger, woodland animals that we had spotted in our backyard earlier in the day.

Deer!

Yes, I said three.  And there were three, not one and a half (and not the cute half either), but somebody doesn’t know how to sneak in his sneakers.  Somebody failed his ninja training.  I wont point any fingers (cough, cough…Dad…cough) but next time take your shoes off!  I’m assuming that these deer are the ones that have been eating our tomato plants all summer.  I’ve seen them twice now, and I hope they enjoy what’s left of those plants because next year the tomatoes are living on the deck and we’re planting hot peppers in the yard.

There’s so much more I could post, but I’m procrastinating and I know it, so I’m going to get back to work.  Have a great week everyone!

 

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