vishnu Archives - My Inner Shakti

The Story of Us – Year 13

I’ve shared a lot of stories on MIS over the years. Like A LOT! And most of them have involved Vishnu in some way, but the story I haven’t shared is the one about how we met and eventually started dating. Until now that is…

And the best part is today’s our 13 year dating anniversary!

Vishnu and I met for the first time in January 2005 during a ski trip organized by four of the major universities in Georgia (I went to the University of Georgia and he went to Georgia Tech). He even hung out in our hotel room for a bit, but I didn’t talk to him. Haha. The one thing I remember is that he was wearing a Batman t-shirt. Guess what? That shirt’s in my closet now!

Fast forward to February 4, 2005. The day we met (again) and actually talked to each other!

Vishnu came to Athens with our mutual friend Kartik for UGA’s annual Indian Cultural Exchange (ICE) formal. The backstory is that Vishnu was originally just my friend Monica’s date. I was supposed to go with my friend Atul, but he couldn’t make it because of an exam. To make a long story short, Vishnu ended up being both mine and Monica’s date.

On Friday night (the night before the formal), a bunch of us ended up hanging out at our apartment. Kartik and Vishnu stayed the night at our place. The next morning, Vishnu and I watched a Bollywood movie together (Aitraaz) because I wanted to and he was there. I always joke that Vishnu tricked me that morning because here I was, a Bollywood princess, thinking this cool guy from Tech was also into Bollywood. Turns out he was into Priyanka Chopra. Ha!

That night we all went to the formal and had a blast. Vishnu and I even slow danced together to a Bryan Adams song. It was more goofy than romantic but still a fun memory!

After the formal, a bunch of us went to iHop, and on the way back to our apartment, Vishnu casually asked for both mine and my roommate’s phone number. At this point, I didn’t think anything of it because we literally just met. He was obviously already in love with me!

Over the next few months, we met up when we could and talked on the phone A LOT. In fact, during one of those months, we blew through something like 6,000 minutes.

It wasn’t until summer break when I started my internship in Atlanta and Vishnu started summer classes in the city when we started hanging out more frequently and by ourselves. He was even my ‘date’ to my company’s annual summer event.

Sometime in June things started to change, and I started having feelings for Vishnu. I remember the exact moment I thought, “Hey, I really like this guy!” Before said movie started, I got up to go to the restroom, and as I was walking away, Vishnu said something funny. I laughed and realized that he was no longer just my friend Vishnu.

Of course, I kept that little tidbit of information to myself.

Then a few days before the 4th of July, we made plans to grab dinner and watch the fireworks together. Something felt different that night. Vishnu was much more touchy feely and playful. I thought it was a little weird but didn’t want to make any assumptions.

July 4, 2005!

After the fireworks, we decided to grab some dessert at Cafe Intermezzo (our fav place!). We somehow got into a discussion about how our friends thought we were dating because we hung out all the time, etc., etc. It basically ended with how we didn’t want to ruin our friendship…sooo no dating! Vishnu dropped me off at my car and that was that. Or so I thought.

On my way home, I was talking to my best friend Roshni about my ‘date’ and all the weirdness when I got a call from Vishnu. I said hi. He asked, “Soooo has dating crossed your mind?” I said, “Ummmm yes.” He said, “Ok, cool.” And that was that! With that question, we officially started dating and the rest is history!

Legally married!

The past 13 years have been full of ups, downs, long distance, business school, medical school, residency, new jobs, a trillion moves, a beautiful baby, etc. And you know what, while it’s been an amazing ride so far, I know the best is yet to come! Especially with my best friend and main man by my side! Happy 13, babe!

Your turn – How long have you and your significant other known each other?

A Pair of Onitsuka Tigers Made Me Cry

written by Parita 6 Comments

Let me start by saying that those who know me best will likely not be surprised by this story. It’s very Parita.

So Vishnu is a huge fan of the Asics Onitsuka Tiger line of shoes. He has at least five different pairs. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a street sneak that comes in lots of different colors and style variations.

Up until this past year, I’ve never really been interested in owning a pair of Onitsuka Tigers. Vishnu even bought me a pair he found on sale, and while I loved his thoughtfulness, the style just wasn’t my favorite. They’re now my errand shoes. 🙂

With that being said, after searching high and low for my perfect casual sneaker, I found the PERFECT pair of Tigers. These bad boys checked every box. Neutral color scheme, not too bulky/wide, and decent price point.

You’d think I’d just hit the purchase button, but for some reason, I couldn’t. The thought of buying these shoes made me feel guilty. I have no explanation because I bought plenty of other things at higher price points so it wasn’t about the money.

Anyways, by the time I was ready to make these my own, every website was out of my size – Asics, Amazon, Zappos, you name it. Vishnu told me he would keep an eye out and hit that purchase button as soon as he could.

And then…we had a baby and life got busy. New shoes were no longer a priority.

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon. Vishnu, Kaiden, and I went to brunch, and on our way back, I took a little detour to Michigan Ave to run a few errands while the boys headed home. When I walked into the apartment, Vishnu asked me what size my first pair of Tigers are. I told him, and he responded by telling me to check and make sure. I opened our shoe closet, found the shoes, checked the size, and told him again. I could tell he was trying to get to something but couldn’t figure out what. When he realized I wasn’t getting it, he got up, walked over to me, reached into the closet, and pulled out a brand new pair of Tigers…the very ones I’d been eyeing for months!!!

What did I do?

Welllll…I burst into tears. You guys, I had HUGE tears running down my face for at least 3-5 minutes. It was a little ridiculous!

Vishnu, knowing full well this was a very Parita reaction, was still a bit surprised. So he did two very Vishnu like things. He hugged me and laughed. While I cried and asked why he’s so nice to me.

I chalk all of this up to Vishnu’s thoughtfulness and…the last bit of pregnancy hormones that have yet to leave my body. Ha!

But seriously, how cute is my hubby? And how dramatic am I?

Also, if you can find your size, get these shoes because they’re awesome. Also, we can be shoe twins! 🙂

5 Years of Love, Laughter, and Driving Each Other a Little Crazy

written by Parita 2 Comments

Today is mine and Vishnu’s wedding anniversary! 5 years of love, laughter, and driving each other a little crazy. And I wouldn’t change any of it for the world!

On our wedding day, I remember thinking, “This is the BEST day of my life. I’m marrying my best friend.” And while it was an amazing day and so special in so many ways, I now know how wrong I was. It wasn’t the best day of my life.

Every day since, no matter how hard or crazy, has been the best. Waking up next to him is the best. Eating with him is the best. Watching TV with him is the best. Running errands with him is the best. Cooking with him is the best. Yes, even arguing with him is…ok so not the best, but there’s no one else I’d rather bicker with! Basically, doing life with him is the BEST.

And soon enough navigating parenthood with him will be the best!

Love you, boo! Here’s to the past 5 years and the lifetime ahead of us!

The start of the rest of our lives!

Honeymooning!

Year 1 in the books!

Babymooning!

[Insert year 5 picture]

Year 5 in the books!

Hopeless Romantic

written by Parita 23 Comments

I LOVE love. Yes, I am that girl. And I have been that way since… well, forever! I remember being 6 or 7, looking up at the stars every now and then, and wishing for the “perfect” boy to come into my life. At 6 or 7!!! I even wrote a journal entry titled “Dear Boy” at the age of 12. The entry was a letter to my future man about how I’ll love him forever and how we’ll live happily ever after. I’m not kidding. I still have it and will definitely share it with y’all once I find it. 🙂 I love romantic movies of all kinds, romantic stories/books, romantic songs, etc. Like I said, I love love!

Now, imagine someone who is the complete opposite of what I described above, and you have Vishnu. Haha! He loves (obsessed with) cars and sports. He loves making people laugh. He loves to eat good food. He loves politics and a good debate. He loves medicine. But he never loved love…until he met me! 🙂

When we started dating, people were so confused because, from the outside, you couldn’t find two more completely different people. But somehow, we clicked. We were good friends at first who just enjoyed each other’s company. After an entire summer of hanging out, we both started liking each other. Vishnu “asked me out” on the 4th of July after we had dinner and watched the fireworks at a park in Atlanta. He actually did it over the phone once our “date” was over, and we were both driving home. He asked, “So, has dating crossed your mind?” I kind of knew it was coming but was still so super excited when he finally brought up the subject. I giggled and said yes. I think his reply was, “Alright, I’m so excited” or something like that. We were (and still are) such dorks! But almost six years later, here we are… 🙂

I was sorting through all of my stuff, and I found something that I wanted to share with y’all that shows you how much of a romantic I am! When we first started dating, every monthly anniversary was VERY important to me. So you can imagine how excited I was about our six month anniversary. I brainstormed a ton of ideas for what to give Vishnu, and I finally came up with the perfect gift, a notebook with questions that we would both answer about each other (don’t worry if you don’t get it…you’ll see what I’m talking about in a minute). It never occurred to me that this gift may be a little much for just six months of dating. No sir, I went ahead full speed, bought all the necessary scrapbook type things to decorate with, and created a super cute, romantic gift. If someone, say my sister, were to ask me today if this was an appropriate six month gift, I’d probably say, “No, it’s a bit much. Why don’t y’all just go to dinner and a movie.”

But looking back, I’m really glad I made this for him (us) because it captures that first six months of us falling in love. Since this was my gift to Vishnu, he kept it for all this time, but I asked him to give it to me to keep for a while because I wanted to look through and read it again. Let me tell you, when I read through everything again for the first time (in years), it really took me back in time. I honestly laughed until my stomach hurt at some of our responses.

So, without further ado, here is my six month gift to Vishnu…