About Dad

I work as a Software Engineer for a small non-profit organization whose mission is to "educate and empower youth to make their Internet experiences safe and responsible". I usually enjoy my work but there are days...

For fun (, fitness & pain) I like to ride a road bike (as in bicycle). This has been a fairly recent passion of mine. It started a little over a year ago, I had started running to get in shape and lower my cholestrol and hated it. Running is too much work for covering very little distance. As a kid in India, I used to ride my bicycle to school everyday so I thought of riding to work. I started off on a hybrid bike (fatter tires, lower max. speed), then borrowed a co-worker's (thanks Paul!) old road bike (narrower tires, higher max. speed) and I was hooked. I started riding to work 3 days a week, my building was only 5 miles away but I took a route in the morning that took me by the ocean and was 14 miles long and in the evening I'd do the short 5 mile ride home. When my schedule changed I started riding during my lunch hour with Paul, he is a tri-athlete (well, he was until his first child arrived, he plans on coming out of retirement with the LA Triathlon this September). Recently, my company moved buildings and my current building doesn't have any showers so I need to come up with a creative way of smelling clean...any ideas besides a ton of deodorant?

Of all the bike rides I've been on around San Diego, a few stand out. My absolute favorite bike ride has to be the first ride I did this year on the 2nd of January. I had planned to ride down the coast but when I woke up it was raining pretty hard. I always thought that if I went out in the rain I would get sick, so I resigned myself to staying home when Elizabeth told me to just go and have fun. I did. I went for a two and a half hour ride and it was awesome! It has to be one of the hardest rides I've done because of the strong winds and the pounding rain. What stood out to me the most was the ocean, she looked like an enraged green beast...and I didn't fall sick!

One of my daily highlights is driving to/from work, the short 5 mile trip never fails to put a smile on my face when I'm having a bad day. I knew God had blessed me with my perfect mate when she turned to me one morning almost 4 years ago and said, "Honey, if you want a sports car, I think you should get it now while you are young, in California and we don't have any kids." 2 months later, I was the proud owner of a 1995 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo. The Z has certainly been expensive to maintain but she's worth it.

This past year, I took a big step of faith by joining the leadership team at BSF (Bible Study Fellowhip). This year we have been studying the book of Genesis. The nature, character and relationship of God with His people has been an insightful study. I am very thankful that the God I serve is unchanging. Three nuggets of wisdom that I have been blessed with this year are:

1. "You are the God who sees me" Genesis 16:13 - When Hagar ran away from Sarai because she was mistreated, the angel of the Lord came and comforted her.
2. "The Lord Will Provide" Genesis 22:14 - A test of Abraham's faith and a glimpse of God's plan for mankind's redemption.
3. God has a plan for my life. I got this nugget from the life of Joseph. His was the first "Rags to Riches" story recorded. Here is a man who went through years of patient suffering and humiliation to eventually become Pharaoh's second-in-command and to say to his brothers who sold him into slavery, "...do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you" Genesis 45:5

The photo album has been updated with some 21 wk pictures of Elizabeth.

Flashback...Elizabeth's college years

I never thought that I would attend a big university. I had dreams of attending a small private Christian college. Thankfully, God had other plans for me. I still remember the first time that I took a tour of Purdue with my mom. We had prayed together on the drive up to West Lafayette and asked God to make it clear if He wanted me at Purdue. As we were walking around campus I had this strong feeling that I belonged at Purdue - it just felt so right.

I decided to go 'pot luck' for a roommate and ended up being paired with the perfect match - Lis. Besides sharing the same name we also had many values and beliefs in common. Lis and I shared a dorm room at Earhart hall for 2 years and then our first apartment on Littleton street during our junior year. We not only lived together but we also attended a lot of the same classes, church on Sundays and other college activities. Lis was such a great roommate and friend.

My closest friend during college was Kate. We met during our freshman year and instantly hit it off. It didn't take long before we were inseparable. Some of my most fond college memories involve Kate. Weekly 'coffee with Kate', walks around campus and watching her get baptized in the Wabash river. Kate was not only my dear friend she was also the victim of my many practical jokes!

During my senior semester I had the privilege & pleasure of living with four friends. Jen, Amy, Corinne & Rachel. We formed a fast bond and quickly it felt like I was living with four sisters. We ate together, prayed together, laughed together and cared for each other. My only regret is that I only got to live with them for a semester before moving to San Diego for my senior internship. I will always cherish the memories of time spent with the four of them.

-Elizabeth

One Special Day...

To play the video, click on the play button. The first time you play it, as it loads, it may appear choppy, just remember to play it a second time and it will be smooth. To pause the video or control the volume, put your mouse over the video and the control bar will appear.

Baby O is a....GIRL!!

A profile shot of Baby O.
What you see is her head, her nose, her lips and her chest going from right to left.
Praise God! He has blessed us with the hope of a baby girl!

Today was the big day, the day we found out if Baby O was a boy or a girl. This past weekend was the first time it hit us, we are to be blessed with a creation of God for the rest of our lives. Wow! When we sat down last night and talked about it, we both knew we would be grateful for this miracle no matter what the gender of the child. Elizabeth did not have any "vibes" about Baby O. According to the old wives tales 50% of them pointed to a girl and the rest pointed to a boy! Being male, I knew it would be a lot more comfortable for me if Baby O was a boy. But lo and behold! God has decided to expand my comfort zone and I am grateful! When she arrives, her name will be Maya Jasmine D'lima, but until then, she will continue to be our beloved Baby O.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

-Psalm 139:13-16

Flashback...Vivek's college years

The college years... arguably the best years of one's youth. The first opportunity for a young adult to step out on his own and experience life outside the comfort and protection of home. I landed in West Lafayette, IN on 15th August, 1995, fresh off the plane from the Sultanate of Oman. When I sat down to write about this time in my life, I didn't know where to begin. I thought about my first day on campus; my first college class in a HUGE classroom with what seemed like hundred's of other students. What really stood out to me that day was the variety in hair color. Can you imagine seeing nothing but black hair and an occasional speck of brown for most of your life and then coming to the US where there are so many different colors, all in the same room and its not the circus!! And then I thought of all the people I've met in the four years I was there. I don't remember the names of most of them and there are only 2 that I am still in regular contact with but I enjoyed getting to know them and their families. Thinking of the times I spent with them and their families over the numerous breaks brings a smile to my face, following are just some of the highlights:

Matt:
I visited Matt's family one year during Thanksgiving break in Booneville, IN (no, I am not kidding, that is a real place!). His brother Dan (aka 'Dan the Man') and I went for a spin in his dad's vintage baby blue Mercedes, it was one of the first manual transmission cars that I drove, it was an experience (right up there with the time I drove a Ferrari 328GTS, but I'll save that story for another time). As we were headed back home, it blew its valve cover gasket, belched a huge cloud of black smoke and died just as we rolled into the driveway (I wasn't driving, thank God, and I don't appreaciate any connections made between me and its demise). I don't think that car has ever been the same and last I heard, it was looking for a new owner. Another time, late at night, Dan, I and some other guys went out in the country with a spotlight hoping to spot some deer when we got pulled over by the neighborhood cop who wanted to make sure we weren't drinking (we weren't, we were seriously trying to spot some deer). On the way back to Purdue at the end of another break, we saw a deer up close as it ran into us. Thankfully, it didn't do to much damage to the truck and it was well enough to scamper back into the woods.
Michael:
I visited Micahel's family over Thanksgiving break in 1997, they lived in a real log cabin, it was awesome. I got to drive a tractor for the first time at his place and thankfully nothing broke or exploded. I went with his family and a bunch of friends down to Pensacola, FL for an experience I'll never forget.
Justin:
Hmmm.... I think I visited Justin's family over spring break one year. I got to drive a lawn mower at his place. His parent's thought I was crazy because they had never met anyone who was so excited to mow their yard. What can I say? I just love driving different types of vehicles.... :)

I loved my years at Purdue, they will always have a special place in my heart. After graduating I went on to grad school at the University of California, San Diego but I was too busy surviving the workload and I never had the time to socialize like I did at Purdue.

Hail, Hail To Old Purdue!
All Hail To Our Old Gold And Black!
Hail, Hail To Old Purdue!
Our Friendship May She Never Lack.
Ever Grateful, Ever True,
Thus We Raise Our Song Anew;
Of The Days We've Spent With You,
All Hail Our Own Purdue!