Oh what a nice and mild hangover. Perfect for a cup of ginger elaichi chai. I even had company for my tea today. My helping lady, Durga. I should write about Durga some time. She is quite an accomplished woman from Nepal, who loves to travel and learn new things. She lives with her son in Mountain View and often does helping jobs for parents in the MTV area. She helps us every weekend with a few chores – folding laundry, chopping veggies, ironing clothes, and some times setting cupboards. She is a delightful helper. She and I giggle our way through the weekend chores, with Tara running around us. Durga used to supervise construction projects in Nepal, and her drive in life is very inspiring. I love hanging out with her on Saturday mornings.

Unlike my other helping lady, Durga has no interest in cooking. So we have no conflict of interest. Sad story – my other helping lady left us since she did not see any point in coming all the way from Santa Clara to chop veggies. She loved to cook and she did not find much joy in just chopping. Now me and my kitchen are in a bit of very cozy relationship that I don’t like to share. So we parted ways with the other helper. She took very good care of us when Agam had his accident, and if I ever get to a point where I am willing to share my kitchen with someone, I’d hire her back. And I know she will come.

So on to the chai. Or rather the hangover. There were a few rounds of old fashioned and a lot of crazy dancing and giggles and chit chat at the holiday party last night. It is so cute to see everyone dress up so well and look all gorgeous and handsome for that one evening. And then we are all back to our hoodies and sneakers, and polos and ponchos the very next day. 😀 The party was awesome. Agam and I had a blast on the dance floor. And I managed it with the saree. Oh yes, the saree was quite a highlight. I had strangers come to me and say they thought it was a great idea to wear a saree to the party, and that I was seemingly quite comfortable carrying it. Agam of course was shy and not happy to be the odd one out. But I loved the fact that one of my sarees saw the light of the day (rather night).

On our way back we reminisced all the Google Holiday parties we have attended over the years. And realized this was definitely one of the most memorable one. Agam always remembers the Salesforce Holiday Party in 2013 at the California Academy of Sciences, where we ate cheesecake with Penguins. That was a blast!

When we got back to Tech Corners, we got nostalgic looking at the rows of Google bikes parked close to the bus stop. I learnt how to ride a bike on one of those bikes, in one of the main campus parking lots. In the last decade, we have had few constants, Google has been one of them. We both owe our last decade’s success to Google – the people and it’s growth. It has nurtured us and helped us grow professionally, and personally, as individuals and as parents. It has given us the comfort of being so close to Tara’s day care and have a schedule that flexes to our needs as parents.

I hardly get attached to organizations. I have a consultant blood that runs in me. But yesterday I felt this silly nostalgia. Just like when I left NY, I was sure it was always going to be my favorite city for life, when I left Salesforce, and the circumstances I left in, made me believe that I won’t ever find a home like it ever again. Both those assumptions have bee proven wrong. I love my small town of Mountain View, and I also love Google. The only difference is that I loved what Salesforce was about, the domain, the drive, the aggression, the pace. And I love for Google for the people. As I introduced Agam to a lot of co-workers, leads, and friends, I shared with him what I am grateful for, in my relationships with these people. It was a moment of reflection and gratitude. Some I was comfortable sharing out loud, and some that will likely stay unspoken.

I absolutely love this time of the year. In anticipation of this, the entire year runs by so quickly. Just like 2019 did. 15 days to NYE!