States trip - continued.

I didn't think the trip could get any more epic when I wrote the last post, but guess what; that's exactly what it did! AND MAN, IS SAN FRANCISCO THE PLACE TO BE! The Green Tortoise, The Alcatraz State Penitionary, the California Academy of Sciences, the little French chocolate shop with the tour guide showing the old ladies around with 79cents chocolates apiece (which I took 10 pieces of- all different flavors :D), Ghirardelli with its mouth watering chocolate-coated strawberries, the unique restaurants at every corner (I still ate at the Hard Rock at Pier 41- 25 bucks for a burger- my most expensive meal in the States- the Shrimp omelette at the Venice Beach comes close though)(and Sushi in Chinatown- try CRAB- its better than fish; and try eating a spoonful of Wasabi at once- its an experience to be had; but don't say i didn't warn you!) , the Colt tower with a brilliant view of the liveliest city I've ever set foot in - its a gay city alright! To summarize: SF DESTROYS!
And then the excursion to the East coast (which, in my humble opinion, sucks monster balls compared to the West- as Morrison croons "..the West is the Best..") But yeah, there was distant family in Glen Allen, Richmond, VA (big homes, big cars, big wastages- a recurrent theme : Americans waste far too much food, electricity, water : everything); lots of AIIMS friends in Philadelphia (10 of them in a single city and I'm only talking about people just 5 years senior to me- A day will come when we will be able to open mini AIIMS in every major Eastern US city) ; and big buildings in NY (probably the most overrated city in the world- its like the downtown of every US city has been brought together and all the immigrants cramped together). I liked DC though, with its imposing majestic buildings and an air of defiance and power about it (There were even a few SF-like lively Victorian houses making you reminisce of the Painted Ladies of Haight and Ashbury)- would've enjoyed it more were it not for the immense sleepiness courtesy a terrible overnight AA flight (and yeah, it was my birthday that day) - I slept through the 3D show from the moment the glasses were on and decided to skip most of the museums which are not exactly coffee substitutes.

Okay, so what was most memorable about my entire trip?
Nothing comes close to these 2 though there were plentiful other mini-interesting occasions, and these deserve dedicated posts:
1. The day we (almost) got lost in the wilderness of the Mojave(desert) at the end of a 11 kilometer trek with no supplies, no maps and misleading signboards!
2. The Beerlympics night at the Green Tortoise (I already had a Beerlympics T!!) - with Beer Pong, Flip Cup and Boat Race and the most amount of fun I've had in 4 consecutive hours with people I hardly knew to this date !!

FUN is my motto, ROCK is my anthem.

So, am on this EPIC trip to LA and man, is it fun! Each weekend has overshadowed the previous one- the first one was the unbelievably crazy Halloween parade (even if u were there, it was hard to believe ur eyes and ears- the single most crazy gathering of weirdos I've seen in my life!)- man that was something! The 2nd one was the Diwali weekend at which I scavenged out a Diwali party in this American urban jungle with diyas, sweets, Texas hold em and real Indians! (No, we do not call them Native Americans) and a cricket game next day in the awesome sunny November California weather in the UCLA grounds with inter Business schools soccer games going on around and this hilarious Pakistani guy chipping in with some 'profound' commentary! Move on to the next one- in which I found a nice little apartment in Culver City. Next day, brunched on apple n cinnamon pancakes at Crepe Cafe; and loitered and bicycled (what a wonderfully simple machine) in the still majestic SoCal weather at Santa Monica and Venice beaches with Carmen and Barbara. The following weekend was indeed one of the best I've ever spent- at the Yosemite National Park near Sacramento; and IT SNOWED!!!( My first! - and Yosemite's 1st in 50 years that early) and the weekend was all white n powdery- full of snowballs n fur n gloves n sausages n coffee n maple syrup pancakes! We even spotted a bear- and the drive was pleasant though long. The just elapsed weekend was a totally spontaneous trip to Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs with 7 mile treks in deserts n cacti n outdoor Jacuzzis n cocktails in swimsuits n saunas n cooking in hotel rooms n fire alarms n casinos n shopping outlets n CalvinKlein jeans and Charlie the dog. :) This weekend is yet to elapse.

And believe it or not, there's still a month to go in which 20 days are reserved exclusively for having fun with no other preoccupations! Remind me- why am I here again ? :D

You and it.

If you don't know about it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
If you don't think its true, doesn't mean its false.
Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean its not beautiful.
But what you say will make a difference to it nonetheless...
(Hey! I just made this up, and it looks pretty neat to me)

PLAN, not SAVE.

The word is plan, not save. Saving is for those who're afraid of the future.

Lost for Words

"While you are wasting your time on your enemies
Engulfed in a fever of spite
Beyond your tunnel vision reality fades
Like shadows into the night

So I open my door to my enemies
And I ask could we wipe the slate clean
But they tell me to please go fuck myself
You know you just can't win."

"Believin' all the lies that they're tellin' ya,
Buyin' all the products that they're sellin' ya.
They say jump, and you ask how high.
You brain-dead, you gotta fuckin' bullet in ya head."
- Bullet in the head, Rage against the Machine.

Approval

Dogs seek approval, not men. Be a man.