New life

I have decided to relaunch this blog. Not sure if anybody is following it, but that's ok. I was rereading my posts and they brought back good memories, so I thought it'd be nice to make new posts, so I can reread those as well and remember what happened. I don't promise that they will be as entertaining...no travels, no exotic adventures...but then again, life in LA can be an adventure in itself, so who knows.

The first big news i need to share: I have moved. Yes, again (although this time it's been over 1.5yrs in the same appartment, not bad!). I moved to a little 3-bedroom house close to LAX. I exchanged my awesome roommate (hoorah to Kathy for making my life in LA so pleasant aver the past year) for a hot guy :-). It's needed, because the nights in the new house get really chilly!! Yes, believe it or not, Zach and I have moved in together. Crazy, I know!

Let's see how this all works out, but i am excited.

Sucky day

Oh yeah, sucky LA day...the damage: one speeding ticket, two parking tickets (can you believe i actually got a parking ticket because i was parked in a free spot in my appartment complex, but because i have a "reserved parking" sticker it seems i cannot make use of the free-for-all spots...huh? makes perfect sense!), and it's 10 pm, i am still at work and have skipped lunch and dinner...What do they say? Tomorrow is another day...

LA...the city of angels?

I am in a new city, I have a new job, I live in a new apartment (unfortunately, I still sleep on the floor :-)), I have a new roommate (who surpasses all expectations i could possibly have had for a roommate i never met before moving in...she is one of the sweetest and coolest people i have met in LA so far)...and i am trying to make new friends...wow that's a lot of novelty for a shy and reserved person like me. It's overwhelming, exciting, scary, tiring, did i mention overwhelming?, all at the same time...I don't know how permanent or temporary this life is...but i do know that i miss the Bay Area. I don't miss Stanford, I don't miss Palo Alto, but boy, do i miss the life and friends I had up there. The random hot chocolate/mocha from coupa cafe on campus, the bi-weekly swims followed by a cappucino and a nougati, the drives on page mill, the early breakfasts with TJ croissants to start the day well, the lunches at google, the late-afternoon-teas in Blackwelder, the weekly House sessions with my favorite roommies, the crepes parties, the special coffees, that and just the feeling that at any time of the day i could get into my tiny car and go meet someone i liked, someone i could just be silly Sylvie with. So, yeah, so far, I haven't found my angels here...

This is the end...

Yes, my India adventure has come to an end. It finished right where it started, back in Mumbai. I spent a few days with Aparna, walking around the streets of Bombay, taking a boat out to Elephant Caves, eating delicious pani puri (Shardul, you were missed at many occasions during this trip...I still haven't found a better Indian food guide...next time we need to coordinate better!), trying out sizzler's in Santa Cruz, and being used as a "landmark".

Now, i am back home, or at least I think, because honestly, The Shalimar apartment, Komal's singing and laughing, our cute guard, the daily animated auto rides, the climbs on top of the fridge to reset the fuses, the parading monkeys in front of the our living room window on the sixth floor, the arguments with the Fedex people about whether or not a wax pouch can be sent by post ("no, no, it's not a VACCINE, it is food-grade wax, i could eat it if i wanted to...no, it's not food either...argh, never mind") and the insults of the couch manufacturer for being "the most difficult customer he ever had"...they really started to make me feel at home in Bangalore! I miss it, i really do. Belgium is quiet, pale and cold in comparison (hmmm i wonder if this applies to me too)...so India, be aware, I will soon be back!

Dancing the night away...

I am in Baroda, Gujarat, celebrating Navaratri. The word Navaratri actually means "nine nights" in Sanskrit and is celebrated differently in different parts of India. In Gujarat it means that for nine consecutive nights, people dress up in colourful outfits (yes COLOURFUL, Charlene...even me...and I have proves!) and dance Garba to celebrate the goddess Shakti (the supreme goddess ?). So, we did just that. We bought a colourful outfit consisting of a loooooong dress that makes these beautiful waves when you dance in it, a short top (argh, what is it with you indian people always wanting to show your belly...really?) and a Dupata (transparentish scarf you tie in front of you, kind of to hide the above mentioned belly ;-)) and danced all night...Rajan (who dances Garba for the Stanford team) showed us some groovy moves and we just followed. A big success! It was sooooo much fun that we will do it again tonight!

Cultural differences...

You know how in the US they say that diamonds are a woman's best friend? Well, here in India, things are slightly different. Look at the pic below ;-). Oh, and just for the sake of comparison, I also added a pic of Belgian women's best friend ;-)

Quote of the day...

I was trying to recharge my prepaid airtel phone at this little stand around the corner where i am a regular customer. While doing so, i was standing under a bright, white tube light when one of the guys behind the counter tells the other guy behind the counter (who is busy with me) something in a language i do not understand. So, i look up, and the first guy says: "Oh, madam, i did not say anything bad about you. I just said you were very pretty, so white. You whiter than the light! If i were your colour, all women would like me." Ouch, whiter than the light, that hurts...but i guess that was a compliment.