Estela Birthday Celebration

Happy Birthday Estela! We celebrated Estela's birthday in Holland Village. The Lebanese food was delicious and lots of people turned up for drinks.

Cafe Del Mar

To cap off a crazy week of orientations, courses, and initiations... the school coordinated a final party at Cafe Del Mar on Sentosa island. This place has changed significantly from our last visit 7 years ago. No one was allowed to stay dry. If you were dry, you were thrown into the pool!

Happy Bday Yee Ning!

We met Yee Ning in Singapore over 7 years ago during our student exchange program with NUS. Yee Ning since moved to Singapore from Seattle so we get to hang with her in Singapore again! Happy Birthday.

NYE at Helipad

So we actually did end up going to Helipad after all! One of the INSEAD students had arranged a VIP list and we were on the "helipad" outside all night overlooking Clark Quay. We also got to see some fireworks. The helipad was on the 6th floor and not the 50th floor as I had imagined it but we had a great time. Good times..

One North

We made it to Singapore finally! After a week of hardcore searching, we chose the first place we saw... check out some pics of our new studio along with a BBQ that the students coordinated.

Holiday Party 2009

Yet another year has gone by. We worked extra hard this time because we had to change the venue since Canada Place was unavailable due to the Olympics. Sutton Place was an awesome venue and the party went off without a hitch. This was the third party I helped coordinate and also my last day at work in Vancouver! More pictures at this link.

Run for the Cure 2009

Team Mari Behn raised $4,511 this year thanks to 45+ donors (just to Hemanshu) and 16 team members! Even with a later start and the tough economic times, people generously donated and participated in the Run for the Cure!

In two years Team Mari Behn raised $11,854!! THANK YOU for all your efforts and making a difference for the fight against breast cancer. Also, a big thank you to Nanubhai and Vik for their continued contributions and support.

Congrats Zeph and Iris

We had a great time at Zeph and Iris's wedding and reception. Bruce and Fong Yee (the MCs) had coordinated some impressive games. One had Zeph wearing a panda head and searching for Iris blindfolded. The other game involved them mimicking kisses from other couples. Reshma and I demonstrated the Spiderman kiss with the assistance of Paul and Rob. Zeph mimicked it well, although we were afraid that he may injure himself :)

Congratulations Zeph and Iris.

PaTIo PaRTy VII - Havana Nights

PaTIo PaRTy VII was a blast! Thanks for making the 7th iteration of the party a memorable one. We celebrated summer with friends, volleyball, sangria (coconut Havana Club rum, vine, and fruit), and lots of food. We also celebrated Hemanshu's 29th birthday with 2 mango cakes.

Paris et Fontainebleau

Ohh La La Paris... the city of lights! We had a great time eating, drinking, and checking out the sites. Unlike the previous Europe trip, we took it easy this time and tried to also spend some time at parks - eating baguettes, drinking vine, and enjoying the sun. Nous nous sommes bien amuses, et nous esperons de retourner a Paris tres tot!

Reshma's Bday & Mother's Day

Celebrated Reshma's 28th birthday and Mother's Day at Seema's. Happy Birthday Reshma!

Sis on NBC's Today Show!

Sis was on the Today Show! More often than not, moms are so busy taking care of their families and other obligations that they forget to pamper themselves! So in honor of National Women's Health Week, iVillage teamed up with Estee Lauder and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to give two of their patients, Snehal Mehta and Angelita Gentile, a personalized styling for its Health is Beautiful initiative. Check out her makeover pictures here.

Our Gunvanti Ma

Our grandmother (Ma), Hemanshu’s mum’s mum, passed away on April 29th.

Ma always had a smile on her face and was one of the most modern grandmothers I have ever met. She also used to understand and read English so it was fun testing her! I used to love bugging her when she was absorbed into watching her special Hindi TV shows :)

Ma is with Daddy now. May god rest her soul. We love you Ma. Here are the pictures from the time Ma visited New Jersey and Vancouver.

Hitansh at VHP temple

Hitansh recently participated at the VHP temple for Mahvir Jayanti! Check out the video!

Our Sharda Ba

Our grandmother (Ba), Hemanshu's dad's mum, passed away on February 21st. Luckily dad made it there earlier and was able to spend a week with her before she left us... unfortunately mum did not make it there on time.

My grandparents used to live in Khartoum before they moved to India. Since we used to live in Port Sudan, they used to often visit and she was responsible for teaching us religion and reading/writing Gujarati. Later on in life, I had the chance to help her with her English studies. She was am amazing cook and loved us unconditionally.

Ba will be dearly missed by all of us. Here are the pictures from the time she visited Vancouver for our wedding.

Run for the Cure

The final numbers are in! We raised $7,343 to find a cure for Breast Cancer. The team was at 147% of the $5,000 goal. As promised, my dad and I shaved our heads because we met our outlined goals to raise $3k and $5k respectively.

Many thanks to all the team members, friends and especially the sponsors who made this possible. Special thanks to Vik, Nanubhai, and Seema!

Cancer is a terrible disease and has contributed to alot of pain and suffering. Your support and contributions will make a huge difference.

Papa turns 60!

Yes, our very young looking Dad is actually 60 years old! We shaved his head in preparation for the Run for the Cure run. Read that blog for more information. We celebrated his birthday with his closest friends and family.

Another Ginger 62 nite

Good times at Ginger again. Celebrated Dheeraj's and Monica's birthdays.

Alicia Keys Rocked!

Alicia Keys was awesome! We first saw her in 2002 at GM Place. This time she was at the Orpheum and she rocked the house. As Reshma says "She is cool you know, she is funky, street, I love her". That was by far the best concert this year. Even better than Michael Buble, however, Reshma can't make up her mind.

Janet Jackson concert

Janet Jackson was pretty good. Not comparable to the Velvet Rope concert in 1998 but that's also because she was 10 years younger and really fit back then. But hey, I'll always be a fan of her music!

Leah weds Cory

Congratulations Leah and Cory! What a great wedding and a fantastic way to end off the summer. This was by far the most chill couple we have ever seen when it comes to wedding planning. Both the ceremony and reception were a blast.

Arthur weds Fong-Yee

Arthur and Fong-Yee got married at the UBC Boathouse which was a nice intimate venue overlooking the water. Afterwards we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Richmond which had almost 10 courses! We've never seen that much food before!

Cory's Stag

Went zip trekking and whitewater rafting for Cory's stag. We had an awesome time. Probably the most active stag I've ever been to... we were beat by the end of the day!

Pride Parade

Yes, Simran and I checked out the Pride Parade this year. The ladies went to Whistler for Leah's stagette so what else are we going to do?

Vancouver is probably second to San Francisco when it comes to this parade. The parade was colorful, fun, and a good celebration of diversity.

A new saga begins

After three years of selling software at Faronics, I am exchanging my "Senior Account Manager" title for "Product Manager". Sales was an amazing experience but I couldn't resist the opportunity to have more control over what goes into a product. I'll be in charge of two software suites: Power Save and WINSelect.

Chisa Weds Eko

Another SFU couple joins the wedded group... it goes like this:

1. Paul & Anita
2. Us
3. Chisa & Eko
4. Arthur & Fong-Yee - this summer!
5. Leah & Cory - this summer!
6. Simran & Theoni - next year!

Chisa and Eko had their reception at the Brock House which is a beautiful house built in 1912 and is situated right on Jericho Beach. It was a fireworks night so some us walked over to the beach to check them out.

Interesting history: The house exchanged hands three times until it was sold to the Federal Government in 1952 and was occupied by the RCMP, Vancouver Sub-Division Headquarters Staff, until 1971. On May 1, 1975, the property was turned over by the Federal Government to the City of Vancouver as part of the transfer of the Jericho Waterfront Lands.

Simran & Theoni got Engaged!

Simran finally proposed to his beautiful bride-to-be, Theoni :-) They had a nice cozy get together at his parent's house. Don't they make a nice couple? Theoni is Greek so we plan to break plates at their wedding - against her wishes ;-)

Celebrating with the Fam

Had the perfect birthday with the family. I got a bag of rice and a few other gifts. The bag of rice was my favourite.

Two.dot.Eight!

That's right... Hemanshu is gettinh old. We went to Romano's Macaroni Grill followed by Maxine's Hideaway which is the old Balthazar.

Interesting fact: Maxine's hideway used to be a brothel and there used to be a tunnel that connected Rogers Mansion, now Romano’s Macaroni Grill; the Rogers Sugar magnate liked to have his own secret point of access to the brothel.

In the 1930’s, it was used as a hideout for two of America’s most wanted fugitives (one of whom was captured by J. Edgar Hoover himself.) When times got tough, Madame Maxine used the lower floor of the beauty school as a brothel, hence The “Bordello Room Lounge."

Hola Cancun!

We jetted off for a week of sun and fun in Cancun! It has been almost one year since our last vacation, so we were eagerly looking forward to the trip. We had a fantastic time relaxing on the beach and exploring the area. Our resort was awesome! We stayed at H10 resorts - Ocean Turquesa. Our key highlights of the trip were: partying at Coco Bongo & the City (amazing night life!), visiting the ruins in Tulum, and saving baby sea turtles...they were adorable, and Reshma found two little turtles that we returned to the Ocean. We miss Mexico already and want to go back!!!

Adam weds Amy

Our wedding season begins with the wedding of our beautiful friends Adam and Amy. We had a great time at Sutton Place... Awww... they are so cute together!

Stanley Park with Vaze's

We decided to meet the Vazes at Stanley Park. Reshma was eager to ride her brand new bike. Summer this year seemed a little late but well worth the wait!

Reshma Turns 27

Another year has passed and Reshma was in the mood to celebrate. Thanks everyone for coming out to celebrate Reshma's birthday.. everyone had a great time at Chill Winston.

New Jersey Trip

Hemanshu decided to visit New Jersey at the last minute in March. Our niece, Deeya, is a year old now and walking around!

Vancouver Food Bank

On behalf of the Marathi Socierty of BC, we helped seperate boxes and boxes of food. When we were done, we beat the record of the folks before us! 12+ palates of foods were sorted into various catagories such as Snacks, Cereals, Starch, Drinks, and Toiletries. For every 10 palates sorted, you help over 800 people!

The Vancouver Food Bank is an excellent organization that provides food to those who are need. They have food depots across the lower mainland where they distribute all the donated foods - no questions are asked. Learn more about volunteering there.

New Year's 2008

We ended off 2007 with some special friends at the new Joey's down the street followed by Ginger 62. One of the highlights was the cabaret show around midnight. Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all the best for 2008.

Family Hampers

It was refreshing to volunteer during the hustle and bustle of Xmas consumerism. Reshma coordinated the opportunity to help build Christmas hampers on behalf of the Marathi Society. The Union Gospel Mission had a list of families and some generous donors so we could help to make it a merrier xmas for all. We hope to coordinate more opportunities like this moving forward.

Faronics Holiday Party

This year was extra special because I had the chance to help coordinate our Xmas party. Everything went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time.. I would love to become a party coordinator some day :)

I convinced one of our employees who had a strong resemblance to jolly Old Nick to become our Santa Claus! The Winter Wonderland decor came out great as well... thanks to Radke Designs. We had a magician and a torot card reader to add to the entertainment.

We are off to Victoria soon thanks to Faronics recognizing our (Braden and I) efforts in coordinating the party!

Our Home

Three months after moving into our new place.. we finally finished painting the pasty white walls everywhere! Here is a small collection of some pictures taken over the past couple of months including pics of a recent snow fall in early December and the Rogers Santa Parade that happened down the street from us - we have an awesome clear view from our balcony.

Laser Tag for Shilpi

Good times.. nothing more needs to be said.. Happy Birthday Shilpi!