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As a minority in America, I don’t feel particularly judged for my ethnicity or discriminated against much.

But like every minority in America I know that my group isn’t going to be represented much on TV (unless you’re black/ Latino; then you get two recurring guest roles on a network show/ a minor recurring part).

The last time I saw an Indian on US TV was the Fandango puppet. Which I hate, as does every Indian I know. Even the non-traditional ones

So when I saw that the Indian contestant, Nipa something or the other, on The Next Food Network Star, with her penchant for tantrums, unwillingness to touch raw meat (!) etc., I felt like OMG THIS WOMAN IS MAKING ALL OF US INDIANS LOOK BAD! I touch raw meat! I make fish curry! I can cut a chicken!

As cousin #2 and I watched her on TV today, he turned to me and said “suddenly that Fandango puppet is looking GREAT.”

Indeed it is.

If it’s possible to take a banal activity and turn it into a full-on dramatic re-telling, then I’m the one to do it.

I moved yesterday. Not far from where I used to live– about 20 minutes. Closer to a metro, great amenities, etc etc.

Like a lot of people, I hate moving. And I hate transitions. They force me to confront stuff that I got to ignore like items I never threw away–  greeting cards and mementos from an old relationship for example.

Do you carry that stuff or do you throw it?

I took it.

Then as I unpacked, I looked at it and instinctively turned away. I stuck it in a drawer so I wouldn’t have to look at it.

Any sort of transition makes me jittery. Whether it’s flying to India, or flying back here after such a trip. I feel instantly vulnerable and desperately in need of comfort for something that doesn’t really hurt.

It’s times like that that I’m on the phone with my parents seeking the comfort of familiar questions and inside jokes. It’s moments like that when I think of my parents’ mortality and it makes me more frightened and miserable than I can adequately describe.

Then three days later I feel better and it’s all gone.

So I’m going to India in three months. Well, a little less than three.

Normally when I go to India, I feel major major trepidation. Sure I lived there till I was 18, but I lived in a bit of a gilded cage. I don’t really like going out too much, I don’t like beings stared at, and the poverty, pollution and chaos drive me crazy.

I’m not a very good traveler. Once I get to a place, I like staying there. It explains why the only vacations I really seem to take are my trips to India, where I stay home for a couple of weeks, spend  part of the time in quality time with the parents and some friends (which is fun) and the rest of time feeling morose.

The last time I went, in 2006, I threw a royal tantrum about it, much to my parents’ chagrin.

I feel bad about that.

This time may well be better. For one, I’ve extracted a promise from the parents that there will be a constant flow of things to do– vacations in Goa and Darjeeling, visits with the few relatives I can tolerate, etc. Keeping busy will keep the re-entry shock down to a manageable (hopefully non-existent level).

On the plus side, I get to spend time with the family, which should be fun.

My younger sister has been in DC since last Tuesday. She’s spending this week in C’ville with cousin #2. Her absence has been noted here in Maryland. For one, the house is a lot quieter– what can I say– the Someshwar sisters are a loud pair.

More importantly, my room has returned to its formerly messy state. All of last week, S busied herself with tidying my drawers, picking my handbags off the floor and making my bed. Imagine my surprise last Wednesday when I came home from work and found my bed made. The corners of the bedspread were tucked in and everything! And apparently my drawers can hold MORE clothes when said clothes are folded. As opposed to shoved in.

Anyway, a sister-less-week =messy bed, things on the floor and clothes shoved in drawers.

When she gets back here on Saturday I will attempt to take her either to the Library of Congress or H and M OR both. Then she’s off to New Yawk for Sunday and Monday where she will no doubt paint Central Park a shade of fabulous.

You might notice the site is looking a bit different. It’s partly because of the brilliance of cousin #2. He changed my Web site host, to give me more admin privileges. I will now be able to host some of my past projects on here, which is very exciting!

Upcoming projects will include my senior thesis on international student recruitment (It’s WAY more exciting than it sounds) and a full version of my portfolio online.