Jambalaya

Once upon a time a friend asked me, "are you happy?" I was first taken aback and not sure how to answer. My instincts told me to answer both "yes" and "no" at the same time.

I think happiness is not binary, that is, its not a yes or no feeling. I think happiness is like a bowl of jambalaya. I choose jambalaya for this analogy because its fun to say (I've been a vegetarian for the past 5 or so years so a more appropriate food analogy would be my tempeh/brown rice/stir fry dish, but its not as fun to say). What I mean is, I think that at any given moment we have happiness, sadness, anger, peace, joy, love, hate, etc. all mixed up together in our bowl (like a bowl of jambalaya). There are things in the bowl we don't like, but have to deal with. There are some things in the bowl that we know we like too. There is some stuff in the bowl that we're not quite sure how to identify. Something in the bowl might even make us a bit queasy in the stomach. But that is life, and we eat it up and overall, it tastes pretty good.

Sometimes we don't see the happiness in there because its buried under some other stuff. That is when we have to dig a bit deeper to find it.
(I couldn't find a picture of jambalaya on my computer, so I put this one up. Its nice, isn't it?)

Lage Raho Munnabhai

Over the holiday break, I saw this great and hilarious movie called Lage Raho Munnabhai. I'm not much of a Indian movie fan, but I really enjoyed the precursor to this movie, Munnabhai MBBS, so I thought I'd give this one a try. In the first movie (...MBBS), a "thug" goes to medical school to make his father proud of him. Its currently being remade into an American movie (usually its the other way around) starring Chris Tucker and produced by Mira Nair. I know, its craziness.

In the sequel (Lago Raho...) our hero meets Mahatma Gandhi on his quest to meet his favorite radio DJ Jhanvi (played by the oh-so-beautiful Vidya Balan). Um, I think you have to see the movie to understand why its so great.

Marathon update

In 490 BC, Pheidippides ran 150 miles in two days and then ran another 21.4 miles from Marathon to Athens to annouce Greek victory. It is this achievement that is the inspiration for the modern-day marathon. After proclaiming this victory, Pheidippides dropped dead.

I've come to realize just how crazy marathon running is. After a series of minor injuries, illness, and lack of discipline on my part, I fell behind my marathon training schedule while in Holland. I'm sad to say that I will not be running the Houston Marathon on January 14th. But I will complete the half-marathon that day, which is no small feat.

I am running to raise money and awareness for education in India, specifically a school in Manipur called SACSAS Academy. Follow this link to find out you can support me and my cause.

Christmas Markets

It's been nice to be back in the states, especially at Christmas time and the holiday season. But I have to say, its nothing to compared to the Christmas Markets of Germany! A few weeks before I returned to the states, I visited Dusseldorf, Germany with my friends Ika and Wouter. It was a sunny but cold day, perfect for lots of gluhwein and eierpunsch, and a bunch of other tasty treats. The markets were filled great gifts, unique arts and crafts, cheery decorations, and of course plenty of food and drink. I bought a bunch of different things there, but my favorite find was this mug with a picture of Santa getting drunk!

The next day, I tripped down to Valkenburg in south Holland with my buddy Jeroen. This town is known for a huge system of caves carved out of a very soft stone. A truly unique Christmas Market was running in the caves - very cool. Also, Limburg is a pretty fun part of The Netherlands.

Sinterklaas!

Let me tell you about the great Dutch holiday tradion of Sinterklaas. Every year towards the end of November, Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas, arrives in The Netherlands on a boat from Spain. I witnessed his arrival this year in Cuijk with my friend Natasja. Sinterklaas looks sort of like Santa Claus, but with fancier threads, less weight, and a big, golden staff. He's accompanied by Zwarte Piet, or Black Petes. The kids go wild and all sorts of goodies are passed around. Crazy fun.

On December 5th, children receive gifts and treats from Sinterklaas in shoes. Older kids and adults celebrate in various other ways. Some families or groups of friends do a sort of "Secret Santa" gift exchange where they give a special gift to just one person and also write a poem for that person about the past year and their relationship to that person. That's pretty special.

In our department, we had a really fun Sinterklaas gift exchange party. Everyone bought three presents with a total cost less than 5 euro. All gifts were piled into the middle of a table at a nice cafe/bar. On each person's turn, they rolled the dice and chose, unwrapped, exchanged, or passed around presents based on the number rolled. For example, if a "2" was rolled, all gifts were passed to the right. If "6" was rolled, the player took a prize from the pile. I ended up with some cool stuff, including a glowing rubber ducky, Dutch Yahtzee, and shoe polish.

Its really great to experience the holiday season in a foreign country with unique holiday traditions. Coming soon...Christmas Markets in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Gastronomica

A flashback to a splendid trip to London a few weeks ago....

Gastronomica is the name of a shop near Borough Market that sells cheese and other stuff. I thought the name sounded cool and describes my experience in London, which revolved around good food.

Food highlights:

• Avinash Uncle's garlic and onion eggs in the mornings
• Borough Market - Tasty veggie burger with mango salsa, and a fantastic blueberry cookie (yes, a blueberry cookie)
  
• The second-best masala dosa I have ever had (the best one was on the streets of India
• Mildreds - Mushroom pie, mushy peas, and mushy chips (all vegetarian, and all delicious)
  

Other highlights:

• The Magnificent British Museum
• A tool over 1.8 million years old (makes you wonder what things from our time will be in museums in the far future...)
• Exhibits focusing on Bengal
  
• Just plain cool stuff everywhere
  
• People watching: wacky Camden Market, crowded Portobello Market, along the Thames, around Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, SoHo, and on the Tube
• Bonding with my cousin Sameer while watching "Casino Royale" (get it...Bond-ing)

Its not always sunny in Philadelphia

It was a long trip back to Houston, TX from Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Houston Time / Nijmegen Time / Action
22:00 (Wed)/ 05:00 (Thurs) / Wake up to pack and clean up apartment
00:30 (Thurs) / 07:30 / Shared taxi picks me up
03:15 / 10:15 / Arrive at Schiphol Airport
05:30 / 12:30 / Depart Amsterdam
14:30 / 21:30 / Arrive Philly
17:00 / 00:00 (Fri) / Flight to Houston cancelled (dense fog in Philly)
06:45 (Fri) / 13:45 / Arrive Philly Airport
10:00 / 17:00 / Depart Philly (after 1.5 hr delay)
14:00 / 21:00 / Arrive Houston Bush Airport
16:00 / 23:00 / Arrive home (minus one piece of luggage which was lost)
02:30 (Sat) / 09:30 (Sat) / Lost luggage is delivered

The fog in Philly was vicious. Interestingly, I saw "Invincible" on the plane to Philly - its a movie about the Philly and football and Vince Papale.

But its good to be home.

P.S. If you're wondering about the title of this entry, it refers to a funny show.

Weather

Well, it is the eve of my return to the US, so I thought I would comment on the weather. Living in a place where the weather is typically miserable, people really appreciate good weather when they get it. I remember the first day of good weather during Spring 2005 when everyone went buck wild - people snuck out of work early to go to a cafe and sit on a terrace and enjoy a nice cool beverage on a nice sunny day. Coincidentally, this is one of my favorite things to do too. Good things.

One of the things I like about the lab I work in here is the huge wall-to-wall window. As a kid, I often stared at the clouds, and I find myself doing that here too when I have a bit of down time. The clouds move fast here, very fast. But life moves along casually. Good things.

I have to say I think the weather gods were very kind to me during my stay here. I was expecting the "typical Dutch" weather of constant rain, cold temperatures, and fierce wind, all at the same time. And we definitely had a few of those days recently. But overall the weather has been pretty nice to me. Good things.

Amsterdam

Another recap of my travels...

A few weeks ago Kyle and Mo came to Amsterdam to visit. All three of us were extremely tired due to lack of sleep, but that didn't stop us from having a good time wandering around Amsterdam (though it did seem like we were going in circles most of the day).

Highlights:
-Grrrrreat pumpkin soup
-Real Dutch apple pie and Grolsch in the afternoon...mmmm
-Learning how to play Hearts
-Winning at Hearts
-An out of this world milkshake

Amsterdam is one of the coolest cities in the world. I've made numerous trips there and have always had a great time even with uncooperative weather. And FYI - There's a lot to do and see besides red lights and coffeeshops.

Bicycles, lots and lots of bicycles

The Dutch love their bicycles. Almost all the streets in my town have designated bike lanes, bike traffic lights, and bike parking closeby. Cyclers always have the right of way - cars and usually pedestrians are expected to let bikers pass. Its fun to bike here.

My department gave me a loaner bicycle. Its a "klunker," and I mean that literally because it makes a "klunk, klunk" sound when I ride. But its got a light that is powered by wheel rotation, which is pretty cool in my book.

And I gotta give props to Dutch women who I've seen riding bikes in mini-skirts and heels in almost freezing weather while carrying an umbrella in the rain and talking on their cell phones (and smoking a cigarette too). Props. I can barely carry a bag of groceries while riding home in very light rain.

(A picture of my parents and my bike, Spring 2005...arent' they cute)

Belgium...part twee

I spent a weekend in mid-November in Brussels, capital of the Europeon Union, and a great city in general. On my first day there my meals consisted primarily of beer, waffles, and frites. My kind of city...

Highlights:

• Touring the Cantillon Brewery/Museum, where the tour guide knew more about beer than anyone I know.
  
• Drinking banana beer at this wacky absinthe bar. Banana beer tastes awful.
• Eating lots of frites, though I think the ones in The Netherlands are better.
• Checking out some fantastic modern art at the Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, though I do wish the Rene Magritte wing was open.
  
• Getting lost in this city full of magnificent old architecture and a modern, metropolitan culture. Its an amazing feeling to walk into the Grote Markt/Grand Place.

I stopped in Leuven on the way back too. This town is typically a lively college city with tons of cafes and pubs and tons of fun. Unfortunately, its quite dead on Sundays (when I went). But check out this library - one of the most beautiful libraries I have ever seen.

Belgium...part een

[I am terribly behind on updating my blog with my many adventures on this trip...here is the start of my attempt to catch up.]

I spent two weekends around the end of October and the beginning of November in the great country of Belgium, which is know for its love of fine food, quality beers, and rich chocolates (kinda like me). I first visited Bruges, which is more commonly called by its Dutch name Brugge, with my new friend Belen from Spain.

Highlights from Brugge:

• Learning how Belgian chocolates are made at the Choco-Story museum
• Eating real Belgian waffles at a town market
• Drinking some fine local white beers
• Climbing up the extremely narrow staircase of the Belfort and getting a spectacular view of the city

The next day, we went to Ghent, which is nearby, much less touristy, and a tad more quaint than Brugge. I particularly enjoyed the great architecture (old and new), more tasty beer, great food at the Groot Vleehuis, and the chill Belgian way of life.

In case I didn't mention it earlier, Belgians really know how to make good beer.
Coming soon...Brussels and Leuven

Rice Owls - New Orleans Bowl!

About a week ago I heard the news...the Rice Owls football team is going to the New Orleans Bowl on December 22! What else can I say but "WOOHAH!"

For those Europeons out there reading this, football refers to American football, and a bowl game is an honor to play in. Rice has not made it to a bowl game in 45 years, so this is quite exciting news.

I can't hold it in any longer...WOOHAH! Go Owls!