Chirag Mehta - Personal Web Log - 'blog - Chime Softwares - Indian Blogger live from Saint Petersburg, Florida, St. Petes, FL
I'm working in my office downstairs but am laughing because I just heard my Secret Numbering System working from afar. For a couple of years now, Naveen (11) and I have a system of generating numbers which can be easily verified by the other. We came up with this because well, his sister Leela (6), gets creative with facts/chores. So if she tells him that I'm calling him or that I said he should…
Hari turns adjusted one-year old today. This means, he should have been born a year ago on this day. But Hari being in a hurry, rushed out in October of 2024, over 3 months earlier than the doctors expected. He's doing wonderful, gaining weight steadily, and gets a lot of care and attention from us, his older siblings, his daycare teachers, and the numerous therapists, nurses, and doctors who see…
My cousin Keval, 43, passed away today in Mumbai, India, surrounded by his parents, sister, my dad, and lots of loved ones who came to wish him a final good bye. Almost twenty-two years ago , he got into an accident in Goa, India. His recovery was long and while he managed to recover some control of his arms, he lost his voice and mobility. What he never lost, was his fighting spirit and sense of…
Exactly a year ago, Juliet and I were at the NICU, overrun with emotions at our miracle baby boy Hari's premature birth at 26 weeks. And today he's doing amazing! He woke up with all smiles and played with his older siblings and me in the morning and then spent the day at daycare where they celebrated his birthday with other toddlers all crawling around. Tonight he passed out on my chest after…
After taking care of us for 10 months, my mom flew back home to India on Friday. This was the longest I've spent with her since I left India in 2000. It's not even been a few days and I already miss walking to her room to just catch up. I know Hari misses her a lot already. Naveen mentioned missing her this morning and Leela cried last night saying she wants both grandma and grandpa to come back…
Our miracle baby boy Hari spent 133, long days in the NICU - from birth until he was discharged in late February earlier this year. Today marks 134 days that he's been home — one day longer than the hospital. We were told by a number of parents whose kids had been through the NICU that once the baby is home longer than the NICU, it would start to feel "normal". Every time I heard that, I smiled…
I promised our 10-year-old son Naveen earlier this year that I will give him a chance to learn how to code using AI and once his summer vacation started, I bought him an account on v0.dev. He's been at it at least 3-4 hours each day and today, I'm so excited to share his first AI-generated creation: Neologism Generator ! If you're using Firefox, you may need to disable "Enhanced Tracking" but…
I signed up Leela to a 5-6 year age-group girls softball team earlier this year. She's been playing for two months now and absolutely loves it. Today her softball team walked in the local Memorial Day parade and we all had a blast! Juliet bought a ton of candies and decorations for a small cart that I pulled along the whole way. Leela and I started walking and within a minute she jumped into the…
I have been impatiently waiting for almost a year to write this entry. Today, our third and youngest child, Hari turned six months old! Last October, my wife Juliet went into preterm labor at 26 weeks. Hari was born 14 weeks early, weighing just 2lbs — under 1kg! He spent 133 days in the N.I.C.U. and came home in late February. A few minutes ago, I was upstairs in our living room, watching him…
Ever since we moved to the outskirts of Chicago, I've noticed a gradual transformation in my way of thinking and acting. Surprisingly, it's not about slowing down or settling. It's about deliberation and acknowledgment. Nothing in my life has gotten simpler or easier. On the contrary, I'm busier than ever with family matters, tech projects, and social events. What has changed is how much more…
I woke up this morning to Juliet and the kids wishing me Happy Father's Day. It was gorgeous outside so I told her I'm gonna spend some time in the backyard by the pond. She excitedly asked me if I wanted to see my gift and I said sure! She gave me a box with a gigantic magnet and a long rope. Just last night we were watching a campy B-movie, Under Paris , where some kids were magnet fishing and I…
Two weeks ago, I started waking up earlier each morning. I've always been a night owl and I believe I still am. But what I actually care about is not just being able to stay up late, but rather somehow get a few hours of quiet, uninterrupted time for myself. All these years, those were hours past 11pm. Now due to the kids' school routine, those are hours prior to 7am. The odd side-effect of waking…
Last night I went to bed around 11pm without much effort. I woke up minutes before my alarm went off around 6am this morning. I changed into my running gear and went for a short 30-min jog at the local park. Once back home, Naveen and I took out the trash and cleaned out our tortoise Rosie's cage. We did a bunch of other smaller chores and then freshened up. Our neighbors gave us a bag of…
Twenty one years ago, Eric from Formulated Solutions reached out to me to design a website. First it was just a small Flash-based product brochure, then another with multiple product lines, then his main company site, and then a full e-commerce site with a PayPal shopping cart and customer portal. In 2004, I moved to Florida to work full time at FS, and steadily the company went from just 20-30…
I started running again recently. Today I ran (and partially walked) 5mi at our local park. Twenty years ago when I started training for marathons and ultras, all I needed was my youthful ambition and gumption. Now at 42, I bring multiple herniated discs, varicose veins, and some extra weight with me on each run. And if I want to go far, I need to plan and prep properly. I also need a lot more…
Last year, our focus was on setting up the inside of our house. We spent most of the year under construction with dust and debris covering one room or other. We continued the construction earlier this year and finally had everything done by mid May, just over a month ago. Since then, our focus has been outdoors, especially since the weather has been nice here. Both Juliet and I were pretty…
Juliet doesn't always keep her phone or smartwatch nearby when she is home. Normally it is not a problem since she does not get any urgent calls from the kids' schools or doctors, as those go to me. But I get pretty annoyed if I try to call her when I'm away from home and get her voicemail instead. Not anymore! Thanks to the wonders of technology, I have figured out the perfect way to annoy her…
While looking for a local doctor in our new home in Illinois, I came across this story of the " Last Doctor Standing ", written by author R. Salvador Reyes , about his father in 2013. While Juliet is getting great care for her chronic conditions at all the local Northwestern Medicine (NM) facilities, she really wanted a personal-touch of a local doc who cares. Alas, that is becoming a rarity and…
Every morning when I drive Leela to daycare after dropping Naveen off at his school, I start playing songs from my own playlist until Leela stops saying "Not this." Then I add it to her own playlist and we both sing the song twice or thrice until we get to her school. Today we sang along to the remake of an old song "I believe in love" by Lily Collins from the movie Mirror Mirror. So far I've…
This week I had a number of things stress me out all at once - work projects, home construction, paperwork. I felt pretty overwhelmed trying to manage everything but in the midst of it all, I had a minor epiphany that instantly calmed me down. While discussing with Juliet how stressed I was, I blurted out that "it is not even my own anxiety! It's other people's!" And that was true. I wasn't the…
Juliet and I watched Avatar - The Way of the Water in Cinemark XD RealD 3D tonight and my mind is still stuck in the magical realm of Pandora. This was my first movie theater visit in 3 years and I am so glad I picked this movie. It was an absolutely breathtaking experience and I cannot wait to see the next one in 2024. I have been busy as always last few months and I don't foresee my schedule…
We ushered in the new year last night with fireworks and champagne (well, sparkling juice for the kids). I couldn't believe it but both Naveen and Leela stayed up and were super excited. Today our au pair Josi took them both on a play date with another local au pair who takes care of two kids, about the same age as Naveen and Leela. Juliet and I had a relaxing New Year's Day and started season 3…
My cats Giga and Tera were born 18 years ago today. Happy Birthday Giga! I miss Tera so much and I know Giga does too because after her passing, he has been so much more affectionate with our Chihuahua Lady Bug. In cat years, Giga's a spry 126 years old, though he is jumping and running less these days. Lady Bug is probably 15-17 years old and more docile too. We adopted her in 2010 from someone…
Fourteen years ago on this day Juliet and I said our vows in front of the Undine Falls in Yellowstone Park. Yesterday as I was driving with her, I remarked that had known our future that day and everything that was about to unfold, I would have done exactly the same things and made the same choices. I cannot imagine a better life, a life full of love, teeming with special moments, grounded in…
This past week I promised myself that I will start making time for myself again. Over two decades ago when I started this blog, I was in the midst of college exams, homework, and projects and barely had time for anything other than studies, chores, and some work. And yet I always had time to write an update here. But last few years have been so exhaustively busy and stressful for me that while I…