Much has happened, not least the arrival of the Boddhisatva and then her departure along with the Gentleman Friend to a conference while I have stayed on in the Bay Area. It’s easier to be with difficult relatives when there are not others around as I am not on guard and trying to keep everyone […]
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Up a Windy Hill
We were supposed to go to Carmel but dreading the long drive and particularly on a sunny day, decided to stay in and instead go for a stroll up Windy Hill. This turned out to be an excellent idea. I found a walking guide online which took us off the main path, down gulches, over […]
Chaat shaat
A quick drive over to Sunnyvale, which is where all the Chinese and desis come to settle, apparently. It was a place of strip malls, unlike wooded Woodside, first strip malls in Chinese, then in Hindi. We had some extremely tasty chaat – I’m afraid I overate – and then went off to an Indian […]
Cal cuisine
Last night we met an old school friend for dinner. It was at a health food-ish restaurant that I was originally somewhat suspicious of, as it was full of gluten-free ancient grains, wellness talk, superfoods regardless of air miles and had calorie counts on the menu. Such places, aside from the Gwyneth Paltrow aura, tend […]
Breaking waves
Yesterday, Sunday, we went first to the Palo Alto farmer’s market. Singificantly nicer than the other part of the Palo Alto, although still full of unpleasant people including, I understand, Mark Zuckerberg’s preferred hangout. We bought some highly organic and overpriced steamed dim sum which sadly lacked all finesse and tasted mostly of corn flour. […]
Going to San Francisco
Yesterday, our first day in California, we went down to Stanford and Palo Alto in the afternoon. I’m afraid it was all quite repellent. Stanford is not an attractive campus to my mind, it gives off a distinct ‘we own you’ feeling and it was probably the first time I’d ever been to a university […]
Sunset over Hilo
The Surfer Dude had promised to take us to a beach where we were sure to see turtles, so he came to collect us at around 4.30 and took us to the other side of town, near the airport. After a grim series of warehouses and factories came an older part of town, with colourful […]
Shame
Every time I think that I have reached the height of disgust and despair, a new height is reached. I’m used to it from Pakistan, and now buffeted by it from every direction.
Born-again Rachman
Yesterday was my busiest day in a while, and just before I staggered off to bed I saw a newpaper headline about ‘Sheriff Fatman’ by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine. The song (which I like) immediately got stuck in my head and unfortunately it is not the type of music that lulls you to sleep. […]
Shocker
Woke up this morning, my spidey sense tingling, and yes there was an urgent work message which had me instantly awake and slaving away. Then a glance at the Guardian caused my jaw to drop. The next act in the Brexit drama: the Speaker has said that the government can’t hold a third ‘meaningful vote’ […]