If only #ATOZCHALLENGE

If only we could have met a little earlier

We could have become lovers !

If only I had taken the other job at Mumbai

We could have remained strangers !

If only I had not said the first hello

We could have remained only just co-workers !

If only you did not sit besides me in Office everyday

We could have remained just teammates!

If only I had refused to get on to your bike that night

We could have remained alive !

Crazy Decisions ! #ATOZCHALLENGE

Recently I watched a video about being crazy at Being Indian. The host asks people about the crazy decisions that they have made and for most of them, it was a career change where they left their current job and veered off the way their hearts steered them. 

This got me thinking about my crazy decisions. I remember what one could say a pivotal moment after college. I was in a bad mess at one point, depressed after having returned from a cold San Jose winter where the work environment and personal relationships had turned sour. I was a workaholic back then and was particularly stretched on a Friday when I had worked until morning 8.I decided to not turn up to office that day. Luckily my good mood was restored after we had a small party that night and next day my friend called me up to go with him on an impromptu trip to Pondicherry. I made a crazy decision that day and decided to go on the trip no questions asked. The people I met that day are some of my most favorite people today. I went on to become flatmate with girl I met on that day and we had a very fun year doing random stuff, ticking off our bucket lists. I am a whole new person now and I can confidently tell that it was that moment which resulted in all this. 

So have you had any such crazy defining moments ? Comment below !

2015 in Review

My dear blog readers,

I know I have been as irregular as the monsoon rains for the past year. Thanks for sticking around if you have followed my blog since the beginning of the year. For those of you who are new, welcome. You have arrived at my blog at a great time. 

You all must be familiar with the word 'yearnings'. Now we dream of so many things when we are small. One thing that I have always wanted to become is a writer. Yes, it is in present tense. I started this blog as a feeble attempt in that direction. But then, life happened and I have not been able to pursue this interest. The yearning is back now!

The past year has been monumental. I was able to travel around a lot, become a certified foodie and settle in the most awesome company that gave me enough time to pursue all my random wishes and helped me gain many new experiences. It is a shame if I let this year slide by without recording all the awesome things that happened. So I have decided that I will write down all my travelogues and memoirs of 2015 in the coming days. So stay tuned !

Until Next Post,

Gayathri

P.S.: This midnight inspiration comes from going through the pages of National Geographic Traveller India. I saw a couple of places that I have been to this year and relived the beautiful memories associated with them. So here I am. 

'The Thing' for you

You know,  I had 'a thing' for you. I don't really understand how you missed it. But, I am sure I have always had 'a thing' for you.

Yes, it might be hard to believe. But I did have it. I am positive. What else do you call all the extra attention I gave you ? Do you really think I would do things I did for you, for anyone just like that ? No, I am not such a noble soul. Did you know ever wonder why I was being so obviously soft on you when you screwed things over? When the whole world was against you, I stood by you. Even when you pushed me away from your side, I was there. Hanging around the edges. Waiting for you to see 'the thing' and let me back in. Even now, when you have literally started a new chapter in your life, I am still here, exactly where you left me. Hanging on a cliff by a thread, still having 'a thing' for you.

My Almost Home

Chennai. Well, what can I say about it ? May be if time had a rewind button, I will go back to a time when I had a two hour argument with my colleagues on all the good things one can find in Chennai and record it for prosperity.

Chennai had always held a special place in my heart as it had been my summer haunt during my childhood. I had the cliche vacation time where I was packed off to my grandmother's place the day my holidays started. Only for me, it was not the cliched trip to the village considering the fact that I was living in an almost village town. My summer vacations were in the city. A city where I will arrive every summer religiously to soak in the glory of my grandmother's love. A city where my grandmother was not afraid to send her young grand-daughter to buy milk and chocolates in the shop next lane. All good things come to an end and did my summer vacations in the city when my grandmother moved to a different place.

My second chance with the city happened when I did my Engineering here, from one of the most prestigious colleges in the heart of the city. I completely loved the freedom and I still remember the adventure I had in my first solo trip to hometown. Thinking about it now, I guess Chennai has really been my theme since college. My communications seminar was on Singara Chennai. One of my projects was based on the notoriously famous Coovum River. We had walked across the city along the river collecting water samples. Window Shopping at T-Nagar was my favorite stress buster and I discovered my craze about earrings there. My friends used to have a hard time, trying to get me back to focus on the streets.

Call it fate or destiny, my last minute career decisions led me back to Chennai when I was all set to move to Delhi. The past two years have been quite a ride. Many a time, I have turned to the beaches to sooth my silent rants and rages. I discovered the 'foodie' in me through the restaurants the city has to offer.

Having been in the city for six years now, I can call it my almost home. On its 375th Birthday, all I can say that this city is the Best. It will always remain my Singara Chennai. Or rather 'Sennaaii' as one of my friends calls it. 

That thing called Love

I have always been a strong supporter of love at first sight. I remember all those arguments I used to have with the friends because they did not see love happening at first sight. Yet I was a true believer. I was waiting for my prince in shining armor to ride up to me and sweep me off my feet. Knowing how head strong I am, it would have been quite an effort.

But fate had other plans. I met you. It was not love at first sight. We talked, argued, fought, separated many times only to get together again with greater bonding. I did not realize I am in love with you at first. My heart used to sing out loud when you were near and when you were not around, it was down to the dumps. I did not realize how important you had become to me until the day you almost decided to push me out of your life. I lived like a zombie for a week then. As usual, we were back together. You were the same. But I was not. I was a woman in love.

 

I was carefree before. But now, I felt burdened. Your words, which only brought out the argumentative me before now hurt me. I began to take care of what I say to you for I knew you will fling words at me without care and I will have bear the brunt now. Things changed. Still, you were blind. Or rather you chose to be. 

Now I have come to a point where I cannot keep this to myself. I live in constant fear that I might blurt it out anytime. My soul feel trapped. I wish things didn't have to be like this between us. But then, this is reality. 

 

I have heard people do mad things for love. Yes, I believe in it now. I know I cannot have you. There is always a difference between what you want and what you get and I have learnt to accept it. All I want to have now is memories. Memories with which I can nurse my broken heart once you leave. You will  never know that every time we are alone, I stove away the memories in a bag to be opened when you leave. Each time you smile, I take photographs with my eyes so that I will remember them when I am down and you are not around. 

I now know love at first sight did not happen to me. While I was waiting for my prince, I befriended a stranger who slowly but steadily claimed the rights to my heart.  

P.S. : This is inspired from true life. I will not lie by declaring this as fiction. 

The Guy Next Desk

I read a post here by a friend sometimes back and I decided then that I must write something on the guy who sits next to me in the office. Incidentally, he changed teams and today was probably his last day as the guy next desk. So here I am, writing about the guy next desk.

I have the most intriguing character sitting next to me in office. We are almost like cat and mouse, one never agrees to the other without arguing on it. This person is point blank frank who gives the most honest opinion on things even if it means saying something that is so rude to be actually said. He is a proud misanthrope. A go-to person for all kinds of problem if you can actually bear with the attitude!  If he decides to help you, you can consider your problem solved. Such is his prowess. Getting into arguments with this guy is a waste of time as he has an answer to every question, yet I love doing that.

For anyone, their first job and first boss is special and in that way, I can say I am very lucky. I had this awesome person leading me. Someone who gave me my own space but still managed to steer me in the right direction. Someone to whom I can trust to ask any stupid questions and have him answer it (after a verbal jibe, of course!) I have learnt the ways of a corporate life from him. 

Personally, he has become a good friend. A person I turn to when I require honest opinion. A person I turn to when I need any kind of help. A person who can make me smile any time. A person who many a time acts as a mannequin to whom I speak my thoughts out and come to a conclusion myself. A person who never misses to point out any flaw in me. Also, my day is not complete without an argument with him. 

Now that he has moved on to a new team, I will miss all these. My desk will not remain the same without this guy next desk. You will truly be missed.

P.S. : I have always known that I am emotional. But what I did not realize was the extent to which I am. I spent buckets of tears crying over this change. 

P.P.S. : I guess there are going to be similar posts every time my team changes for I have an awesome team to work with. 

P.P.P.S. : I know I must not mix professional and personal life together, but then given the amount of time I spend at office, it is almost inevitable.

P.P.P.P.S. : Yay!! This is my 50th post! 

Happy Teachers Day!!!

You will never know your true potential if not for your Teacher!

Facebook  has turned out to be a great source of inspiration these days. I found the above photo shared on one of my friend's timeline and something moved me to write this post. So here I am, yet again, hoping this time I would follow up regularly.

Teachers. Well, what can I say about them? They play the most instrumental role in everyone's life. I am sure all of us have that special teacher who inspired you to do things. Things you did not think you were capable of. Things you would not have attempted and succeeded if not for the trust the teacher put in. In my school days, I used to work hard just for the smile the teacher would bestow on me when she gave me the paper.

Well, then college happened. Though I had more teachers in four years than I had in entire twelve years of school life, my attitude did not remain the same. I guess, it happens almost with everyone. The teachers in school and college are never seen with the same eyes. May be, I grew up and changed or may be, the teaching at school and college level was quite different. But whatever may the reason be, the reverence I had for teachers a.k.a professors was inversely proportional to the the time I spent in college. But even here, I found one beacon. The sole teacher for whom I have utmost reverence. He was my first project guide, my mentor and a well wisher throughout college. I have not heeded to his advise many a time and learnt the hard way that he was always right. Yet, he was always patient and guided me through my college days.

To all the teachers who are responsible for where I am today and what I will become tomorrow, Happy Teacher's Day!!! And a very big thank you :)


P.S.: I know everyone has their own special teacher. Feel free to share about them in your comments below :)

Memories of Teachers from School

I was lucky enough to have studied in the same school from Kindergarten to tenth standard. One of the advantages of studying in the same school during the formative years is the deep connection you have with the teachers.

I had teachers whom I knew right from my kindergarten. There was this particular teacher, Ms. Sigappi, who taught us English in tenth standard whom I remember from an incident in my UKG. She had pinched my cheeks hard on my birthday and I used to hate it. I went on to tell her boldly that I do not like it and she had asked sorry then. I was astonished when she asked me teasingly in my tenth standard if I still hated it. Such was her memory power. She was a constant source of support in my tenth standard. Her subject, English used to be my favorite and I had great expectation to score in it. Sadly, my score was lowest in English. I was devastated and could barely face her. But then, she was the one who reached out to me and encouraged me. When I secured state first in English in my board exams, I was elated. But more than that, I was happy that I had proved that her faith in me was well placed. She is one teacher whom I will always remember.

If Ms. Sigappi was my academic mentor in school, Ms. Sheeja was my personality guru. She was a vivacious young teacher who came to my school when I was in Standard VI. She majored in Chemistry. She was a malayalee who was brought up in Bhopal and recently moved to Karur. She was a great teacher who always answered all our questions unrelentingly, no matter to which subject it related to. She was the one who always encouraged me to participate in all types of events. I will say it were these events that gave me the confidence that I possess today. All my inhibitions slowly deserted me and I was able to grow into a confident girl.

Another remarkable teacher was my second school principal, Mr. Ramasubramaniam. He always had inspiring words to say to students, no matter how dire the situation may be. I still remember his motivating sessions with the twelfth standard students before exams. I can say that he was one of the reasons why I scored good marks in my board exams. 

On this day, I thank God for having given me the opportunity to study under such good teachers and to all the teachers who had molded me in to what I am now, I wish 'Happy Teacher's Day'.

Memoirs from Deutschland V

I met a person from Iran on the third day of my stay at Iran. He was a friend of my buddy. After everyone left the restaurant, he accompanied me until the station. While walking, he asked me my age. He was pretty much astonished when I said I was nineteen.

Then, he went on to tell me how much he wanted to come to Europe when he was eighteen. He had even got the admission. But his mother was adamant and did not leave him to come to Europe. He later came when he was 24 years old.

He told me his life would have been on different level if his mom had been different at that time and told me how lucky I was. I realized on my journey back to my room that he was indeed right. I was contemplating on what he said. My parents were always supportive of me. After my board exams, I said I wanted to take some off the track course and my parents readily agreed. They never insisted that I must do this course or that course. It was always my choice. Same story goes for the internship as well. I told my parents that I am applying for the internship and all they asked me was to be safe when I go there. Nothing else. Thinking about it, I realized I have been blessed with such parents. That night, I sent a silent thank you prayer to God before I went to bed.

Memoirs from Deutschland IV

Even before I left for the internship, I heard from so many people that Germans are workaholics. So my thoughts were prejudiced in that area. And what I saw there in the firs two days, them silence convinced me that my prejudices were well placed. But on the third day of my stay, my friend invited me for an outing in the evening and all my delusions about them were cleared.

My buddies took me to a Mexican restaurant. We would have reached there by six in the evening. Then, their group of friends joined us. I literally did not know anyone there. I was appalled by this thought at the beginning. But the thought lasted only for few minutes. After the introductions, it was fun through and through. They never let me feel like an outsider. I had my first cocktail that day. My buddy asked me hundreds of confirmations before he actually ordered for me one. The most remarkable of the questions was "Will you be able to look at the mirror after you have this?" I have always been up for adventures. So it was easy to decide. I was going to try it and I boldly said yes. I just had one cocktail that day while my friends had lots of them. The most astonishing thing was their steadiness. It is often depicted in Indian movies how people go flat after they drink. My buddy had three glasses of beer n a tequila shot. But he was sane still. His manners did not become burly as shown in the movies. As for myself, I did not feel any change at all. We left the restaurant at 1 in the night. The day became engraved in my memories as it was the day I had my first drink.

My prejudices about the Germans being workaholics also got cleared. Germans do work hard five days a week, but they party hard in the weekends. Weekends for Germans are very important and they really go out and enjoy life during the weekends, thus making up for the weekdays.

Memoirs from Deutschland III

If there was one thing I was uncomfortable with while in Germany, it was the silence. The silence that people maintained in trains, in offices. It was a bit unnerving.

The first night I slept in my own apartment there, I must confess I was a bit terrified. I felt the silence very unnatural. I guess I had never ever been in complete silence until then. In India, when we sleep, there is at least a fan running. There is some noise. Back in Germany, in my room, there was no fan. Well, fan did not seem necessary. The nights were chilly enough. So once things got settled down, there was complete silence. Except for the music which I used to play, there was no external noise. There were occasional sounds of footsteps outside the door in the hallway of the flat and sometimes, there might be voices. Other wise, it was dead silent.

Even the dogs seemed to know how to remain silent. My friend used to complain about this: "Here, dogs dont bark, mosquitoes dont bite and children dont cry..." Yeah, quite true. I think it was nearly a month after my stay that I heard a dog bark. I guess the dog was in a ecstatic mood as it was putting its head out of a big speeding truck. The simple sight made me happier.

I used to travel in train daily to reach my university office. I was completely offed by the silence I saw in the train. I guess perhaps they should take out a leaf or two from the Indian Transportation systems on human behaviour in trains. The kind of interaction that people have in any given transportation system in India was missing there.

All my observations in the first two days about the silence and germans were proved wrong in the subsequent days. I am saving it for the next post.

Memoirs from Deutschland I

In one of my earlier posts, I had written about my encounter with the legendary German kindness. So let me continue from where I let off.

From Frankfurt airport, I had to take a train to Stuttgart. Quite unwittingly, I had booked a train with a transit at Mainz Station. I had not foreseen the enormous luggage that I would have. The transit seemed tedious.

There is one more thing very famous about Germans. Its their punctuality. Even trains are mostly punctual. But, as my luck would have it, the train I was waiting for, was late. I arrived at Mainz station only to see the my connecting train ready to start. Though it was just a platform away, I was not going to be able to make it in time. I had nearly 30 kgs of luggage to drag with me. It was a hit and miss case. I somehow dragged myself onto the platform only to see the train start off. There, I was, at a small station stranded. I went to the service point of DB there only to find out that the service people knew very little English. In few simple words, I explained my situation and managed to make them understand. I soon found out that I was stranded at the station for two long hours.

My buddy, Andy who was to pick me up at the Stuttgart Station had already foreseen the possibility and had given me his number to call in case of delays. Now, there began my first experience with the German Public Telephones. After some initial hiccups, I finally managed to call and inform him that I am going to be two hours late.

Finally, the train arrived and I got into it. I had to shell out forty five euros for the journey (when converted into Indian Rupees, it is too high). Finally, I arrived at Stuttgart at around 10 30 in the night.

My buddies were waiting for me. Normally, an international student is always assigned a German Student who would help in all possible ways to make your stay comfortable. I was extra lucky in this regard. I had two buddies, Andy and Veronica. I would say, they are the sweetest persons I met in Germany. The first time they saw me at the station, I was quite a mess. I had a trolley bag with broken arm which I was dragging in one hand, another air bag tightly packed to the last inch on the other hand, a big shoulder bag and then, the one sided laptop bag on my shoulder with puffy eyes and cocooned in jerkin. They offered to carry my luggages which I relinquished quite happily.

I knew I was in heaven then. I knew I was going to have a great time with them at that moment. And indeed, it was quite true.

My First Take-off

I know I have been away from my dear blog for a while. Well, I cannot say I was lazy this time. I have been busy. Yeah, very busy. I was going to go to a foreign country for the first time and I had to pack for it all alone as I had to leave two days after my final exams. The exams, the shopping, the packing, all kept me very busy. Now, when I think of it, I really wonder how I managed to study anything at all.
I am a Big Dreamer. Yeah, I am. So, I spent my days before the trip dreaming about it and now I am living my dream. I have come to Germany, for my internship. They say, the fruit is even sweeter when you are made to wait. Yeah, it definitely is. I can really write one full very long post about the difficulties I faced for this internship. The days filled with worries, thinking 'will this work out ?' 'will it happen?' But, now that I am here, I can say those days did not go waste. This internship would be one of the best times in my life.
There are many things that I would like to write about. Many things have been my first in this internship. So, here's an account of my first take-off.
My flight was at 4 40 early morning of 2nd May. I was not packed until 8 pm of 1st May. I literally, had my mom screaming at my ears to pack up. I finished it in 3 hours, cramming up all the stuffs that I were to take with me, my mom throwing things at me which i was supposed to pack but have forgotten. It was total chaos. But, since when had I ever not been in a chaos! Then, by 12 I was ready to leave to the airport. I was dead tired. I had roamed the whole evening, the whole stretch of Adyar, looking for a studio to take passport photos without any success. I reached the airport in fifteen minutes. I was early, very much. I could not help but ogle at all those perfectly dressed pilots and air hostesses who were crossing the lobby I waited. Finally, it was time to check in. My parents and my uncle had accompanied me to the airport. I had always thought that I will be in tears when I leave (considering the fact how easily tears come to me). But strangely enough, I did not. My mom was almost close. I consoled her that it is just for two months and that I will be fine. I could not believe I was smiling and consoling. My parents were the first to leave. Two of my friends who were also coming for the internship with me bid goodbye to their families. I can say, I was the chattering box that night. Talked the whole night away waiting for the flight.
Finally, the announcement for the boarding came. I was really excited. Being a bit religious, I made sure that I put my right foot in when I entered the plane. Lol. Our seats were in the last row. Soon, the captain announced the flight was about to take off. I wanted to watch my first take off. I was falling asleep. I really had to fight myself to keep my eyes open to see the take off. Never once did it cross to my mind, that since it is my first flight, I might feel the air sickness during the take off. The flight kept on going in slow pace in the runway. It did so, for a long time, a very long time.
And finally, it did take off. Swoosh, I could feel the take off by the pressure I felt on my ears. But, thank God, I was not air sick. It was then the thought crossed me, "Yay, I did it! I am finally on my way to Germany".

Memorable (2)day!!! Part 2

Day 2 - 23 April 2011

With the previous day already filled with fun, I was looking forward to another round of it. This time, it was the treat for
QQuest 2011.

All were requested to gather at 1 sharp. The seniors (final years) gave us all a pleasant surprise by turning up in the traditional dress, dhoti and shirt. Of course, they were the topic of most of the jokes and teases, targetted at their dhotis especially. In lieu with the famous indian punctuality, we (all the second, third final years of SQC) left the college at 1 20 pm. The treat was arranged at Palmshore Restaurant, Santhome. There were nearly sixty of us. We all got into one single bus. The conductor looked very happy.

It was a buffet with one big hall for ourselves. Everyone formed a beeline for the food soon. Even our director had turned up for the treat. The food was delicious. More than food, it was the atmosphere around. We had a nice time, talking to the seniors, teasing them for the dhotis and a lots more. The atmosphere was so charged that some chose not to settle in one table, kept moving and there was someone who never ate from his own plate :P

With food plundered n tasted thoroughly, it was time for some fun. The gifts session. First the final years gifted a photo frame to the director with the whole QQuest 11 team. The real fun began after he left. We, juniors gifted the seniors. The highlights were the nicknames : 'Complan Boy' Vijay, 'Strict Officer' Mukesh, 'I hate girls' Vinoth, 'Body' Suresh, 'Mandy' Vivek, 'Brainy' Britto n 'Alice in Wonderland' Pooja.

After the gifts, there were some dances and songs and general fun, the highlight being the final years performance (if it could be called so :P ) and the proposal act by Manikandan. Soon, we left the restaurant.

But the day was not over yet. Soon a plan was formulated to go to beach and off we went to the Besse Beach. The Besse Beach personally holds a lot of memories for me, my first year batch outing, day out with friends and lot more. With the cool breeze, not so bright sun, the climate was amiable. We all rushed to the beach to cool our feets. Soon, we were drenched in water. After spending quite a time in water, we came up to sit on the shore. Now, on the shore, as usual, there were vendors.

The beauty of such outings is the sharing. The moment you get something to eat, it disappears regardless of who bought it. It happened with the soan papdi. Then, there was a small boy selling sundal. He was such a quick wit. To sell his merchandise, he made all the dhoti worn seniors 'Mapillais' and 'Machans'. It was so full of life and enjoyment.

Having a thorough round of fun teasing each other, around 6, we decided to leave for college. Again, the sights of small kids skating in the ring caught the eyes and some fifteen minutes were spent watching them skate, fall on their bottom, get up, skate only to fall again! It was a kind of mesmerizing to watch them. One of us took the initiative to awaken everyone from the enchantment and we reach college around 6 40.

Yet again, there was a small gathering at the internet hub, people ragging and nagging each other. I was caught amidst a long list of things to be brought from Germany. All good things come to an end. So did this day. With promises of getting the things in the list, finally I left for my hostel aruond 7.

So ended two days of complete fun n frolic in the middle of semester examinations. I still do not feel like getting back to the boredom and hence the result, this post :)







P.S. This post is dedicated to the 7 seniors of SQC who 'always made hard work look easy'. Kudos to you all :)

Memorable (2)day!!! Part 1

I always seem to have more fun during the semester exams, than the normal days. This time, in the midst of exams, I had the chance of spending two days filled with fun and food :) This is a post about to those two days :)

DAY 1 - 22 April 2011:

I had slept, the previous night, with a terrible headache. So I got up in the morning, feeling groggy and not so fresh. Nevertheless, there were so many things to do. The day started off with me n two of my roommates, filling ourselves at the Canteen and leaving for the famed shopping streets of T Nagar. All I had to buy was a big trolley and some clothes. We spent three hours roaming the streets, ogling at the dresses and ended up buying some too. We returned by 1 to college.

We had a treat at Zaitoon in the afternoon. A long overdue one, given by one of the best persons I have met in my college life. With a gang of 11, the treat was a memorable one. Our table were the loudest and the weirdest one. The dishes kept disappearing the moment it arrived at the table. Being a pure vegetarian, I had a great difficulty in saving dishes from the non-vegs who indiscriminately ate everything that came. Anyways, it was total fun. With everyone's tummy full, we left the place. Yeah, I almost forgot. There was one photo session in front of the restaurant.

Well, someone started the call for desserts. It was quite impossible to think that there was place left for the desserts, after all that we ate. Still, we proceeded to the Naturals ice cream parlour. It was empty, except for us. Now, ice creams have great power. The moment we stepped into the parlor, seeing all those scoops of ice creams, the temptation was too great to resist. Everyone had their own flavor, along with one of my friends singing one beautiful song.

Then, there was the thrill of catching a bus waiting at the signal with a trolley in hand when there was only 10 seconds left for red to turn green. Somehow, we scurried into the bus. At the college, we had to hear earfuls from the watchmen who advised us about taking Id cards everywhere.

The weather was awesome. It looked like it was about to rain soon. No one wanted the day to end. So we settled under tamarind trees. May be it was the climate, may be it was the atmosphere, or may be it was just pure emotions, no one would know. Everyone started singing aloud. Though there were some very good singers among my friends, there were quite a few like me who were worse bathroom singers. Still everyone joined in and went on singing aloud, causing a few heads to turn and few dogs to run :P :P

I could not stay with them till the end as some work came up. As the evening passed, the skies opened up, making the already perfect day more perfect with beautiful showers, a great respite from the summer heat. Thus ended a day of fun surrounded by friends.







P. S. This post is dedicated to that one friend who gave us the treat :) Thank you anna :) :)