welcome, maya!

maya arrived at precisely 00:32 on april 14th, 2006.

they say you can never predict when you will have the next one. some even say that it’s not in our hands and that somehow the powers that be must have something to do with it. this was certainly true in maya’s case. although i had wanted another one for a long time (the older one is 4 years old after all!), vidhya was totally against it. “aren’t you happy messing up the one we have?”, she always chided.

“but it’s good to have two”, i said. “they would be so well connected even if only through waves. they could communicate with each other and work well with one another. one could even step up when the other is feeling down!”, but to no avail. as always is the case in these situations, though, i knew patience was a virtue. something would happen someday to change it all – i just knew it.

and then, one day it did.

“she checked out well and is in really great shape – you need have no worry about her.” those words still echoed in mind as i gently placed her in my car and strapped her down. she was silent now, but i knew the minute we got home, things would change. i was already going over the huge checklist i had prepared to make sure she would feel her best. i was especially worried about her catching something harmful from the outside world – vulnerable as she was right now. but i had just the stuff for her at home – stuff that had worked well for her sibling. i would never let her even look at the outside world without that.

when i brought her home and first took her into her room, i could almost feel the sibling rivalry in the air. the older one stood impassively in the corner and just hummed to herself. “oh don’t be silly”, i scolded, “i’ll love you both the same!”

i set about going over the various paraphernalia that one always deals with before one is sure everything is just fine for the new arrival. for me, everything had to be just right. although she came with a big list of instructions on how to hold her, lift her and why sudden vibrations are bad for her, i didn’t need to read them at all – i had had enough experience with the older one.

once she was settled in , i stood still for a moment and listened closely. sure enough, there were the steady rhythms – simply music to my ears. i couldn’t believe it – i now had two of them!

even before we had gotten home i had already made up my mind about what the new one would become – i mean it was obvious.

she would be my document server – she does have 200 gb after all.

i quickly set about logging on, installing all the firewall softwares to keep her safe, plugged her into the world wide web and started typing:

maya# apt-get …

yes, i am the proudest father in the world today as i watch the two of my beauties humming peacefully in the office.

their mother, though, couldn’t care less.