KEYS TO MY HEART » Valentines day

Valentine’s Day: #5

Archana — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:44:45 +0000

The last few months have been particularly hard for both Jagadish and me. A number of issues had come up that we had to deal with. While most of them remained unresolved, Valentine’s Day showed up, bright and merry.

I thought I had, for once, surpassed myself and bought him a really outstanding gift that would surprise him, but he got me something that I was really almost craving. He’s always been into gaming, and I turned from someone being blissfully unaware of video games into a casual onlooker, getting (loads of) info from him about the latest and greatest games around. So when he made his way into the US, I bought him a Nintendo DS Lite, with one of the Final Fantasy games. He soon found other games for it and I was hooked onto BrainAge and WarioWare. I absolutely loved Mario Party! I played until the end of the game-with a little help from Jagadish of course.

And so… I received a brand-spankin’-new DS Lite in red for Valentine’s. Not only does it look gorgeous and evokes ‘wows’ from anyone who looks at it, but it is incredibly easy and sooo much fun to play on! We can even hook up to Nintendo’s WiFi connector thingy and play against each other. I can only say I’m getting better at Mario Kart, but I bet I’ll beat him at it some day very soon!

Besides all the excitement of getting this awesome gift, Valentine’s, as always, reminded me of how fortunate I am to have someone out there who cares about me as Jagadish does, and someone who I care about just as much. Indeed, it happens much too often when the person you love may not love you back as much. I hope everyone who is in love and is looking for love will remember that, always.

It has been a wonderful five years with him, despite the many hiccups we continue to face. Money, fame, success, and the highly ovverrated societal ‘respect’, although perhaps important in some regards, sometimes pale in comparison to having a happy and fulfilling life.

Perhaps Love..

Archana — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:13:50 +0000

To me, love is a lot of comfort. It is comforting for me to know that, at the end of the day, I have a shoulder to rest on. Someone to spill everything out to. Someone I can count on to make me smile, even if I’m exhausted. Someone to simply make me feel better when I’m down, or feeling crummy for no reason at all. Someone who will understand that I need comforting, and solace, and someone who will unselfishly provide that, without asking or needing, or expecting anything in return.

Now, this reminds me that there is a most beautiful love song, by Placido Domingo, and John Denver called ‘Perhaps Love’.

Anyone who has not heard this, has surely missed out! Look it up, and listen to it, or ask Jagadish or me for it We will be happy to share it with you. Here’s the lyrics from this most touching, soothing, revealing, simply awesome song:

Perhaps love is like a resting place, a shelter from the storm
It exists to give you comfort, it is there to keep you warm
And in those times of trouble when you are most alone
The memory of love will bring you home

Perhaps love is like a window, perhaps an open door
It invites you to come closer, it wants to show you more
And even if you lose yourself and don’t know what to do
The memory of love will see you through

Love to some is like a cloud, to some as strong as steel
For some a way of living, for some a way to feel
And some say love is holding on and some say letting go
And some say love is everything, and some say they don’t know

Perhaps love is like the ocean, full of conflict, full of pain
Like a fire when it’s cold outside, thunder when it rains
If I should live forever, and all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you

Some say love is holding on and some say letting go
Some say love is everything and some say they don’t know

Perhaps love is like the mountains, full of conflict, full of change
Like a fire when it’s cold outside, thunder when it rains
If I should live forever, and all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you

I cannot agree more.

Perhaps l o v e does this to you

One..two..three..four!

Archana — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 09:39:00 +0000

As Jagadish mentioned, this is the fourth time we are celebrating this wonderful day together. I can scarcely believe that we have been together that long. Four years is indeed a long time, and even longer considering all the distance we have to transcend. I don’t honestly know though if Valentine’s is as special as manufacturers of cards etc make it out to be. On the other hand though, I would’nt say no to a romantic card, wonderful bunch of roses and some delicious chocolate! (Although, come to think of it, I did tear the very first V-day card I got into shreds and tossed it into the trash-It was a pretty long time ago and I think I thought it ridiculous at that age). What I love most about this day though is how it puts everyone into a better mood. The world would be such a better place if people just loved each other a little bit more.

This year, this day is special for a lot of reasons, but especially so because Jagadish gave me a very special gift indeed (so special it’s a secret ). Okay, not really a secret. Most everyone knows about it, really. Anyway, I don’t know how and when he thought of it, but it was thoughtful, romantic, sweet, and as perfect as it gets and I first want to thank him for his thoughtfulness and caring, and the love behind the gift; so thank you Jagadish for… everything you do!

Today was also, incidentally, my turn to present my data in a more formal & organized manner at lab meeting. It was extremely gratifying to see my PI excited about my work. If he’s excited, I’m doubly excited! My plans for taking my qualifying exam this summer are slowly but surely solidifying. It was a most satisfactory day in lab, although I did not do a single experiment. I didnt even lift a pipette, to be completely honest Hey, it’s Valentine’s–I’m allowed some slack!

Hmm. All this though reminds me of the days when I was applying for various PhD programs. It was Jagadish who persistently encouraged me to keep on applying. In fact, the deadline for the PhD program that I am in right now was up when I chanced upon it on the web. He insisted I pursue it–call up the Program Director and talk to him, he said. That might have been the most significant incident that turned my career around. The PD first brushed me away gently, but as I told him about me and how interested I was, got interested, encouraged me to apply, later interviewed me when he came down to San Jose, called me back for an interview at San Diego, and a few days later, I was elated beyond imagination upon hearing I made the cut. I am still thankful to him for this…but this is just one of many, many things he has done and continues to do.

I hope everyone finds the love of their lives, and is able to make them their companion and partner for life. I really think you must experience true love to know how amazing it can be…even when life sucks, even when you constantly fight, even when nothing seems to go right… Love truly makes life beautiful. Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!

PS: That movie that Jagadish mentioned–really is worth a watch

Happy Valentines Day

Jagadish — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 22:26:00 +0000

Valentine’s Day is a day invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.

–Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine is one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s an amazing movie with some brilliant lines that resonate through some good acting by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. It is one of those movies where you see Jim Carrey not resorting to his stupid antics and Kate is brilliant as usual. The movie is basically where a couple have a bad relationship and they try to erase their memories about the relationship(Its a fictional procedure). He starts reliving those memories that comprise the relationship from the earliest to the oldest as they are being erased. So we see the bad memories first where he is really happy that he is doing it and he starts regretting the whole thing when he starts reliving those good memories they spent together. It’s all a little surreal but a great movie nevertheless. I must’ve watched this movie a million times already learning the lines by heart. I really wanted to see this movie again on this Valentines day. I recommend this movie to all the people who have had heartbreak or been in a bad relationship or if you are just single. The movie is not about all those perfect romances we see in the movies, it’s about normal people involved in a normal relationship where there are bad things as well as there are good things. All we need to do is to try and resolve the bad while we remain happy for all the good that it has given us.
Anyway, on a more relevant note, this is our fourth Valentine’s Day together. Three anniversaries and four valentines days, its amazing how nothing has simmered down as yet. Archana has always told me how she had bad Valentine’s Days before our first. I’ve always had that in the back of my mind and I always wanted to make our Valentine’s Day a great one. I think we have been doing a good job for the past 4 years now. We have always been happy during this time of the year especially last year when Archana sent me 2 kg black forest cake. It was probably the first major surprise she had given me as a gift (I was always quite good at guessing her gifts). This year though, we went ahead and did something better. Most of you guys probably already know and there is no need to tell about it all over again . Of course it sucks that we have to be apart on a day like this but on the plus side of it, we get to celebrate it twice . For us, V-day starts 12 am my time and ends 12 am archana’s time, so we have a few more hours to douse ourselves in the celebrations compared to the usual 24 hrs time you get when you are living in the same time zone.

So here’s wishing you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day. I hope all the couples celebrate all these years of love and all the single guys/girls find love and happiness. Have a great day everyone.