Mundane Musings

Happy 1st Birthday, Molly!

/ Sayee Challapally / 13 Comments

I never once thought that I would bring home a dog someday. I was nervous about them, and I used to avoid entering a room if there was a dog in it. Growing up as a boy, I had seen one in my grandma’s home and had also seen a couple of other dogs, in my cousins’ homes, but I had never spent any meaningful time to bond with those dogs, and at the time, they did not cause any interest in me, or make me yearn for one.

It wasn’t an easy decision, and was indeed, quite a journey for me to get there. My wife Usha had grown up with a dog and she always wanted one. My daughter Varsha had wanted one too, around the time that she was in middle school. However, after taking a long and hard look at our own busy schedules and commitments, the long winters in Chicago, and the chores and responsibilities that go with having a dog, we didn’t see how we could possibly bring one home, and do justice to the experience. So we decided against it, and even thought that we will perhaps never consider it again.

Once Varsha left for college, our home felt empty and boring, and Usha and I gradually felt like bringing one home, and of course there were some friends who gently nudged us every now and then to get one. And so, after much discussion and debate, we finally took the plunge last year, much to the pleasant surprise of Usha and Varsha, and several in our family and friends, and brought home our very own Golden Retriever, a breed that was our instant and unanimous choice.

Molly was born on May 20th 2017, but it wasn’t until the mandatory first 8 weeks were over, did the breeder give her to us, and we brought her home in mid July, last year.  Our life hasn’t been the same ever since! Yes, there are more chores and responsibilities now, and we need to plan for her care in advance, every time we step out of our home, but undoubtedly there is also a quiet and simple joy in having such a beautiful, fun, friendly and loving animal at home, that cannot talk to you, but at the same time, can express herself so well, and convey so many things so beautifully, enriching our lives, with every little act of hers.

And I never thought that someday I would write a sincere page, talking about how nice it is to have one at home! Today, on Molly’s 1st Birthday, I am reminded of a nice quote that I read recently:

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened!” – Anatole France, Author and Poet.

I think he’s right!

Happy 1st Birthday, Molly!

‘Escape Room’ Fun

/ Sayee Challapally / 1 Comment

My daughter Varsha came home for Spring Break and wanted to do something fun together and she recommended that we go to ‘The Hidden Key Escapes’ in Naperville. This is a form of an ‘escape room’ game activity that is gaining popularity across the nation. Apparently, even Obama and his elder daughter Malia had tried an ‘escape room’ for fun in Hawaii, last December.

The goal is simple. The game master reads out the rules and then locks you in a room full of objects and hidden clues. You will have to search your way through the objects, find the clues and keys, unlock boxes to find more keys and unravel more clues, until you find the ultimate Key to escape from the room. You have 60 minutes to do this.

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In this place, it was a group activity for 6 – but we were 3 of us, and unless we booked the room for ourselves (by paying for 6), they would let 3 others in. We booked our 3 tickets, and so, we were joined at our time slot by 3 young guys – all college students. We went in, and I must say that it was stimulating activity for our brain cells and we got into it right away and started cracking many clues.

Admittedly, Usha and I were slower than our younger, more agile teammates but we managed to stay useful to the team, by solving a few clues and taking notes. There was an interesting moment, when we were at the 30 minute mark. We found a clue to “hear” the next clue, which was in the form of an old, mini – or should I say micro – cassette player, with a tiny audio cassette inside. It was amusing to see that none of my younger teammates had any clue how to operate that, and Varsha suddenly turned to me and said – “Dad, you should know how to get this to work!” – and the moment was accentuated by the quizzical looks on the boys’ faces as well.

In that instant, I couldn’t help but feel a bit archaic, as the kids looked up to me for help on using, an outdated gadget from the late 80s! We got that working and started to decode the rest of the clues.

It was good fun indeed and a thrilling finish, as we managed to escape from the room in the nick of time, with just 55 seconds to spare, on the clock!