Musings – Data Science. Theatre. Travel.

August 10, 2024August 11, 2024

Portland Anniversary Trip: A Vineyard, A Lighthouse, and Some Gastronomic Delights

Our anniversary trip to Portland this July turned out to be quite a wonderful experience. It reminded me of Mumbai to Goa getaways back in India, mostly because of the short flight from Los Angeles and the laid-back pace of Portland. It’s always nice when we can fly out of Burbank airport (just 15 mins from home) instead of LAX, which turns into an ordeal due to traffic close to the entrance. Thanks to easy Burbank to Portland flight availability, our travel was absolutely hassle-free.

The plan for the vacation was simple – spend 3 nights away from the city in Mcminnville in a sprawling vineyard, and then 3 nights in the city of Portland exploring its famous food scene. The Youngberg Hill Vineyard and Inn was in most part a rejuvenating experience with magnificent views from our room and a really cool vineyard with many charming spots to take walks and hang out. A day trip to Cape Meares Lighthouse was a great way to experience the Oregon coast. We even enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks in downtown McMinnville right thorugh the large windows of our glorious Jura room at The Youngberg Inn. Unfortunately, we had to cut our stay at the Inn one day short due to a wasp incident at the Inn and unavailability of staff to help us out. (This changed our rating of the place from 5 stars to 3.5 stars). Nevertheless, Best Western came to our rescue for one night, reminding us that sometimes the simplest of hotels can do a fantastic job of hosting guests and making sure they have a good time. We were still able to keep our dinner reservation at the La Rambla downtown and left for the city the next morning.

ALSO SEE Pacific Grove, Carmel and Solvang – Our first road trip of 2024

Our Airbnb stay in Portland was simply PERFECT. The Japanese zen-themed apartment overlooking a green cliff was just marvelous. Thanks to our gracious host, we felt at home right away and the thoughtful, artistic decor in the apartment put us in quite the dilemna – how much time to stay in vs how much time to spend outdoors exploring the city? Thankfully, we didn’t have to plan too much as just going with the flow worked out fine for us.

Walking up and down the NW 26th Ave and streets around it gave us a good taste of Portland. Food at places like Duck House, Swagat, Papa Haydn was impressive. Our most memorable gastronomic experience was Janken where we had our anniversary dinner. The way the chefs brought out the food and explained each course reminded us of our favorite show, The Bear. The interior of the restaurant was pretty and worthy of a special occasion. Staff was really sweet and professional. Some other aspects of Portland we enjoyed were – taking the stairs to easily go from the top of a hill to a different part of the city, Powell’s books (this book store is huge – takes an entire block), dessert at Papa Haydn, a drive to the Columbia scenic river gorge, visits to some charming coffee shops, and the absolutely stunning and serene Japanese garden.

All in all – Portland feels like a cute, charming city which doesn’t try to catch up with other big shots. Traffic is manageable, you can relax or got out and have fun as you please, people seem generally happy, weather is considered to be pleasant all year (we did go during a heat wave weekend and were still happy). You have the hills, the ocean, cute houses, great food and drinks, and enough inspiration for a whole TV show that has its own channel now. Can’t ask for much more, no?

CHECK OUT Paso Robles – Our last road trip of 2023

For several years, when I used to back pack across India or take trips with my friends, I used to imagine a time in the future when the woman I love will be with me and we will travel to gorgeous locales around the world. That vision seems to be coming true, one trip at a time. I am living in it now.

April 19, 2024

My take on George Sluizer’s ‘The Vanishing’

Where I grew up, the meaning of a “horror film” was a movie with several scares, some kind of ghost and/or at least one episode of posession/excorcism. However, according to the Oxford dictionary and my wife (I trust the latter more really), “horror” means an intense feeling of shock, fear or disgust. As such, many films with no ghosts or exorcisms whatsoever fall under this category. On recently learning that Stanley Kubrick claims it’s the most terrifying movie he has watched, we chose ‘The Vanishing’ (“Spoorloos” in Dutch) for our movie night. (Spoliers ahead) We paid $3.99 on Apple TV to rent it and spent a little under two hours experiencing, what I thought, was a brilliant take on a scary abduction.

I enjoyed several parts of the film. First, there is no attempt to make it a whodunnit. Quite early on in the movie, you know who did it. And still, the movie kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat. Second, I found the frames and cinematography to be very artistic. Set in France, the film did a pretty good job of giving me a sense of some French locales without making it look touristic. Third, I thought the way music was used in this film was quite interesting. It had a fine blend of silent montages with sporadic instrumental dramatic tunes. It playded well to build up the tension while still doing justice to the artistic shots. Then, the performances were quite impressive – especially Johanna ter Steege as the lively and vulnerable victim. Although I was listening to foreign languages (Dutch and French), their performances transcended the language barrier and I didn’t have to rely too heavily on the subtititles. Finally, what drove it home for me was the excellent use of metaphor. Two golden eggs floating in space. You’ll know it when you watch it.

We felt a sense of heaviness once we finished watching and I can say that this one will stay with us for a bit. Kudos to the entire team of this wonderful 1988 “horror” thriller.

April 10, 2023May 13, 2023

And there goes the first quarter…

It’s been a really speedy Q1 of 2023. You already know about Cambria, Hearst Castle and my engagement. The days following the Cambria trip have been about informing family members and loved ones, eating at our favorite spots , watching a cool production of 1984 at The Main, visiting the office and meeting some colleagues for the first time, hiking, celebrating a friend’s birthday at Anaheim, and of course – wedding preparations. From scouting venues and vendors to picking our guest list, invitation design, website content, and food menu – it’s all been one exciting adventure (and we are not done yet!). For the sake of the 2 readers who check out my website, here are some pictures from the last few days –

Hiking to Top of Victory – Yes, those are my hiking clothes

March 14, 2023

Rejoicing in RRR‘s Oscar win for Naatu Naatu

Summer and I watched the bulk of the Oscars 2023 event at Laurel Tavern in Studio City. As we sipped on beer and treated ourselves to some delicious salad and fries, I was eagerly awaiting one award – Best Original Song. Naatu Naatu from S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR had gained enough momentum to make it a front runner. However, when you consider that both Rihanna and Lady Gaga were in the running too, you can imagine why every Indian might have been cautiously optimistic.

When the moment came just before the name was announced, I felt both a bit anxious and happy in anticipation that it was indeed going to be Naatu Naatu. The electric performance by singers Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipliganj and a brilliant group of dancers had already gotten people in the auditorium rooting for it.

Ram Charan and Jr. NTR performing Naatu Naatu from RRR (Source: Netflix)

And then it happened. Janelle Monae, looking ravishing as ever, announced that the Oscar went to RRR…RRR…RRR! I applauded and hooted as the lone Indian at Laurel Tavern, with Summer and Max joining me in my enthusiasm. M. M. Keeravani singing his feelings away to the tune of ‘Top of the World’ by The Carpenters was a sweet cherry on the cake. It was truly one of those moments where I was proud of being an Indian and a Telugu boy 😊 I had forgotten what that felt like in the past few years. Thank you, Mr. Rajamouli and team RRR!

March 5, 2023March 5, 2023

The Proposal

It was always going to be in Cambria. It was the first place we had visited together as a couple and we had been wanting to go back ever since. I thought I’ll do it from the heights of Hearst Castle with panoramic views of the ocean on one side and hillocks on the other. But the castle tour turned out to be a bit ostentatious for us. Not to mention the fact that we were surrounded by 50 other tourists. So I had to improvise a bit. Thankfully, our plan to watch the sunset on all of our evenings in Cambria came in handy.

My initial plan was to propose at the Moonstone Beach grill. The idea was that I will order beer and onion rings and then use one of those rings to propose. It occured to me later that she might not take this seriously and also that she can’t be wearing this onion ring all the time. So I rejected this idea. Then, while we were strolling around on our second vacation day and she visited the restroom, I disappeared for a bit. I texted her making a lame excuse that I was looking for a birthday present for her (7 months ahead of time!) and that she can wait for me in the car. Then, I walked into our favourite antique store (Rich Man Poor Man) and bought an emerald ring which I thought suited her personality. I hid it in my jacket pocket and carried a different bag with some other purchases making her think that her present was in the bag.

Later that afternoon, we took the Hearst Castle tour (more on that later) and after the bus got us back down, I suggested that we hit our usual sunset point. But Summer had other plans – she wanted to check out the elephant seals which were at a vista point just 3 miles from the castle. We were close to sunset time and I figured that it will still be pretty there so that’s the way to go. We got there at sunset, watched the sun go down, and I was about to take the knee when some seals started losing it! It got a bit loud and Summer started joking about what they might be saying – “Look, look… I can crawl on my belly!”. And I thought it’s the perfect moment for me to get on my knee and go – “I think they are asking you to say Yes”.

Selfie taken a couple of minutes after engagement

I was about to do it when these two kids popped out of nowhere right next to us, all excited about the varying sizes and sounds of the seals. Their parents had walked further ahead, leaving these two menaces unchecked, loitering around ruining other people’s proposals. I waited patiently for them to get bored of the seals and move on so that I can propose. They hung around for 3 minutes or so (it certainly felt longer) before realizing that the parents are too far and it’s time to skedaddle. Then, I was ready again and as I was about to lunge, Summer started getting really cold from the chilly winds.

Typically, whenever we went to a cold place, Summer stayed with me for a bit and then left me alone (as I love the cold) while she went indoors to get warm. It was windy at the vista point and she couldn’t take it anymore so she said, “I’ll wait in the car, you come in whenever you are done enjoying the view.” As she started walking away, I shouted – “But if you go now, I won’t be able to do this!”. She turned around and found me on my knee holding the ring in my hand. I don’t remember my exact words but it was something to the effect of – “This is it for me. If I’m ever going to be a husband, it’s yours. What say? Let’s do this!”

Ever since we started dating, I had been implying that marriage is not for me. In our conversations about the future too, there was no indication of getting married (anytime soon anyway). So the proposal came as a huge surprise to her. Even with the lame birthday present excuse, she didn’t imagine that I might have been buying an ENGAGEMENT RING. It took her a while to even understand what was going on and if I was being serious. This is where the real ring instead of an onion ring helped. She pulled me up and hugged me and mumbled something I couldn’t hear. I could feel that she was happy but she hadn’t answered me yet. So I got out of the hug and went back on my knee. And then she threw her hands up in the air and said – “Okay!”. And just like that – we were engaged!

Dinner and art appreciation at Robin’s in Cambria

We hit the Cambria pub for some champagne followed by our favourite restaurant Robin’s for dinner. It took some time for us to grasp what had happened. Our farm stay 5 miles from town provided the perfect ambaince for us to take it all in and begin a new chapter in our lives! Exciting times ahead…

February 13, 2023February 14, 2023

A night at the club – Making merry at Globe Theatre

What’s “BIH”, Tushar asked me. I had checked out their website so I knew that it stood for “Bollywood in Hollywood”. And the evening was pretty much that. Globe theatre in downtown LA transformed into a Bollywood arena as we friends, meeting each other after a while, sang and danced and drank our way into the weekend. The music itself was decent (some weird transitions there) but the venue, lights, ambiance and people were simply outstanding.

The floor burners!

Memorable mentions from the night are – the red ladies who kept stashing their coats in our booth (Rahil literally called security on them 😂), Robby giving me a tour of the dance floor, Tushar’s adventures with womenfolk and the men who accompanied them, our little choo choo train to the centre of the crowd, and Sunil’s biceps and chest popping out of his shirt. The gorgeous ladies in our group were living it up as always, burning the dance floor with their charming moves and infectious smiles. And then when we all stepped out in a starving state at 2 am, the samosas Rahil bought from Mr. Indian Santa Claus saved us from perishing.

Then, Sunil and Dips pulled up in their glorious Tesla to give everyone a lift to their respective destinations. Everybody on the street watched as the wings of the beast opened to let us in. I said to myself – “Swag level is 100!” And then we all spent 10 minutes discussing how many will sit in the back, who will sit where, and how to move the seat forward. Everyone on the street was watching this too and by the time we left our swag level was minus 20!

Jokes aside – the most delightful part of the evening for me, as always, was the experience of us together in one place – laughing and chatting and singing and dancing. There’s something quite magical about seeing your dear ones have a great time. And you can’t go wrong with a little dash of Bollywood, can you? It’s often hilarious and heartwarming at the same time to see friends who don’t usually shake a leg, put on their dance shoes and let their hair down. This was one such evening!

February 9, 2023February 9, 2023

The bring-take and come-go conundrum

I “take” Summer to my friend’s party but she “brings” me to her parents’ house. When I’m going to an event, I ask her if she wants to “come” but when she is going to an event, she asks me if I want to “go”. When deciding what she will do for lunch at work, she says she will “bring” the salad that’s in the fridge. I would have said I’ll “take” the salad. What is this conundrum?!?

When she took/brought me to Santa Monica Pier

My logic is – anything that’s coming where I am is being “brought” to me and anything that’s going away is being “taken”. So since the salad is going from my fridge to the office, I am “taking” it and not “bringing” it. Similarly, if I am going somewhere, then anyone accompanying me is “coming” with me while I myself am “going” there. No?

January 14, 2023

Musky Movies, Broken Shoes, and Delicious Pizzas

Four of us decided to check out Mr. A.R.Rahman’s Le Musk in Los Angeles. I had these cool shoes I brought back from India because my father had left them untouched for a few years so I thought I’d put them to use. Felt like a good day to wear them. So there we were – two couples on a rainy day making it to Sunset Boulevard geared up for an exciting experience.

The movie was fun but not too cinematic. You enter the Le Musk room through an alley that has walls covered with roses. Then you are welcomed by a nice man who is very happy to see you and gives you an intro about the movie, hoping for some word of mouth publicity. You are then directed to your fancy chair pod where you get your VR headset but it’s not just that. As you discover over the next 40 minutes, it also dispenses MUSKS in sync with the movie. Pretty neat idea and almost well implemented. Without giving away too much, I can say that I enjoyed the visuals and the depth in this experience. But the story, dialogue, direction were all – sorry to say Mr. Rahman – quite amateur. Also, I could swear that my musks were off-timed!

Anyway, we then make our way out to get into the car and head to the pizza place (LaAntica) nearby as we are quite hungry. This is when my left shoe decides to give in! We try tying it up with the shoe lace, jumping on it hoping that it sticks back, looking for tape, etc. Doesn’t work. The walk is just 5 mins so I drag my foot till we reach our restaurant and then the table. The place is full of people but the three sweethearts with me don’t care so I am not embarrassed at all by the sound of my dragging foot! The delicious wine and marvelous pizza we have over the next hour make it all worth it.

And then, as we are leaving, my right shoe understands that there is no point fighting it anymore. So it gives in too. It’s sole departs with sorrow as I now drag both my feet, one after the other, to head outside. The others walk back to the car while I wait at the restaurant to click this picture.

It’s drizzling. The car pulls up. I get in with a smile and a nice story to remember the day I saw Le Musk at Sunset Boulevard.

January 10, 2023January 10, 2023

Getting back into the work rhythm

And just like that, it’s two weeks into January and work has picked up. Morning meetings at 7:30 am, fires to put out, exciting new projects, nerves about the upcoming reviews and appraisal season… just everyday corporate things.

When I took a couple of years off from corporate life to explore (travel, acting, that kind of thing), it was this routine that I started missing the most. Even more than the monthly paycheck, it was the assurance of knowing what I was going to do the next morning. Having someplace to go, some target to hit, some people to meet. It often gets monotonous real quick but with the right job, the right people and the right incentive – like it is in my present case – it can be a breath of fresh air. Something you look forward to. Something that helps you grow, explore other exciting things, explore your own boundaries.

With this new year, as I get back into the so-called grind, my heart is filled with hope, excitement and a sense of adventure. Upward and onward…

January 7, 2023January 8, 2023

The joy of visiting Woodland Hills

Some shopping in the area led Summer and me to a lunch at California Fish Grill in Woodland Hills today. It took me right back to the pandemic era when I rented my first apartment on De Soto Ave. Sunil and Dips had helped me move in and were checking on me the first week to see if I was ok. After all, it was the first time in life that I was living alone. I loved my apartment – the cozy layout with kitchen attached to the living room, the balcony with a partial view of the street, the built in granite table in the bedroom where I worked out of. Along the new job, life in Bella Vista had all the makings of a new beginning.

Today, I remembered those long walks to this very strip mall to get a haircut at Supercuts or a coffee at Starbucks. I also remembered my short-lived stint with a wonderful CrossFit gym called Iron Batallion. And then there was my favorite gastropub – HQ – where I met so many new people and made so many friends. Woodland Hills is also where I discovered the Will Geer theatre in Topanga Canyon. Just a 20-min ride from my apartment, this place became my theatre hub. It’s also where I made some amazing friends and met Summer.

Topanga beach and Malibu were also just 30-40 min rides on my motorcycle. Baba sweets, Indian sweets and spices, Gasolina (deserves its own separate blog entry), Copper Mine, Chennai Tiffins, Antique flea market, The Village… the list goes on and on. Truly an extraordinary place to live!

Category: Musings