April 20, 2014
February 1, 2014
How to drive with cows in the road
Driving is absolutely insane. If you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere is a common saying.
Rental agencies for foreigners do not exist, instead everything is chauffeurs or motor rickshaws. To chauffeur a car for the day costs roughly $30-50 bucks depending on how far you go, but they will drive you around the city all day and then park and wait as you tour, dine and shop.
Painted lane markers are sometimes on the road, but they serve no purpose, traffic is a game of stop and go as you jiffy and swerve to squeeze into any opening. Scooters, motorbikes and auto rickshaws fill in the gaps and everyone honks relentlessly as if it still holds some meaning. Even at a complete standstill, dozens of cars will honk when surely the cars ahead are experiencing the same agitation. Crosswalks do not exist, so to walk across the street is a game of Frogger come to life as you gauge speeds and sizes of swerving madmen. Jen jokes that a cruel punishment to foreigners would be to take them to the center of a 5 lane road and leave them there to fend for themselves. 20 minutes might pass before you see the inkling of an opening, so to cross, you must brave a raging river of metal and fumes.
Rental agencies for foreigners do not exist, instead everything is chauffeurs or motor rickshaws. To chauffeur a car for the day costs roughly $30-50 bucks depending on how far you go, but they will drive you around the city all day and then park and wait as you tour, dine and shop.
Painted lane markers are sometimes on the road, but they serve no purpose, traffic is a game of stop and go as you jiffy and swerve to squeeze into any opening. Scooters, motorbikes and auto rickshaws fill in the gaps and everyone honks relentlessly as if it still holds some meaning. Even at a complete standstill, dozens of cars will honk when surely the cars ahead are experiencing the same agitation. Crosswalks do not exist, so to walk across the street is a game of Frogger come to life as you gauge speeds and sizes of swerving madmen. Jen jokes that a cruel punishment to foreigners would be to take them to the center of a 5 lane road and leave them there to fend for themselves. 20 minutes might pass before you see the inkling of an opening, so to cross, you must brave a raging river of metal and fumes.
One advantage brave walkers have is that no one is going that fast, all city traffic is roughly 5-10 mph on average and faster areas are only due to openings in traffic. When driving in the city, you rarely stop because there are no stop lights or right angle street corners. Every intersection is a left curve and to go right you must make a u-turn of sorts.
May 26, 2013
Corey and Katy's Wedding
Last night, we ended up going to a fantastic wedding for two close friends who are part of the family. Corey dates back over a decade as a friendly neighbor to Julie and Michelle in their San Francisco heyday. When Julie began dating Chris, he struck up a friendship with Corey over a strong mutual love of beer, baseball and blues. Corey was sometimes jokingly referred to as Julie's second husband, since Chris and Julie sometimes worked opposite schedules.
So flash forward a couple of years when Jen and I moved to San Francisco and became friends with Corey and his girlfriend Katy. Earlier this year, they took a trip to India and around Europe for an extended period and came back engaged!
Their wedding began with a beautiful little ceremony on the top of one of the most picturesque spots in San Francisco.
Katy then descended a long set of stairs with her father, while being serenaded by a song and beautiful violin. After a lovely ceremony and exchange of vows, rings and a kiss, the party walked down the hill to a train station that would take us to Dolores park.
Once we arrived at the park, little bottles of champagne were spread around and a walking parade was assembled. With a carnival leader, twirler, tuba player, trombone and drums, and a parade of a 100 people, we cut our way through Dolores Park, as park goers cheered and waved us on. We danced and danced about a mile, stopping traffic and making pit stops for more champagne and pictures along the way.
We finally made our way to a redecorated dance studio for a fantastic buffet, more dancing and lots of dancing with some happy little nieces and nephew.
Elsewhere, a Jack was laying in the middle of the dance floor eating the delicious bean dish. Before the night was over, the super friend, Alaine, came to whisk the kids away back to Berkely for pizza and a movie, so that Julie and Chris could enjoy the night thoroughly.
Plenty of love, drinks and laughter kept the crowd on their feet for 10 short hours. Lots of congratulations and memories fondly told as the newlyweds made their way around the dance floor and danced well into the night for a truly fantastic wedding. Thanks and a big congratulations to the lovely couple!
So flash forward a couple of years when Jen and I moved to San Francisco and became friends with Corey and his girlfriend Katy. Earlier this year, they took a trip to India and around Europe for an extended period and came back engaged!
Their wedding began with a beautiful little ceremony on the top of one of the most picturesque spots in San Francisco.
Katy then descended a long set of stairs with her father, while being serenaded by a song and beautiful violin. After a lovely ceremony and exchange of vows, rings and a kiss, the party walked down the hill to a train station that would take us to Dolores park.
Once we arrived at the park, little bottles of champagne were spread around and a walking parade was assembled. With a carnival leader, twirler, tuba player, trombone and drums, and a parade of a 100 people, we cut our way through Dolores Park, as park goers cheered and waved us on. We danced and danced about a mile, stopping traffic and making pit stops for more champagne and pictures along the way.
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| A typical sight in the Mission made a fantastic SF backdrop for an impromptu photo session. |
We finally made our way to a redecorated dance studio for a fantastic buffet, more dancing and lots of dancing with some happy little nieces and nephew.
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| Pretty Athena |
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| A rare sullen looking Zoe |
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| The first dance |
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| The sisters said they are excited to have a third sister, which couldn't make Jen happier. |
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| Corey & Katy |
May 12, 2013
The Strange Ways of Louloudi
As most of you know, Louloudi is a special dog. She comes from a far away place and indulges in some rather strange behavior that is both laughable and odd.
1. When she meets new people, she generally looks at them once before deciding that they need to pet her. She shows them this by leaning against their leg and looking up adoringly. If it is someone we know, she tends to become even more attached if the person is willing, like the social butterfly meeting the only person she doesn't know in the room and immediately clinging on to them.
2. When we take her to the beach, she goes a little wild, running as fast as she can in every which direction, only to pause momentarily, look around in each direction and then begin tearing at the sand two paws at a time, until she is about a foot deep. Not really sure what she is after, we suspect some deep instinctual desire to dig and to find the fascinating ocean smells trapped beneath the sand. We sometimes tease her by pushing some sand back in her hole and she just continues to tirelessly dig until she either loses the scent or runs out of breath. We usually stand guard and push sand back so that someone might not fall into the holes.
4. Being on the bed with both parents is pretty much the highlight of her day, as she sits between both parents and gets her stomach rubbed. Being bathed, because of her tendency to roll in the smelliest of park delicacies, is akin to being waterboarded. She absolutely hates having her head wet and tries to run away from the shower head, causing her to sometimes lose her footing and slip a little. It's a pretty sad sight and we don't get any joy out of it, but one perk of the bathing process is a very clean dog. One so clean that even Jen will allow the dog to climb UNDER the covers, the holy grail of bedside permissions. This lends to some serious snuggling and one very happy Louloudi, who will not stir until the morning.
1. When she meets new people, she generally looks at them once before deciding that they need to pet her. She shows them this by leaning against their leg and looking up adoringly. If it is someone we know, she tends to become even more attached if the person is willing, like the social butterfly meeting the only person she doesn't know in the room and immediately clinging on to them.
2. When we take her to the beach, she goes a little wild, running as fast as she can in every which direction, only to pause momentarily, look around in each direction and then begin tearing at the sand two paws at a time, until she is about a foot deep. Not really sure what she is after, we suspect some deep instinctual desire to dig and to find the fascinating ocean smells trapped beneath the sand. We sometimes tease her by pushing some sand back in her hole and she just continues to tirelessly dig until she either loses the scent or runs out of breath. We usually stand guard and push sand back so that someone might not fall into the holes.
3. Loulou enjoys the attention of her parents, regardless of how embarrassing it might be.
4. Being on the bed with both parents is pretty much the highlight of her day, as she sits between both parents and gets her stomach rubbed. Being bathed, because of her tendency to roll in the smelliest of park delicacies, is akin to being waterboarded. She absolutely hates having her head wet and tries to run away from the shower head, causing her to sometimes lose her footing and slip a little. It's a pretty sad sight and we don't get any joy out of it, but one perk of the bathing process is a very clean dog. One so clean that even Jen will allow the dog to climb UNDER the covers, the holy grail of bedside permissions. This lends to some serious snuggling and one very happy Louloudi, who will not stir until the morning.
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| Loves of my life |
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