Tides change

We had a very fun filled and happy fortnight in early August with the festivities and as if by some voodoo, things took a nosedive.

My jaw locked up and started making clicking noises. It hurt when I opened my mouth for anything more than a straw and yawning sent electric shocks into my brain. After going back and forth between the doctors who diagnosed the symptoms as TMJ (and they were not wrong), going through jaw movement exercises, taking lots of Ibuprofens vs.  going to a local dentist who did not do due diligence because my dental insurance was maxed out (he did not even take a new x-ray and told me the same thing the doctors told me!) things were going from bad to worse. 

In the last two weeks I ate such wonderful things as Tomato rasam sadam with Vendaikaai curry smoothie, Poondu rasam with beans paruppusili smoothie, etc. (Rice with tomato soup + okra curry blended into a smoothie..). Was mushing up everything! The taste is okay, but the texture of some of these smoothies, if you could call it that made me lose my appetite. 

My two attempts at shaving also end up in aborted missions and I started to look like this..

The little one agreed to that pose as a "pity pose". She hated that beard! 

Finally we decided enough was enough.. well truth be told Sangeetha decided enough was enough of my moping around and found a dentist through a friend who had a reputation for fixing the problem and not worrying about the insurance! So went there Friday. At first they took an x-ray and called me back to say "you sure there is no pain in this area?" and my response was "pain? what pain? I have been in so much pain that my threshold has moved!" 

So they called me back for more x-rays which confirmed that there was a big area of pus in the place where my wisdom tooth used to exist. They "extracted" the pus and said "you don't need ibuprofen, what you need is antibiotics to fight this infection!" and they were right! In two days the pain was almost gone. The clicking came to a minimum and I could eat solid food again!

Today I made a long and slow attempt and shaved. The whole family rejoiced. Never knew that a little stubble could cause so much sadness in a house. 

Krishna ummachi teased me with all the crunchy stuff at the worst possible time but Pilliyaar ummachi was not going to disappoint. There were no Kozhukattais in the house today but San did make some yummy vadai and paayasam! Was able to eat that just fine.. 

Wanted to take a picture with the kids after eating the vadais! Was reminded that we took a picture just after this moment many years ago and dug it out!

and now..

I can still carry the little one for a little while! 

The only downside is that the molar will be removed tomorrow. I plan to hang it on a necklace as a reminder of the last 17 days of stuggling. 

The jaw seems to be one of those things that literally falls in "no mans land". Doctors send you to dentists and vice versa.. it is in the perfect "punt zone". I also learned the hard way that dental insurance works differently from medical insurance. With medical insurance you hit an out of pocket maximum (2000$ or 4000$ for example) and after that you don't pay anything for that year on anything that is covered. The insurance pays. 

With dental insurance, THEY have an out of pocket maximum. Once the dental insurance has paid their part to a total of 1000 or 1500 $ a year, they stop paying for anything more complicated. So god forbid you end up with two root canals in one year, you pay out of pocket for everything else!

I don't know why we cannot have our regualar insurance cover dental procedures also. Last I knew, the gums, teeth, jaw etc. are all part of the body!

It was not like I was asking them to cure me of baldness! 

The little one did think I looked "cute" even with the beard if , IF the sunglasses went with it! Something to contemplate as a "look" when the hairline goes beyond the horizon on the head..

They say all is well that ends well. Sure hope that this saga comes to an end once the tooth is gone!

Toys these days!

Recently Jr. received a "Barbie walking a dog" gift. I did not pay much attention to the whole toy after going through the ordeal of prying open the various pieces from the package and thinking "Kids that play with Barbie should all be geniuses, if just opening the package can be so complicated!"

The only other thing I noticed was that the dog was lifelike and somehow they had managed to make the surface of the moulded plastic have a skin like feel to it. It was amazing from a materials science standpoint!

So imagine my shock when we read the "manual" which came with Barbie and found that the pellets that were part of the package were supposed to be the dog food and dog poop!!

Confused ? See the video! It is self explanatory...

If there are parents out there who need to teach their kids that food becomes poop or poop comes from eating food, you can use my video as an educational aid!

What will they think of next ?

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Bombay eats..

As is customary with every Bombay (Mumbai) stay, we visited Mahalakshmi. This is one beautiful and simple temple on the ocean front with the idols of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati juxtaposed.

After we visit the deity, we go behind the temple to see the little Hanuman and Ganesh idols (they look like two mini temples on the backside). Right at that corner is one of my favorite eats. The samosa and tea stall, with benches that have an ocean view.

The menu is shown for your drooling pleasure !!

Mouth watering stuff. I have got to stop this habit of posting about good eats just before going to bed! All those stomach acids, can't be good.

Like Homer Simpson says "Hmmmmmmmmm... yummmmmmmmmmmy"!

Tasty treats..

One of the highlights of visiting West Mambalam was the local Idiappam (which we call Sevai).

The sevai is sold in front of a house in Station road. People just stop by on their way home from work and eat (or take home). The roadside stall opens at 4 and closes as soon as it gets dark.

For 15 rupees you get a box of plain Sevai (incidentally this is the same aluminum container in which the airlines serve their main course!). For 18 rupees you get coconut and lemon flavoured sevai.

They also sell Kozhukkattai (sweet dumplings)..

The sevai is freshly made and is yummmmmy as can be. I was dreaming of the sevai on my return flight, when I saw that container..Why couldn't I have had Sevai on the in-flight menu ? What if that dude started a branch where we live ? He could call it "Drive by Sevai".. etc. etc.

hmmmmmmmmm...yummmmmmmmy..just thinking about it makes my mouth water again!

BARR - Chaat Paradise

Had a reader recommend Chaat Paradise! So we decided to go for our evening tiffin last weekend. The place is located at the corner of Grant Road and El Camino Real in Mountain View. It is in the complex next to the 24 hour Walgreens Pharmacy. It is tucked away in a corner of the complex and not visible from the street.

The restaurant is very spacious and has a very nice ambience and is busling with people.

Here are the highlights :





Wait time : 5 minute (resonably crowded for a saturday afternoon).
Food wait time from order : 30 minutes. Real long wait considering our order!
Check time : 2 minutes (Visa Mastercard, didnt check if they take AMEX)
Average price per person : $9
Rating "My wife can cook better".
Service : Below Average

Items sampled : Aaloo Paratha, Samosa, Bhel puri, Vada Pav, Chai.

The paratha was definitely one of the best I have had in the Bay area. These guys have perfected it.

The samosa was also nice. Reminded me of Banaras tea shops. Very tasty but very oily as well.

The Bhel puri and Vada Pav were a Mrs. only exclusive. Her take was that the Bhel puri was good but the Vada Pav was a big disappointment.

Chai was fantastic.

I guess this is one of those places which knows how to make some items extremely well and some other items are a must have in a typical Chaat Menu, but they dont have a handle on these items.

Not once did the people who served us or the ones who took our order or gave our check smiled ! They all looked sad, and reminded me of people working in some sweatshop!

The reasonable tactics for places like this would be to try all the items that other people strongly recommend so you cant go wrong with your order ..

Jr. tasted only the paratha and gave it two "Yummies".

Recommendation : If you know what you are ordering in this place, it is worth it.