My Flightmare...

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Okay so I think I am one of those people who are always accompanied by a bout of bad luck while traveling by planes...you know...the people who inadvertently have flight delays, cancellations, airport closures (that's right), lost baggages, planes sitting on the runway for hours and the list goes on. I do feel bad for the folks travelling with me as they indirectly get subjected to my awesome travel luck as well :p

But today I thought I should chronicle my worst travelling experience till date. My last worst experience was when I was travelling from India to the States and I had to deal with the following -

1. Plane sitting on the runway for hours prior to takeoff

2. A TSA attendant who almost lost my boarding pass

3. The delay, delay, delay at the John F Kennedy airport at NYC

4. Finally the shut down aka complete closure of the airport due to bad weather

5. Thus staying the night at JFK since the airlines was too cheap to give us hotel vouchers

6. Reaching my final destination (after a total of 36 hours of travel) the next morning after several more flight delays, boarding gate changes and so on only to find out that my luggage was lost in transit. (I received my bags three days later)

Until recently, I thought I had nothing that could top this story but last week I found out just how wrong I was. Here's what happened when I was returning to Chicago from NYC last week -
1. Regular flight, what a joke, delay, delay, delay, delay, mechanical problem so now flights canceled.
2. Last flight of the day so re-booked for 7 am the next morning, 6 am on standby.
3. Got into a fight with this Indian lady trying to cut into the line in front of me and several other passengers.
4. Airline gives us a voucher for an airport hotel and tells us to take the hotel shuttle. More than half hour later, no hotel shuttle.
5. Finally decide to just take a cab to the hotel, stood half hour in the cab line in my formal suit on what was one of the hottest days in NY this summer and was 'this' close to passing out.
6. Finally get a cab with a lady driver who half way there informs me that she has no idea where the hotel is, has no GPS, and can barely speak English. At this point we are near the road to the Bronx, I freak out, and tell her to just drop me at the airport again.
7. At the airport (it's 10:30 at night now), I decide to take the hotel shuttle. Upon reaching the hotel, they are completely booked. I offer to pay them, but no-can't-do, no room available. I take the hotel shuttle to the airport again.
8. Found the airline counter and told them the problem. They call numerous hotels, all booked, and finally find one that has availability. Quickly go to this new hotel shuttle with several passengers in a similar situation (flights canceled) and half the folks are turned back at this hotel too as it got overbooked.
10. The good part - I got a room. The bad part - this was an airport hotel. I had always heard horror stories about how bad airport hotels are and this one was no exception. I found a corner in the hotel room and just laid there for three hours and took the first shuttle (at 4 am) to the airport.

Thankfully I got into the standby flight at 6 am and reached home without further commotion.

But add to all this the numerous fights I saw break out among passengers because 1. it was New York 2. everyone was jittery and agitated. Also add to this the absolutely dickhead like people at the airlines, at the airport, at the hotel, almost everywhere in New York that I came across and this was a recipe for a nightmare that I cannot forget.

Now I need to tell myself to take a deep breath, calm down, and remind myself that this was several days ago. Oh wait, but I heard I might have to travel to NY again! You have got to be kiddin' me! :-|

Happy Father's Day!

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Dear Dad,

Today, I just want to Thank You.

For...

...teaching me everything that I know
...being there for me every step of the way
...guiding me through the not-so-food times
...listening to my constant chatter, my raves, and my rants
...understanding what I feel even before I say it
...laughing out loud as we share one of our many private jokes
...being proud of me...now and always
...standing by me nomatterwhat
...taking my side in fights no matter who is on the other side
...teaching me the value of things
...teaching me the value of health
...motivating me to do my best and give my best
...scolding me when I deserve it (not too often though :-))
...praising my cooking (? :-))
...being my best friend in times of need
...teaching me the difference between right and wrong
...explaining things to me even after I refuse to understand them for the umpteenth time
...putting up with all my tantrums and mood swings
...depuzzling the puzzles that I seem to create :-)
...always always giving me the best advise
...being able to make me smile within seconds
...accepting my decisions and having absolute faith in them
...speaking your heart out to me
...cheering me on from my school races to my life races
...knowing my choice and taste without thinking twice
...making me who I am today
...for all this and so much more that words fall short

The list goes on but...
...who knows better than you, everything that I want to say
So here's wishing you a Very Happy Father's Day!

Your little girl, now & always,
Me

Gossip Girl



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So lately I've been sorta hooked to this show called Gossip Girl. Well me and half the American population probably :p That's really how famous this show has become. And it's almost gathered a cult following of sorts. The show first aired in 2007 so I am lagging behind quite a bit. But better late than never so I started watching this from Season 1 - Episode 1 and realized that I am officially hooked!

Gossip Girl trails the lives of New Yorks Upper East Siders (aka the rich and the famous crème de la crème of New Yorks elite) through the eyes and words of an unknown blogger who only refers to herself as Gossip Girl. The story revolves around two best friends - Blair Waldorf and Serena Van Der Woodsen and their turmoils, their friendship, their love interests, and yes, their fashion! Which brings me to IMO one of the most important aspects of this show - The Fashion! The couture and the styles are absolutely incredible so much so that it makes me want to hijack their show stylist for myself! :-)

You also have some multi varied characters on this show. You have Blair who is pretty and popular but always sidetracked by her best friend Serena who is gorgeous without having to try too hard. There is Nate, Blair's boyfriend who has always had a thing for Serena. There's Chuck Bass, the essential baddy bad boy of the show. And then there's Dan Humphrey your average boy-next-door who gets pulled into this world of glamor and glitter on accord of being Serena's boyfriend. And finally there's Jenny, Dan's sister, who's only dream is being part of the rich and famous inner circle.

Since this show introduces audiences to the life of Manhattan's elite, it does illustrate their typical daily activities. While the parents are off to earn money and are stellar epitomes of the American Dream albeit with an occasional coke problem, the kids are off to private schools, ivy league colleges, Sunday brunches, Masquerade parties, and elite sleep-overs complete with private manicurists, all while being part of a convenient trust fund.

I do feel the theme of the show can also be read as money can't buy you happiness ;) It is kinda sad to watch that sometimes no amount of prep schooling, or expensive clothes, or fancy cars, can get you the happiness that you desire. But all in all, this show is good entertainment and most importantly keeps me from getting bored on those dull-but-rare free hours that I get. :-)

That's all for today and in the words of Gossip Girl herself - 'xoxo - Me' ;)

President Obama - Home Sweet Home

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This Friday, June 1st 2012, my regular commute home from work took a little over half an hour. The reason - road blocks on Michigan, Randolph, Washington Street etc. And because - President Barack Obama was returning to his home in Chicago to spend some quality time with himself. So that explains the plethora of reporters, cops, supporters, protesters, and other just curious folks hanging around with their cell phones handy to take a quick snap of the President. (No, I did not join this crowd of onlookers, but I suppose it would have been cool to get a sneak peak of our infamous President).

Based on news reports, President Obama wanted to relax at his Kenwood/Hyde Park home where he has not had an overnight stay since almost a year. Apparently the President was just 15 minutes away from his home during the recent NATO Summit in Chicago, however, he was not allowed to go home as that would have increased the already crazy traffic et all that Chicago was being subjected to during the NATO Summit.

So maybe that was what triggered his homecoming urge. Or maybe it's the pressure thats mounting high on the President, what with elections coming up in September, the recent flak that he received for supporting same-sex marriages, and the latest nationwide jobs report that he received on Friday indicating that only 69,000 new jobs were created in May along with an increase in the unemployment rate.

Whatever the reason, Chicago was happy to see him back. Incidentally, his wife, Michelle Obama, and his kids did not accompany him here. He was also found strolling the Hyde Park neighbourhood on Saturday morning with his White House advisor. When asked by reporters whether he cooked breakfast as well, he promptly replied no since he woke up late. Good times, eh?

Welcome home, Mr. President albeit for only a weekend. Sure the White House has its perks and all, but home is where the heart is, isn't it?

Trip to San Diego!

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Having just returned from an extended long weekend vacation from San Diego, I feel more than obliged to write about it in this blog entry. So here goes. I believe, and I think most people will agree, that California has always been a separate animal on it's own. It has it's own unique traits and characteristics. Take for example, it's various cities - Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Los Angeles - all seem to have their own distinct take on what it's like to be a part of California. Same goes for San Diego - I truly felt that this was a city that portrayed a sort of quaint and subtle demeanor, if you will.

San Diego had numerous good places to visit, sightsee, and relax. Listed here are the one's that we visited - 



Point Loma Lighthouse

Point Loma Lighthouse, Cabrillo National Monument - I would like to start by stating that I have a thing for lighthouses! There is just something about lighthouses that draws me to them - I always feel they seem to display an auro of serenity and peace. I often start wondering about the history attached to them and basically get enthralled by their presence. So no points for guessing that this was the first place we visited upon our arrival to San Diego. This particular lighthouse was built in 1855 and I could not help but start to wonder what tales could be told if only it's walls could speak. Also surrounding the lighthouse were sweeping harbor views stretching from as far as Mexico to the east of Los Angeles. Those were a definite treat for sore eyes.

  

La Jolla Beach

La Jolla Beach - This has got to be my second most favorite beach (the first always always being the beaches in Goa). The La Jolla beach was a quintessential little beach that was beyond beautiful. In fact the beach was so serene that even mammals such as sea lions could not keep themselves at bay (pun intended :-)) You could literally see dozens of them basking in the sunlight on the cliffs. What was nice was the extra care that was taken to avoid hurting them. For instance, during the times when the sea lions ventured onto the beach, beach goers were requested not to go onto the beach in order to avoid scaring them.

The sunsets at the beach were phenomenal, so much so that we tried to go there each and every evening. You could also see a number of scuba divers in the ocean. The real estate surrounding the beach was absolutely gorgeous with a price ranging from anywhere between 1 to 7 million dollars (phew!). But it was easy to understand why it was what it was. The town of La Jolla including the restaurants surrounding the beach were really quaint and had a sleepy rich town feel to it. A dinner at one of the restaurants on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean was especially memorable due to it's fabulous views.

Mission Beach - This was the other beach that we tried out. This was more of a typical beach with thousands of beach goers, beach umbrellas, frisbee players, and what have you. If all you want to do is sun bathe with a million other people then this is the spot for you :-) Incidentally, we were not huge fans of this beach.

Hotel Del Coronado



Hotel Del Coronado @ Coronado Island - Coronado Island was a cute little beach town connected to San Diego downtown via a single expansive bridge. The island is most famous for its Hotel Del Coronado which is a Victoria style beach resort built in 1988. The resort has been featured in numerous movies and has housed everybody from presidents to celebrities and other royalties. The beach town itself was lined with small restaurants, shops, and boutiques. A good place to stroll about, shop, eat, and relax.

Gaslamp Quarter

Gaslamp Quarter, East Village & Little Italy -  In the heart of San Diego downtown was the historic district of Gaslamp Quarter. This area had a plethora of restaurants, shops, bars, and more. We had one of the best brunch ever at this one nondescript café called The Mission in East Village which is adjoining the Gaslamp Quarter. I have always felt that California has much better food and food options including much healthier choices and smaller portion sizes (which is a good thing) as compared to the East coast or the Midwest. And if anyone requires proof of this, all they have to do is visit The Mission. Breakfast included Mexican fusion dishes such as (my favorite) Papas Loco which consisted of  rosemary potatoes, grilled jalapeños, black beans, very little cheese, avocado slice and sour cream. Absolutely delicious! Little Italy was another area adjoining the Gaslamp and we had one of our best Italian meals ever at the Bencotto Italia. This restaurant has won awards for the Best Italian in SD Magazine 2010-12 etc. and rightly so!

San Diego Safari Park

San Diego Zoo, San Diego Safari Park, SeaWorld - Finally a mention about San Diego's infamous zoos and safaris. We visited all three and were able to do so easily in a span of two days. But if you had to choose between these, I would recommend not missing the Safari Park. This was located around 30 miles from downtown and is a park built in the wilderness. It offers several different types of safaris such as the Cheetah Safari (meet the Cheetah's up-close and personal), the Caravan Safari (hand feed the giraffes and rhinos), the Rolling Safari (segway tour of the park), Roar & Snore Safari (camp out in the wilderness and spend the night listening to the roar and growl of tigers and lions) etc. What was nice about this park was the animals were kept in their natural habitat for the most part and not confined to cages as is the case in a typical zoo. At the end of the day, they also offered a Cheetah run where you could watch the Cheetahs run full gait in the open. The Safari Park has also apparently secured 800 acres of surrounding land to protect other wildlife such as rabbits, deers, mountain lions etc. in their natural habitat. These animals are not part of the park but stay without fear of human encroachment in the acres surrounding the park.

The San Diego SeaWorld also warrants a visit if not for anything else then for watching Shamu, the killer whale show. It was really endearing to watch how mammals respond to human signs and hidden languages and one really starts to wonder how these mammals were trained in the first place.

Finally, I would like to mention a few other things that caught our notice such as the weather which was slightly chilly due to the wind (yes, yes although it's California). You could also notice a lot of homeless people around downtown and some of the other areas. And a final mention about a must eat spot (for non-vegetarians) - the infamous In-N-Out burger. Unfortunately there was nothing in here for us, but I have heard the burgers are so good that apparently even Angelina Jolie stopped by to pick up burgers here after the Oscars, which is funny when you think about it :-)

All in all, this was a memorable vacation once you minus the tedious flight and travel time from Chicago to San Diego. My verdict - A nice place to visit if you have kids, a one time place to visit if you don't. :-)

The Kite Runner

I really believe that blogging is an excellent way to share some of the things that I come across in my daily life that warrant a special mention and acknowledgment. This novel - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is one such thing.

I absolutely love Goodreads.com and one of the things I heart about it is the ratings and category system that they have. So for instance, there would be a category for 'Best Books of the 20th Century' or another one for 'Books that took me completely by surprise'. This latter category is where I often came across this book and did not give it much of a thought. Reading the summary of this book did not have much of an impact on me either as emotional sagas are really not my thing and this sounded like a frontrunner candidate for the same. So long story short, never bothered requesting this book from the library and frankly never planned to in the future as well.

That was until the day I came across this book in the mini library in my building and decided to pick it up on a last minute impulse. I almost put it down again but then thought hey, what the heck. And that is how I laid my hands on quite possibly one of the best books that I've read in recent times.

I remember wanting to start reading the first few pages purely out of curiosity. And that was it! That was all it took to get me hooked! The first thing that I noticed was the absolutely gripping writing style. The author seems to pull you into the world of the novel and it's characters from the first page. I truly believe some people 'write books' while others are 'writers'. Khaled Hosseini fits into the second category. And for me, these are the kind of books that are an absolute pleasure to read! (I can hardly wait to start reading the authors second novel - A Thousand Spendid Suns which is rumored to be even better than The Kite Runner.)

From this point on I would like to give a Spoiler Alert, so you may want to stop reading from here if you do not want anything of the book revealed. The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, an affluent Afghan boy and his best friend Hassan who is the house help. The story unfolds from a first person narrative (i.e. from Amir's perspective) which may throw some people off but first person narratives generally work well for me. The novel tells the story of their friendship and the turmoil that overtakes their lives following a certain incident. The story follows the protagonists life across two different nations and his eventual journey towards his homeland for redemption. Along the way, the readers are taken through Afghanistan's journey through the decades and how it has affected the lives of it's people.

I believe this novel has different shades. It is a mirror to the face of society and to us as human beings. Are we really this selfish? Does loyalty like Hassan's truly exist? Can humans enforce (or endure) such cruelty? And so on and so forth. This novel tells you a lot about human nature, what differentiates us from one another, and the irony that is life. It speaks about the impact that our decisions have, not just on us but also on those around us. 

Your heart goes out to some of the characters in the book. The story of Afghanistan is certainly heart wrenching as the author vividly takes the readers through decades of Afghan history. Throughout the book, I felt like I was watching the story unfold via words rather than reading it. And I would also like to state here that this has been the only book that literally gave me heart palpitations while reading some of the scenes. And that I believe is the mark of a great story and a great storyteller, to be able to have that kind of an effect on it's readers.

I think it is easy to understand why this novel has won so many awards but for me, it was the absolute magical pull into the novel and into the characters that the author was able to achieve that was the winner. Not only are you drawn into the deepest darkest intricacies of the human mind, but are also subjected to the pain of a nation to survive something that was not on accord of it's own calling. A wonderful, sad, and enlightening read.  If you can endure harsh truths and are looking for a novel with a powerful storyline, that will fascinate and grip you till the end, then I would highly recommend not missing this one!

My Love for Ethiopian Food

Today I would like to talk about what has quite possibly become my favorite cuisine as of late. The picture above depicts this - Ethiopian food. Not many people are aware about what a wonder this cuisine is - I certainly wasn't. So hopefully this blog post introduces many more people to this wonderful food and encourages them to try it out. You will certainly not be disappointed :-)



Mesob

 Firstly, I would like to start by mentioning that this is a very very good option for vegetarians, although non-vegetarians certainly won't go hungry. Plus the food is essentially quite healthy! Ethiopian cuisine is traditionally served on something called as a mesob, which is woven from straw. The lid of the mesob is opened and is used for holding the plate.

Which brings us to the next thing about this cusine - the plate. Ethiopian food is served on a simple steel plate but placed on top of the plate to hold the food is something called as an injera which is a yeast-risen sourdough flatbread (similar to the Indian 'dosa' but much more tangy). The injera is made from a special grain called 'teff'. The teff flour is allowed to ferment for several days! That gives it it's unique sour and tangy taste. The injera serves as an excellent base for the food as it has a spongy texture and holds all the liquids in place. The idea is to break off pieces of the injera and use it to scoop the entrées off the plate. Thus the injera serves a dual purpose :-) There are also separate rolled up injeras provided in case you need more (which you will).

The main courses in an Ethiopian cuisine are mainly made out of various grains, lots of spices, and different types of stews called Wats. They also have something called as a Vegetarian Fish which are chickpea balls in a spicy sauce. This is another heavenly dish that I love. There is also an Ethiopian appetizer called Sambusa which is quite similar to the Indian samosa. The most popular (and my favorite) curry is something called as Berbere which is a combination of chilli peppers and various other spices. Berbere is essentially used as a base for some of their entrées. Their side dishes consist of everything from spinach to dals to lentils to chickpeas and even cheese. Each one of them more delicious than the previous!

And now the most surprising factor. Ethiopian food is usually eaten in a single plate! And by hand! This is pretty much the only place where I have seen folks pull up their sleeves and dig into the food, by hand, along with their friends, all in the same plate. But you are more than welcome to ask for a spoon and separate plates too if that's what you desire :)

Ethiopian coffee is another speciality and a must have. It is served in this special coffee pot made out of clay.The people of Ethiopia also follow a coffee tradition and this is enacted in one of the Ethiopian restaurants in Chicago. Basically if anyone orders coffee at any table, the servers bring out a fresh pot of coffee and move it from table to table allowing everyone to smell the aroma. This is an invitation that states that we have brewed coffee and you are all invited. And after this, they serve free coffee to each and every table in the restaurant! Pretty cool!

Another speciality of Ethiopian cuisine is a honey wine called Tej. Tej is usually homemade and is essentially a mix between honey, wine, and beer (due to it's hops-like taste). This is another must-have just for tradition :)

And at the end of this, I would like to make a brief mention about the best Ethiopian restaurant that I have been to in Chicago. It's this seemingly nondescript restaurant called Ras Dashen. I have tried several other Ethiopian restaurants but none of them hold a candle to this one. Also the cherry on top is the absolutely fabulous live music that they play on Friday's and Sunday's. The music is by a band of five people, each playing a different musical instrument. The end result - simply divine! So the next time you are feeling a little adventurous and want to try out a new cuisine, I would definitely recommend Ethiopian food, if not for anything else then for the sheer experience of it!