Doctors everywhere!

Consultation, diagnosis, test, report analysis, consultaion again, medication/surgery is 'to-be' done by a single doctor. If you do your consultation with doctor 1 and unfortunately had to give blood test to doctor 2 in a different place using the prescription given by doctor 1; thats the end of it!

Doctors do not have healthy relationships with their counterparts in the industry. They envy other doctors and also do not give up easily with them. A doctor will never accept something good about another doctor. Even if there is one single medicine to cure a disease that is recommended by a doctor, another one who looks at the prescription ends up saying 'who on earth gave you these medicines'. He adds up saying, 'I recommend you stop this current medication and start up fresh with what I suggest'. Damn! I pity the patients around the globe.
The same happens with 'Tests'. Blood test, urine test; no matter what is required for you to be taken there is a lot of confusion in healthcare industry. If Doctor 1 suggests, you got to give urine samples 5 times a day for a single test; Doctor 2 suggests, just 1 sample of your urine before breakfast would be sufficient for all necessary diagonosis. Crazy! Not just individual doctors, even the medications differs from country to country. With so many types of medications like Alopathy, Homeopathy, Siddha, Ayurveda; people in India are totally confused which one to stick on with; as all of them seem to cure their ailments either partially or totally.

Health care costs are sky high here in the US. General consultation costs at least $50 (roughly Rs.2500). I recently bought a pack of medicine which had 2 tablets in it and the cost of it was $40 (roughly Rs.2000); which is, a single tablet in Indian terms costs Rs.1000. There was a time when 4 people including me had buffet lunch in a star hotel in Chennai which had cost us Rs.1000. Now I understand why parents in India wanted their children to take up medicine as their career after 12Th grade. That's one field which does not have any recession!

**Don't forget to look at today's 'health tip' (right side)!

The City of Atlanta

Are you planning for a trip to Atlanta? I thought I could help. Here is a long pending 'to-be' posted post in my 'Edit Posts' list.

A very nice city to be in; the city of Atlanta is the capital of the state of Georgia; that falls under the south-eastern part of the United States. There is only one state that lies below Georgia and that's the state of Florida which is called the 'sunshine' state. Florida is mostly sunny all around the year. People travel to Florida for vacation anytime in the year. Well, the lifestyle in other states are purely based on the weather conditions. Georgia does not have extreme weather conditions in winter like the north-eastern states of New york, Philly etc.

Georgia is pleasant most of the times. In other means, the weather is manageable enough to go for a drive even in winter. In Atlanta, it snows for a maximum of 3-4 days in winter. In the Downtown(Atlanta) there are a number of very popular tourist attractions.

CNN - The headquarters of the CNN is located very much here in Atlanta. Its a $15 tour inside CNN that allows you to get a feel of the newsroom and the live news telecast. I got a chance to view live news reading by eminent news readers. They also take you to the HLN network. The tour starts with a briefing of how an actual 'News' telecast is broad casted; by a 5 minute video presentation. And guess what, there is much more for you. One can actually experience news reading(wearing a professional attire) which one can buy in a CD format. And the best reader wins a chance. Also we get to know about the 'weather guy' and how they actually shoot the 'weather' part of news with a blank 'green' screen that shows as hell a lot of information at the receiving end. This reminds me of my 'Doordharshan' tour in Chennai, closer to the Marina Beach, years back.

Georgia Aquarium - Considered world's largest aquarium. True beauty in itself. We get a live feeling of being under the sea. We can spot the sea animals moving right on top of our head. There are Beluga whales here. It is a huge aquarium with many attractions within, which would at least require a whole day to tour on. And it costs $35 to get in. A very predominant and most popular attraction for people visiting the city.

World of CocaCola - Another one of its kind for the city of Atlanta; the headquarters of CocaCola is also here in Atlanta. The 'Cola' preparation right from concentrate preparation to the customer enlightenment; 'the world of Coca-Cola' is a truly interesting location to give a visit. Not much does it costs to get in. For $15, apart from the tour inside , one can get a chance to actually drink gallons of 'Coke' products. I never knew there were so many varieties of Coke around the world. The 'sample tasting' section is actually divided into continents, wherein you can fetch a mug of coke according to your choice. And finally, there is a Coca-Cola shop that sells T-shirts made from recycled plastic soda bottles.

Where are the toilets!

India has more cell phones than toilets says UN. After having observed and experienced travelling in India and US, mother India is far beyond in development areas like sanitary needs.
'Rest Areas' in the US are pretty well maintained, while the ones in India; between places are not called 'Rest Areas', but 'Dirty as you go' locations; wherein there is neither individual responsibility nor government maintenance. The blame is on both sides. No use targeting the government for each and every negativeness.

Hygienic toilets or restrooms lack a place in most Indian locations. And with the ever growing population and kids no one knows how to manage the entire 'toiletry' system. There should have been a 'minister for toiletry'; only and only if there are rules and norms will people follow it. There should be fines everywhere printed on boards. 'Rs 100 fine if new toilet seat cover not used', 'Rs 50 fine if hands not washed after usage', 'Rs 500 fine if water is spilt on floor'; and to climax it up; '15 days in jail if toilets are not flushed after usage'. And to the women population, I would strictly like to add , 'Rs 1000 fine if sanitary pads not taken care of'.

Again there comes the difference of 'Indian' and 'Western' toilets. Somewhere someone says 'Indian toilet is the one on which the body of the toilet does not touch the body of the person using it'. And 'Western toilet is one on which a person haves the feel of sitting on a chair while passing stool'. And guess what, theories say that Indian toilets are best way of exercise. More precisely on my research, its better known as 'Squat Toilet' than Indian toilet, and looks like poor countries opt this method. India was once poor, not anymore!

Indians in America

A single post would not be sufficient enough to describe about our fellow Indians in America.
Disclaimer 1 :As a disclaimer, I would try to be on safer side mentioning that I am not generalizing.
Disclaimer 2: I am born and brought up in India and I love India. JaiHind!

Major US cities are now flooded with Indians. One in every 20 people are Indians. That's my guess on the ratio. I am yet to research on the actual proportion. Indians can be easily distinguished by many factors like color, accent, attitude, attire, physic, food, kids, parents, drivers, cars, etc.

As a first note, an Indian would predominantly drive a Toyota Camry or a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic. Its is very hard to find an Indian with an American model car. Secondly, Indians are always found in groups only with other Indians. To say it more detailed, the groups are precisely based on region, religion, language, caste. Of course, looks like an extension of India by itself.

Thirdly, an Indian will never teach his kid how to behave in public places. He'd rather pinch the kid to cry more. Again my words like 'never', 'always' are meant not to generalize, in this post!Well, I might sound a bit weird and harsh here. But having observed the other kids, I am bound to compare. In a flight, or a queue, or a bus, or a train, or a shop, or a library, or a place with a 'silence please' board; a kid who screeches will 99% be of an Indian's. I don't blame the kid, but his dad!

Fourthly, some forgotten/ignorant disciplines like parking the car a little away from the given premises considering plus or minus phenomenon. Indians are brought up with Indian driving skills and a sudden change to a more disciplined driving does not seem to suit them, at least for sometime in the beginning. And our housewives, who have accompanied husbands in H4 Visa make no difference to their counterparts in India. A little difference with the 4 walls being, American. I have observed ladies peeping into other persons privacy by staring at them for a longer period of time. I would really want them to come out of this regular 'cooking-child care-husband care-cooking-sleeping-cooking.....' schedule.

Fifthly, I would like to continue later on when I experience something weird.

What is your name?

What's in a name? Why bother if it has 20 letters or too funky. Everybody has a name! Even a man who does not have a kidney would have a name. But what's in a name?

My name is 'Anuradha', it means, a 'star' says Google. I gave it as 'Anuradha Vasan' in my credentials, having my father's name next to mine, following the traditional rule. Well, its been more than a year since my marriage, and still I have not gone for a surname change. My husband has left the choice to me whether or not to change. Well, that's not the topic here. I am addressed as Ms.Vasan in most places. My father's name 'Vasan' has a history again. His original name was Vasudevan, that of lord Krishna's. Since their were two Vasudevan's with the same initials, he decided to shrink it to Vasan and thats how my surname came up. Now back to myself. Here in the United States, people who are not Indian natives call me Vasaaan; thats Va-sa-aa-an(rhymes well with Nissan of Nissan Altima). I tend to correct them in most places. Now that I have become sick of it.

My husband's surname is Krishnakumar, and again since people in US call by surname, he goes mad spelling his name over phone even for a Pizza delivery. Most times his email ID would be mis-spelt. He is pretty much having a tough time. And his first name is Ramgopal. Most people prefer calling him Ram (that used to be my most favorite name even before I knew I am going to marry a guy called Ram). But here in the US, its addressed as RAM (as in 25MB RAM (memory)). Again he got fed up correcting people, hence he got used to himself calling it RAM. Now he says, RAM as in Dodge RAM. Easy for them to follow.

In India, people say that every body's name is related to god somehow or the other. Modern Indian parents want their kids to have a traditionally-funky name. That's because the most common factor that comes in their mind while naming their child is, the revenge against their own parents. In those days parents named their children only with traditional names not knowing that their child would someday become a CEO of a multinational company. Well, I am not complaining the way they named. But I learnt from few of my friends , how dissatisfied they were with their names. A girl named 'Abhithakuchalambal' would get bullied big time at college. 'Pichai' would find it it very difficult to survive in a Tamil speaking state. And so does 'Gundu Rao'.

How about 'Champakavathi', short form should definitely be Champa. Even short names like 'Dhruthi' doesn't seem to be fluent enough. Friends of 'Godavari' would like to call her 'Goda'? or 'God'? 'Hansanandini' shrinks to 'Hansa', I know a person named Hamsa; I would definitely get confused between the two. How would 'Kamakoti' or 'Kamakshi' be called at home? I don't think either would prefer being called with a short form.

Jothika's name in the movie 'Sillunu oru Kadhal' was 'Kundhavai'. This reminds me of the Vivek's comedy in 'Sivaji' about 'Anga-vai'. I had a friend named 'Mrinalini'. At the same time I knew another girl called 'Mirnalini'. Phew!!! That was a tough time differentiating both names. American Indian, 'Vera Mindy Chockalingam' from the US TV series 'The Office' ,is better known as Mindy Kaling here in the United States. While watching the serial sometime, I heard from one of her dialogues, that her parents named her 'Rajnigandha' and she does not like it.

My very own, most common name, 'Anu' was also bullied at times. People used to say Anu's shirt, Anu's cycle, Anu's ring as Anus ring. A small apstophe would change the enitre meaning and would help my enemies bully me.

Most Indians have remodelled or even completely changed their names according to their wish. Based on numerology or even profession, people prefer others to call them with names they choose for themselves. What about film actors. Name a few who haven't gone for a name change. Rajnikanth is a magical name for Tamils or even Indians across the globe. If he was still Sivaji Rao Geakwad, it would sound like some character artists in 1950s. But that's business. People love calling him Rajni though they know he is Sivaji Rao.

I often used to tell my husband that we must be very careful while naming our child. The name should be crisp and easy to pronounce and definitely not a one which our child would want to change in future. There are parents who name their child after a very close relative of them or one of their mothers or fathers.

I came across an English name 'Cupcake' which I recently saw on TV. And I met a person called April. Another beautiful name called Melissa of a person whom I know; I used to say Melissa romba meleeesa aayita...(which means Melissa has become thin, in Tamil).Well that comes under sarcasm which cannot be helped. But lets not forget the genuine cases.There was a girl in my college whose accent and attitude stunned me. Her name was 'Paapathi'. That was the biggest shock for me. Her name was not at all related to her by any mean. But people called her 'Pops'. Now isn't that funky enough!

*Picture - Savannah, Georgia

Making of a Burger!

First let me tell the history behind this making! Yesterday I planned to make 'Aaloo Mutter' (an Indian version of creamy, rich, buttery* Potato-Peas curry) with Chapathis. My pressure cooker, in which the peas was getting cooked remained dead for quite sometime without whistling. Finally, after about 20 minutes there came the first whistle. (Shiva, the guy who used to follow my bicycle when I was in 8Th class used to whistle better than that!) After its second whistle, my cranky thoughts were to let go 5 whistles, which a normal woman would never do. I assumed that the peas being so hard without being soaked well initially, would cook better in 5 whistles. End result - the peas was mashed thoroughly forming a semi-solid paste!!! And hence raised the idea of making Burger today! A person who is learning to cook good would normally not read further after listening to this mess. But you can trust me!

The most popular McDonald's does not provide veg Burgers. Hence, the vegetarians(especially the ones by birth who have migrated from India to the US) have lesser choice of outside food, or to be specific, Burgers. Well, the making of the patty is a little tricky here. Remaining process is so simple that, even a person like my husband who thinks cooking is a rocket science, can do it easily.

Ingredients I used:

Mashed peas - 2 cups

Boiled potatoes - 2

Scrapped carrot - 1

Salt - very important you have it enough. Plus or minus of this ingredient would spoil any dish.

Chilly powder - 1+ tsp

Garam masala powder - 2 tsp

Jaljeera powder - 1 tsp (I usually add it for its tangy flavor)

Coriander leaves - well....... a little!

Oil

Made it this way:

1. Mix all the above ingredients well. I prefer mixing it with clean and dirt-free hands than with a spatula. Mash the potatoes within. Wow, that was a good exercise for my hands.

2. Now it might look like a solid ball (If its in the right consistency). Partition into 4.

3. Grab each portion and roll it with your palms. Flatten a bit

4. Heat each of them in a non-stick pan, preferably; simply because it consumes lesser oil to cook the stuff.

5. Let it become brown both sides. The patty is ready to become a layer.

The Burger arrangement begins:

6. Cut the Burger bun into 2 and toast it. I prefer toasting it.

7. Spread some melted butter.

8. Place the patty and then a sliced tomato and onion. Lettuce or cabbage is optional.

9. Salt and pepper optional but I suggest you add.

Serve with fresh lime.

The final step to Burger enlightenment!!!

Great Smokey Mountains at Summer

A look back on all our trips to the Great Smokey Mountains. I failed to write down my experiences then and there. Here I am recollecting my beautiful moments at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park across Tennessee- North Carolina. This was my first among the 4 trips, across all seasons.

Summer (June 2009) - This reminds me of the scenic lush green mountains, last summer. Greenery everywhere! We did not feel the heat of summer anytime on the mountain top. The strech from city of Cherokee to the city of Gatlinburg is the main essence of the trip to the Smokeys. In between this stretch is the Tennessee-North Carolina borderline. Gatlinburg is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains. The Gatlinburg stretch has a number of shops with a variety of food and fudges and what not! Though there are a number of hotels/motels you can opt for, I suggest you can stay in Pigeon Forge, which is 6 miles away from the Mountains as well as Gatlinburg.

Pigeon Forge is another city full of activities. It has a number of fun parks.

On our way back home we switched routes and came via Chattanooga, a must-see location in Tennessee. 'Ruby Falls' is a historical underground falls, which was discovered by Leo Lambert who named it after his wife 'Ruby'. An elevator takes you underground and there is a mile long trekking inside the caves to view the stunning beauty of this 'America's Highest Underground Falls'.

AVATAR & Sherlock Holmes on Christmas Day!

Its Christmas day, 2009 - Reminds me of the one in 2004 while I was in a dilemma to resign my first job or not. I was working night shift that day. The office cubicles were decorated with Christmas trees and colorful balloons. With the same amount of excitement and fun as any other day, I was ready to put my papers for good! The next day morning at around 5.30 AM I took my cab home. In Chennai, travelling along the Marina beach road early morning used to be fun, but not on that day! Well, it was the day of Tsunami. My cab driver changed route as there were a lot of chaos on the roads of Chennai early morning. Immediately after an hour all TV channels were flashing headlines about Tsunami in Chennai. Until then I guess the word Tsunami was not familiar in Indian dictionary.

'Avatar' and 'Sherlock Holmes' - Watching those 2 movies on the Christmas Day amidst American audience was quiet an experience!

Avatar - Well, Mr.James Cameroon's return after Titanic. Do I need to explain about Avatar then? Go watch it, if you have not yet. With the Imax 3D, the movie was scintillating! The imaginary Pandora's, floating mountains, flying animals, amazingly beautiful places in the Pandora were breathtaking views. The blue skinned Na'vi of the planet Pandora resembles the blue skin of lord Krishna. Maybe that was a reason for it to be called Avatar ( Dashavatar - 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu) ; was truly our(me and my husband's) view of the movie.

But again, aliens invading earth or man invading alien-land is not new to Hollywood.

Sherlock Holmes - Again two thumbs up! During my school days I have never read any Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie books. Hence naturally I felt it difficult following this movie. The background score, the set that portrayed London Bridge during its construction, olden days London, Robert Downey Jr. add beauty to this movie. People say the movie is running as equally as Avatar recently. But Avatar would definitely make it at the box office- no doubt!

Thanksgiving time with Sweet potato pie

I was wondering why in India we don't celebrate 'Thanksgiving Day'. I just love the reason why the people here in America celebrate Thanksgiving day and the amount of happiness they have is endless. From their busy schedules they just take a day off to be with their loved ones thanking them for all what they have done! When I look back, I have never sat down a single day with my mom thanking her for all what she has done for me. Well, the love was definitely there in each others heart and we kept it within ourselves. Here I am several thousand miles away, blogging about her.

Its not about the word 'Thanks', but about the time we give to think about the family we belong to; children thanking parents, father thanking son, mother thanking her daughter-in-law, friends thanking each other - so emotional to look at!

Well, before I get too emotional let me explain something else that is important during this festive season - Food! Oh yes, when was it not important. But during thanksgiving the variety of food items they make are mouth-watering. Cheesecakes, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, a whole turkey are part of the thanksgiving dinner. I tried my hands on one of them and here is how I did it - of course with the help of great chefs from the 'Food Network'.

You need:

Sweet Potatoes - 2

Butter - 1/2 stick

Eggs - 3

Sugar - 1 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Vanilla extract - 1 tbsp

Pie crust - ready made

Here you go:

1. Boil potatoes for more than 30 mins till they are really soft

2. Peel the skin and mash/blend with the remaining ingredients except the pie crust. You will(should) get a smooth paste.

3. Pour them on the pie crust and bake for 1 hr

4. What next? Slice it and have a bite!

I tried it with honey and dates.

I know why he hates MLM's

We were busy checking out new arrivals in a bookstore here in local Atlanta. A nicely dressed Indian woman approaches me and kick-starts a conversation. And me, without knowing that I am the prey of the day, for the marketing tricks of this MLM business; smiled at her and started to reciprocate. I really don't have any idea to explain you what it is, because I am not interested in doing it. But as he says in his rusted blog, these MLM people intrude into other's privacy to spread their business; is what I hate about it.

And guess what, they dont spare the Americans too.

America, its again you - Now on Hip Hop

These days I listen to more Hip Hop than the regular plagiarized tones from Chennai. Well, in this age, the term plagiarism revolves around with more than one inner meaning. I saw this quote somewhere "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources". Well, there were so many debates on the correctness of this statement. The man behind this quote is our very own Einstein. But if you are from India, having listened to musicians like Harris Jayraj, Vijay Antony, Deva, Pitam and others you will know that the quote by Einstein is totally stupid. Because their music is a little more than plagiarism.

For now Jay Z, Kanye West, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift do really have caught my attention. The whole Kanye-Taylor-Beyonce drama recently was so very interesting. And guess what, in this part of the world, the president was also asked to comment about it; and he did. Check that out here....

Hmmm, some interesting gossips going on here. Well, if that keeps entertaining people then nothing really wrong in it. And now, check this kid (4 year old) shaking his legs, on the Ellen show.

Neeya Naana Photos

Here I am attaching a few pictures that I shot during the great event. Fetna had organized it for 3 days, of which we could not cover most of the third day event, as my husband who was curious in shooting me on stage met with a small injury while he was coming down the stairs. Hence, immediately after my show was over we had to head to the nearby hospital. Well, I had to experience the point which I had told in the debate. In this lonely land, without a single person to support I had to manage the entire scene alone. Isn't that "Munnetram(progress)"?

In the photos : I am the first person sitting in the second row, right side, center stage (in a lovely green saree presented by my Mom-in-law).

Find more pictures in this FETNA link of day 2 images. Neeya Naana comes immediately after 'Kattabomman's images.

Me on 'Neeya Naana'

This year the North American Tamil Vizha was conducted in Atlanta by FETNA (www.fetna.org ); on July 3rd, 4Th and 5Th at the Georgia Tech University campus. Popular personalities like Scientist Mayilsamy, poet Vairamuthu, Actors Jeeva Pasupathi and many others were part of it. And it was a very happy occasion for me, being a part of it. Volunteering on day 1, I was there to take part in Neeya Naana, a popular TV show(Star Vijay television) conducted by this eminent TV personality, Gopinath(popularly known as Neeya Naana Gopinath).

"Americavil kudi peyarthadhal adhigam munnetram adaindhadhu Aangala, Pengala?" (Who has succeeded more after moving to America - Men or Women?) was the topic given. Well, if you ask, my personal opinion would be - Men! But I was put in Pengale (Women) side of the debate and trust me, I could not think of a single point to support my side of the topic, till the day. Finally I came up with this point...Checkout the video. The last person speaking in this video is me. The video not being that clear, you can find me on the right side, second row, center stage, first person.

Idle status

Staying at home all day, all week, all month? Here are my suggestions purely out of experience...

1. Re-arrange all the items in your home and arrange them again; room by room. Especially the ones in your kitchen. This will take at least 2-3 days. Do this repeatedly once in 2 weeks.

2. While at work you wont even get an hour to continuously stay online. But now as you are all time online, its obvious that you will get bored. Never watch movies online. That will make Internet boring. Instead watch YouTube clippings. Ones like baby Shakira dance, Jodi # 1- Action by Simbu , Benny Lava(I never knew Prabhu Deva had such an image) - don't forget to read the subtitles, Actor Vijay anger - remix, etc. Again watch YouTube videos once in every 2 hours.

3. Read about which hot-pair broke up recently.

4. Keep calling people at work and drag the conversation for at least 45 minutes. Repeat the 'called person' once in every 2 weeks.

5. Never ever watch daily soaps.That will make you feel like your mom. And watch serials like 'Desperate Housewives' at your own risk. Instead start watching NBA, WWF, programs on Motors.... That will make you feel more stronger.

6. If you are an interior decorator, good sign. Invest on good painting colors. Paint or rather play (try different combinations of colors drawing crooked stripes - with a thick brush) with colors in an A4 sheet. You will feel good! And who knows that might even look like a modern art. And give a bunch of them to your husband for framing. Hang them around the walls and invite people to look at it!!!

Can you smell the typical house-wife aroma on me?

America - this is you!

Being an out and out Chennai girl right from the time of birth, this life gives in a lot many new and remarkable experiences. Here, I begin to share my stint in America.

Atlanta is the name. The state of Georgia now (temporarily) replaces Tamil Nadu. Watching the beautiful city of Chennai from the skies, my journey to the west began.

With my hand baggage, I moved towards the waiting area saying goodbye to my people in Chennai. Waiting for 'Emirates' to flash on the screens I was sitting there watching people walk around. I realised the disadvantage of not being a bookaholic. My first travel across countries began in a couple of hours. Well I wouldn't say I felt bored, though I did not have a travel companion. Two movies, lot of disturbed sleep, food in between and plenty of fruit juices filled in my journey.

The Emirates airship brought me to Dubai international airport(a huuu....gge one) in no time. Killing one odd hour watching the airport crew, I boarded my flight to New York. Emirates again! And it took off!!! I remember viewing the email forwarded pictures of the 'Palm Jumeirah' in Dubai, long time back. I got myself a direct view of the same now.

Back with the view of white clouds. Nothing much to peep through the window. Never thought I would watch Academy award winning movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' on the clouds. Though I was not much interested in the movie, I kept wondering what made it at the Oscars. The journey between Dubai and New York being the longest, made me feel tiring about 'flight travels'. There was no proper sleep for me as the toddlers around kept weeping, their mommy's were fast asleep. Well, if me myself could not manage sitting idle for hours in the flight; imagine those tiny ones.

After a few hours here it comes. The view of United States of America, from the airbus. As a child I used to dream about this country. And now I am here! New York's John F Kennedy airport, though did not attract me as the one at Dubai, was my first place of landing in the USA. Having a Cappuccino, I made a couple of new friends(Indians from Tamil Nadu) who surprisingly had travelled with me for more than 20 hrs without my knowledge. And all of us, young women headed towards our flight to Atlanta. Well, my stay in New York was just for an hour; leaving behind a remarkable memory.

Boarded the Delta flight to Atlanta. This one took off 2 hours later than the regular schedule due to traffic on the runway. And I kept watching each flight take off, waiting for mine to take its turn. There were around 25 to 30 flights before mine. Someone next to me said, "Well, this is New York!"

Watching the New York city in the dark, I started thinking about my loved one who is waiting for me to arrive. Within an hour, I was in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport. There he was, with a red rose in his hand. The hug I missed for a few days welcomed me to this LAND OF THE FREE...