The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh I recently stumbled onto a post called how to have good taste. In the world of how to posts, books and videos where there’s an explainer for everything, I find this to be a particularly terrible subject for the genre. The Substack paints a picture that once you go through a lot of something, you too can have good taste. The taste that makes you prefer the actual good stuff....
I was just listening to a podcast episode from the Ezra Klein Show. The episode featured Zadie Smith and they talked about how she hasn’t owned a smartphone because the internet has become this manipulation machine. She said she doesn’t want someone to influence what she thinks, how she thinks without her choice. I agree with that point of view. It does tell me what to think about and influences how I define the sides....
One rainy Sunday I just decided to take a long walk in the city. I imagined I would walk for a couple of hours but it became a full day adventure. The weather was pleasant, it was misty with a breeze. I walked aimlessly with no plans, no destination in mind. I decided on the street when I encountered a turn. I like to live in the moment and experience the world with little expectations....
I became vegetarian in March this year. It’s the first time I have been able to stick with it. My previous attempt lasted 2 months. The big difference this time around has been that my desire for meat has gone. I am not tempted by it even when the veggie options are terrible. However, I do feel that I am getting the short end of the stick most times. As a result, I have defaulted to Indian food as it’s the most vegetarian friendly and flavorful....
Somehow, the YouTube algorithm recommended this video from Austin Augie. I took the bait and watched a few of his videos of India. I am from India so I am interested in people’s experience of India. However, I am not interested in seeing the filthy parts of India, I skip over those for some reason. I don’t know why! Anyway, the videos are great and the guy seems authentic. YouTube realized I like such stuff so it sent another video called Travel the world, ask strangers the wildest questions, it will change your life....
Day 0 I couldn’t sleep at night, thanks jet lag! So, I decided to go get something to eat at 3 am and my neighborhood bakery was open. It’s 24*7 and highly rated. The bakery is tiny with lots of outdoor seating on both sides of the street. It was 3 am and it felt like 8 pm. The street was bustling with people, chai, cigarettes and chatter. I couldn’t believe my eyes....
It’s 7 am and we’re driving towards the national park to see the Cadillac mountain. It’s the final spot on the itinerary. A friend invited me to this trip. We’re four guys, two of them I met the first time at the rental car center. It’s a short weekend trip with people with very different personalities. I have done such trips before but this one has been somewhat different. I see conversations that I would call aggressive to be commonplace....
Baby pineapple, Peru I read Living with a Seal last year and in the book, Jesse Itzler talks about only eating fruit till noon. It sounds like a healthy change in lifestyle. My usual breakfast is eggs if there’s a breakfast at all, which I think is healthy but I am gonna challenge myself to follow Jesse’s advice and see if it makes a difference. Since, I have already eaten breakfast today, I am gonna start the clock tomorrow....
This is my 6th time (or maybe it’s 7th, I am not certain) in San Francisco and everytime I come here, I have had feelings in the realm of: oh, this city could be a paradise but sadly it’s so far away from it. It’s pretty meh! It’s terrible, why would anyone live here? I really wanna like this place but it’s still terrible. I have wished and tried hard to like this place and I feel so happy that it’s paid off....
I was listening to a podcast that mentioned that Gen Z regularly binges old high school videos from the 80s and 90s on YouTube. The implication was that we really miss the old times of living in the moment. The time when you could talk to people anywhere, when nobody was on their phones all the time, when nobody was wearing airpods. To be honest, I am an old soul and I miss those times....
I haven’t had a problem making decisions until now. I had always been at ease with them because I had a strong compass. The compass always pointed to career and financial success. I evaluated all my choices on the objective questions Is it good for my career? Will it help me move up the ladder? Will it help me financially? Focussing on just one dimension is a bad way to make decisions....
This essay was published in Tangle in Sep, 2024 and was referenced in the newsletters: The H-1B debate between Trump, Musk, and MAGA and President Trump orders H-1B visa applicants to pay a $100,000 fee. Regardless of their politics, everyone has a view on immigration. More often than not, people support legal immigration over illegal immigration. Both sides also generally agree that highly skilled immigrants are a valuable asset to the U....
I am at the Lima airport waiting for my flight back to NYC. It’s been a fabulous 11 days in Peru. I don’t think I got to see a whole lot of places but I did have a fantastic time and I made a bunch of friends. It’s amazing and unexpected how great this trip has been. It seems weird when I say I spent 11 days but didn’t see much....
Cities shape us in profound ways, often more than we realize. I am sure you have heard of the quote that you’re the average of 5 people around you. I can’t say how true that is but I can say that the basic idea makes sense. We are influenced by our surroundings, both consciously and unconsciously. Cities, however, are more than just collections of people. Each city has its own culture and an implicit message, and whether we like it or not we’re influenced by it to a degree....
Do most people seem to have rituals? Do you have one? Like morning or a weekend ritual? I don’t remember having a ritual ever. I have always lived a spontaneous life where I make decisions in the moment. And most of such decisions don’t repeat day after day, weekend after weekend. I just like newness. However, for the last few months I have been following a ritual. I usually go on a run most Saturday mornings, then I get a bagel and sit in this public park....
Yesterday, I went to a dinner hosted by someone running a formation group. I came across it on luma. And I was pleasantly surprised how wonderful it turned out to be. I’d like to think that I am outgoing enough to try out such new experiences but the reality is I rarely venture into such unknowns. So, what’s a formation dinner? It’s a form of community building. Someone organizes a group that meets at some frequency and they get dinner, meditate and talk about their experiences....
My previous manager Pavel used to say that there’s a simple program trying to break free in this complex code. He would say it almost every time he reviewed my code. It’s such great advice that unlike most things, I was able to internalize it. That’s what I advise people now. Thinking back I think it makes even more sense for a couple of reasons. Simple is good. It’s what most people are looking for in their lives....
The view never gets old New York City is fascinating, social, lively and welcoming to say the least. It’s got so much happening everywhere. There are bars, cafes, restaurants and other public places, and all of them are full of people. Although this isn’t a surprise, almost everyone who knows anything about the city knows this. So let me talk about my experiences in the city. I used to live in Seattle and enjoyed everything Seattle had to offer....
Intro I summited Mount Rainier in August 2023, specifically 9-12 August. I started training way too early on November ‘22. Felt like the more I train the more I’d enjoy the trip. You know things are way more enjoyable when you’re not dying. Realistically I started in January then went on a trip in march so I couldn’t train at all that month. My training was anything but planned. Being early made me lazy so I never followed a plan even though I wanted to and should have....