Week 30: Jacob Martin Live at the Waterfront

For those who are not aware, I am on a 52 weeks adventure this year where in I decide my own adventures! For more details, check out here!

Last week we went to a live rock band performance by Jacob Martin band at the waterfront in West Palm Beach downtown. Bursting waves of water on one side of the road and stimulating waves of music on the other side! It was an evening well spent.

Old and Young, everybody was enjoying!

The West Palm Beach arranges an open event third Sunday of every month at the Meyer amphitheatre called 'Sunday at the Waterfront'. It is a fun filled Sunday with food and drink stalls around and people relaxing in their own chairs or beach towels spending some quality time with the family and friends.

This particular Sunday, the event was from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm. However we went there by 6.00 pm after the scorching sun had subsided a little. There was a nice breeze blowing and Sujoy and me sat in one of the empty without grass ground patch with our feet swinging together in rhythm as the music progressed. 

There were people from all age groups at the ground. Some young folks dancing right in front of the stage while some elderly women shaking their feet a little behind. Never the less, all of us were swinging as the band was performing some electrifying music. I love to dance. The only difference being, I dance while I sit! Haa! I still have not gotten the carefree nature of dancing in front of all as if no one is watching. My dance is - shoulder movements, head swaying, feet tapping all of this while sitting! That is my dance ;)

Dance as if no one is watching!

 

I can dance too!

Just can't get enough of you!!

It was an evening well spent with a live band playing and me enjoying the music with my head on my husband's shoulders humming my own tune! After the event, we went to the waterfront. God, I just can't get enough of Florida beaches and water!

Look at the blue everywhere!

Let us see what is there in store the next month at the waterfront. I so love my new place :)

Week 29: Warli Art

For those who are not aware, I am on a 52 weeks adventure this year where in I decide my own adventures! For more details, check out here!

As most of you might know, I am on a dependent visa in the US which does not allow me to have a 'paid' job here. There are a large number of spouses who are well qualified and come on a dependant visa to the US, leaving behind their glorious careers only because they want to be near their loved one. The choice is difficult, and yet we make it. Some of us decide to stay back home and continue with our job while staying away from the spouse for maybe a year or more. I respect everyone's decisions.

I had a tough time getting used to not having a job that I used to love a lot. Hey, but I am not complaining! It is only because of this visa that I got back to writing and received so much love and appreciation from you all! I feel myself to be really blessed to have you guys!  A BIG hug your way!

But I cannot do writing the entire day. I need some real human interaction also to keep myself sane. And I just cannot barge into my American neighbor's home and invade his/her privacy. This is one thing I so miss about India. The social hustle bustle, sometimes a little too much of nose poking in others' business but none the less a little chat with a neighbor makes a big difference. Yes, I miss the human touch here in the US. 

I never liked meeting women and watching daily sitcoms or gossiping about the entire world. I always thrive on meaningful interactions where in I do not have to pretend to be someone else. 

After shifting our place last month, we landed up in a Community where there are 30-40 Indian families. A thought came to my mind, so many ladies on dependent visa here...I am sure we can start something good here. I have always looked up to other people and tried to learn something or the other from them. Each individual is unique and has something to offer on the table. I thought, 30 Indian women - even if one woman teaches one new thing I will learn 30 new things!! And it would also be a time well spent. So what if you are on a dependant visa that does not stop you from enjoying your life and learning new things....right?

I shared this idea with the 2 good friends I made here in a short time and they were really excited. And so I found at least 2 like minded women and we started this small club of ours which will meet every 2 weeks or so and one of us will teach something to the other two! Exciting, right? And people think, when women meet they just gossip! We are here to prove them wrong ;)

So it was Neha, Gauri and me sitting at Neha's house with all the art supplies on one fine day where Neha was going to teach us Warli Art. Warli art is an ancient tribal art of Maharashtra state in India and it has created tremendous waves in wardrobe and souvenir industry. I have a T-shirt with Warli Art :)

We picked up a simple Warli Art sample from the internet and started trying our hands on this brand new skill. Neha and Gauri are artists, they paint and they sketch while I haven't picked up a brush since a long while now. So it was scintillating to hold all those colors and drawing paper and getting down to business.

This is what we selected. Image Source.

We did not have proper art supplies or rulers and erasers, but who cares? We had a lovely time together learning something new with limited art supplies. Warli is simple if you can draw triangles and circles. It is a simple art form and can be done by anyone, you do not have to be an expert artist to try your hands on this art.

Women at Work ;)

Neha and me tried to stick to the sample picture in our drawing. But Gauri wanted her Warli people to be dressed in Designer clothes and she did some creative work there ;)

The final versions :) Don't miss Gauri's Designer Warli Folks ;)

We with our individual creations! Yes, we do look like the criminals with self name boards ;)

This is just a desk of 3 working women ;)

The proud feeling which I experienced when I put my name on my Warli Art paper was exhilarating! Never mind the dependent status, never mind the depressing early days in the US, never mind the occasional sinking feeling when you think of your career graph - never mind all of this and other difficult moments. I just learnt a new thing and it kind of lessens the intensity of all the hurt and pain felt during such moments.

Hey look whose name is on that creation! :)

Excited for my next learning cum fun session! :)

Week 28: Shopping with Bestie!

For those who are not aware, I am on a 52 weeks adventure this year where in I decide my own adventures! For more details, check out here!

How can shopping be an adventure? It will, when you shop for your bestie's marriage across the seven seas! Yohooo, my bestie is getting married this December :)

It is an arranged marriage, a concept still popular in India. You meet the prospective groom/bride 5-6 times and decide if you want to take the plunge. It is a little scary, but when two people are supposed to be with each other they just 'click' in the first meet and take it forward from there. The upside of arrange marriages is you do not know the person completely and every day of marriage is new and full of discovery. And if things go wrong, you can always blame your parents for arranging the marriage ;)

It is all about finding the right person, arranged or love - marriages are made in heaven they say!

Marriages are a huge affair in India, to get an idea you can read this blog on my sister's marriage. So yes, my bestie is getting married this December and we had to do her shopping and fix up things for her BIG day. Last week, we were on skype almost everyday at inhumane hours for me as we are in complete different time zones. At 3 am, my phone used to ring and I used to slowly get out of the bed into the living room so as to not to disturb my sleeping husband.

She showed me every single saree she tried upon via skype and every single footwear which went with the sarees. Finally after 3 days of incessant window shopping, we finalized on a beautiful royal blue paithani (Maharashtra's famous) silk saree. We fell in love with this saree, a rich color and an elegant finish. This is not her real saree, she will kill me if she came to know I just made her marriage saree public. This is just a paithani saree picked up from the internet for my non Indian friends!

Isn't it royal?

We bought matching jewellery on this saree, footwear and even discussed the blouse pattern for this saree. My bestie is going to rock on her BIG day!

After 3 days, the rest of the week was spent on finalizing the mehendi (heena) artist. We shortlisted a few beauticians and make up artists. We also discussed about the songs which can be included for the 'sangeet' function. 

In short, we accomplished a LOT in a week. I am very happy for my dear friend. Hope she finds her true joy in this marriage. I will not be able to attend her marriage in person, but hey skype is always there :)

Week 27: 4th of July Fireworks!

For those who are not aware, I am on a 52 weeks adventure this year where in I decide my own adventures! For more details, check out here!

It has been close to 2 years that we are in the US and we haven't ventured out to watch the 4th of July fireworks until now. This year we did research before hand and decided to hit West Palm Beach to witness this huge phenomenon of fireworks on 4th of July which is America's independence day! The hype and vastness of the event at West Palm Beach was all worth it!

The fireworks were scheduled at 9 pm. But we started a little early, firstly to get a parking spot and secondly to roam around a little and get a feel of all the celebrations! The place was packed and people of all ages were hanging out at the beach. This was a pleasant surprise as the place where we live, we see all aged folks around. It would be because Juno Beach is apparently Retiree people's paradise! So, yes this place was a huge hit amidst my husband and me.

There was a large stage at one side of the open space where live performance was going on, beautiful songs performed by a very good band. There were a lot of food stalls in the circumference of this ground serving a wide variety of food from hot dogs, steaks to tacos! Beer was flowing like water everywhere! It was like a carnival!

The band and the Adults.

But if I have to pick one age range which had the most fun, it has to be unquestionably 'the kids'! There were mini golf courses, fountain plays and a variety of engagements to keep the little ones busy. Oh boy! Kids did have a lot of fun at this event.

Look at the unlimited fun these kids are having!

Radom running over the marble!

We saw American flag in every possible wardrobe piece - shirts, caps, skirts, shoes (??!!), tattoos, socks and what not. It wasn't just the adults but even kids were in fashionable American flag.

Today in microfashion :)

Security was tight and there were a lot of cops all around the place. Not just the event place but at all parking lots near the vent place and connecting roads. Some of the cops decided to flaunt their commutation gadgets!

Look what we have got!

While walking on the streets, we also discovered some handsome bikes which were grabbing everybody's attention.

Sexy, right?

With all the walking and hogging, we finally selected our spot to watch the fireworks. We sat down on a pavement. I had to take a selfie there!

At 9 pm sharp, all lights went off and there was a spark of firework in the sky beyond the waters. That little spark was enough to light up the mood of everyone waiting for the show. The firework show lasted for 30 minutes and it was worth every minute we waited for it to start. Colors were flying in the sky - red, golden, blue, green and pink. Black skies and beautiful colors. There were kids jumping around, some kids crying due to the noise, people clicking photos and couples looking at the sky together! At the end there was a long golden color trail and that sight will always be locked in my memory forever. 

These pictures do not do any justice at all to the beauty of the fireworks we experienced on Saturday. So if you are in the US on 4th of July, don't miss the local fireworks! You have to see it with your own eyes to experience the glittering and coloring in the sky! It is worth all the waiting and moving through the crowds!