be well.

I can hear the announcer, while we’re all sitting in our deluxe seats right along the 1st base line at Jacobs Field (it’s Jacobs field no matter what you tell me), “And now…up to bat for the Cleveland Indiansssss, the amazing….the fast….all the way from Alaskskskska….it’s Sebo-bo-bo Sanford-rd-rd-rd!”

In support of my parents, and family and friends before them, who have battled and are battling cancer - I have decided to turn my bachelorette party into an overnight walk for the American Cancer Society at their annual Relay for Life walk. This year’s walk is at the Bowling Green High School on May 15th & 16th.

I am so so so excited about this! I’ve just sent out the invitations to join my relay team to a small group of close girl friends and hope to see the team growing soon. My loyal BG-located bridesmaids, Brittan & Kristy, are secretly doing the work of having this event double as my bachelorette party. How fun! We have a small campsite along the HS track where we can have chairs and cots, snacks, and games to keep us going all night!

Every little bit counts, and if you think I’ve managed a unique idea to support a great cause, the linked image below will take you to my Relay for Life Team page - feel free to donate online to my team, or to my personal page. Our team goal is $1,000.

Misc. Information about ACS:

The American Cancer Society not only advocates for policy change to benefit research and resources, they have provided millions and millions of dollars in grants for cancer research. ACS provides prevention and treatment education to patients, including fitness assessments, eating habits, and treatment option explanations. They’ve partnered with Pantene Pro-V to collect real hair for wigs to cancer patients who cannot afford the expensive price-tag on those items - which I’ve blogged about before, as I donated 8 inches myself to this program just a few months ago.

56,840 - the estimated # of new cancer cases in Ohio in 2008 alone.

yay! Mike and I signed the lease for our new apartment in Findlay. I’ll move there in April, because my lease in BG ends then. And Mike will move in after the wedding! Holy cow it’s so much more space then I’ve ever had in an apartment! A real laundry ROOM and a walk-in closet in the master bedroom! Yippie!

He is good-hearted, “Ask me anything. I’ll answer any question.” And her first question is if he had ever ridden in first class on an airplane. “Oh no! Even if I could afford it, I would not do that.” He is pleasant and friendly. I typically am immediately annoyed by chatty seat-mates on a 3 hour flight when all I want at that point is to get to my parent’s house - but Patel is a nice reminder that there are interesting people out there.

Window Seat Girl is telling Patel all she knows about Hinduism and the Indian culture that she had been reading in books. It’s making him laugh a lot. I think she is a little wrong with some things, but what she does know impresses him. He is a really kind teacher. Explaining a little about how it all came to be, and how his people got to where they settled - sadly I’m missing all of those details because of some loud cough-ers to my left.

Patel and I chat about weddings once Window Seat Girl falls asleep. He had flown to Detroit to attend his niece’s wedding. It had been planned in just 3 weeks and they kept it small, to about 50-100 guests. I mention my sister’s engagement to Sarath, and the multiple ceremonies that would follow. I can’t help talking a little bit about it (sorry you two) and he seems excited for them. He says Italians are just like Indians, and he likes Italians a lot. He really loves pizza, “All Indians do really. We leave for some time, and the first thing we do when we get back is eat pizza. New Jersey has the best…something about their ovens, I’m not sure.” He pulls out his iPod Touch and shows me pictures of his nephew’s New Jersey wedding some months ago. They traveled by boat to the bride’s parent’s house - some of the pictures had the NYC skyline in the background. The colors are vibrant even in the iPod pictures. And it makes me more excited for Stacey & Sarath’s wedding in September.

About half way into the flight, Patel asks to grab his bag from the overhead compartment. He pulls it down and we get settled back into our seats, seat belts securely fastened. He pulls one zip lock bag out of his bag. I will realize later how “in this day and age” it might be unsafe to eat food from a stranger’s back pack, but that thought doesn’t enter my mind yet - he’s an honest man. He had all these snacks from the wedding, the family insisted he take some even though he kept refusing. “I didn’t want their snacks. I have food at home, what do they think I am? But here I am, bags and bags of food in my carry-on luggage.” The first bag contains a puffed rice mixture that has chili peppers and peanuts I believe, the rice was flattened, very thin flakes. He says it’s a common breakfast. I’m not exactly what you would call an adventurous eater, and even the idea of ’spice’ scares me and my stomach. I can’t resist my first taste of Indian food though, so I accept his offer of a taste. It was delicious. The spice has a power to it, leaving almost a sting on my tongue but not exactly a bad sting at all. The second bag contains a crunchy type bread, almost like a toasted pita bread…that’s the only thing I can think of to compare it to. Window Seat Girl at this point has woken up and is also enjoying a sampling of the food. She asks what was in it and Patel simply replies, “spices”. The third bag has a flat bread with veggies cooked into it and of course, spices. It’s delicious. “Well it’s a really common flat bread. With spices, of course. This stuff can last you forever. If I travel, I have some. It just lasts and lasts and never goes bad. A good snack. Healthy.”

I’m so thirsty, just from snacks and being in the airplane making hydration important but I’m not necessarily ready to wash the taste out yet. So I wait. Our flight is coming to a close. Landing, at the gate, get your bags and shuffle out the plane.

I express by gratitude to Patel, and wish him safe travels as he continued home to Arizona. I laugh and joke that he is safe now from the awful snow which we had talked about earlier.

“Oh yes yes. Have fun with your family and Merry Christmas. I’m glad you enjoyed Indian Food 101.”