When in Texas..

Was on my way back from Austin when the kids called and said "get us something.. something you can get only in Austin but not here"...

This after I was already enroute to the airport. So while waiting at the airport went into the shop and asked the lady "is there something here that I can get a 5 and 8 year old that is specific to texas?"

she started with stuffed moose and armadillo dolls which were 19.99 a pop and I passed on those... then she slowly showed me other stuff (guess she realized I was not planning on spending more than 5 bucks an item) and finally I saw the candy and edibles section..

Immediately the Cowboy crackers and the "Texas rattlesnake eggs" caught my attention. So got the kids the "rattlesnake eggs" and sure enough they were impressed!

Then the kids looked at the label and goes "If this is Texas rattlesnake eggs, then why does it not say made in Texas?"

Was really stumped by this question. Took a closer look at the box and figured out that they are indeed Florida rattlesnake eggs.. The word TEXAS is in a black sticker that has been stuck on the box.

Daddy had been duped by the airport store lady! In any case, the kids let me off the hook as the gum met their quality standard.

If your kids only criteria is that the stuff be made in Texas, make sure it is not made in Florida! This brought back memories from my first trip back to India in 1995 when most of the stuff I took back from Sam's club were made in China. My older relatives remarked "I thought you were in the USA. Why are you getting us stuff from China".. Little did they know at the time that pretty much everything in the future would be made in China!

Looks like I did not learn from that experience...

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When your kid takes over your iPhone

At work, I use notes app in my iPhone to take short notes and that way I don't have to carry my laptop around.

Wanted to go back to my notes two days later and was surprised to find out that most of my notes were edited by the little one!

In fact she had inserted words into some of the notes.

Apparently she has decided to use that as her journal of sorts!

found this gem.

Apparently she wrote that when she was angry that I was still working when she bugged me to get off the laptop. Well the rest of the notes are kind of a cross talk like thing where serious work meets serious anger. So cannot share them..

She is also into writing letters now. She writes as she hears and it is interesting to watch her spelling patterns. We are going through this after a three year gap and it is giving us a deja vu feeling..

She does not like it when we correct her spelling, because she is so sure she is right. That is the only difference between the two kids, but a big one!

She makes up for her stubborn nature when she dresses up and poses..

We are now into matching sunglasses!

The little one is going to be a lot more difficult to handle than Jr. That is for sure!

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Going to "fast"

Getting tired of hearing the news with every two time politician and social activist starting a fast.

Seriously here, here, here and here...and much much more.

Half these guys are overweight and their fasting is more of a much needed break from binge eating. To top this off, they get a ton of press, a "breaking the fast" press release where everyone is feeding the faster (fastee?) a glass of orange juice, milk, sweets etc. which negate the whole fast this guy was on, which by the way does not go past one day (typically)!

Next thing we know there will be headlines like :

10 year old boy goes on fast unto iPad 3 or

Engineering graduate goes on fast unto getting a girlfriend in Chennai etc..

For crying out loud, enough with the fasting already!

We should say "patni kedakkariya.. Nalladhu! Odambu koraiyum." (Want to starve for a few days, good. Your body will get in shape).

Or I am going to go on a fast unto no fasting..

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