Among Other Things: Vol. 6
/It’s been a while since I did a post in this series, or in other words, translated into the English language a brain-dump of life lately’s best things. The pandemic rages on, as does the cold in the western hemisphere and the popularity of Tiktok and the un-understandability of NFTs, so here’s a chance for me to take a minute to re-focus and share the simpler joys of my day-to-day with you. You, on your part, can hopefully take a minute to re-focus and read this, and agree or disagree on presented highly subjective opinions, thereby making us friends. Deal? Deal.
(Un)Arrested Development 🙏🏽
I don’t know about you, but on some days, I manage time as well as I finely chop anything. Which is to say badly. Blame it on the new year, new me vibes in the air, but I’ve recently taken to timeblocking as a way to better manage the hours in my day and it’s maybe sorta working? In typical millennial fashion, I’ve always been good at calendar-ing out my work hours, but only my work hours. What I’ve done now is simply extend that out to the rest of my day. By giving myself scheduled time for life’s other priorities, be it working out, Instagram content creation, writing for the blog or personal errands, I’m less prone to letting any one task bulldoze over others. Kushal and I have even started testing this out for our weekend activities and I may only be speaking for myself here, but I sure have more fun when we’ve planned to! 🤪
Kitchen Situation 🥣
Given that winter in our home requires the banning of cold foods in favor of cozy comfort foods, the kitchen has been abuzz with stovetop activity. And there’s only so many healthy soups and curries and stews that can be made before the fried food category starts to beckon. I’m not above the occasional deep fried something, but why even bother when the joys of many more air-fried somethings awaits?! S/O to our sweet friends who gifted us this air fryer as a housewarming gift last year, since which time it has gained top priority status and rent-free prime real estate on our limited kitchen countertop. Another S/O, this time to this magical device’s Indian food talents. Pakoras? Yes. Samosas? Sure. Tell me what your desi heart needs, is its’s constant refrain. We love the thing so much we may have to name her. 🥲
Night’s Watch 📺
What would life be without our beloved television during this pandemic?! Many shows have been watched (and abandoned) in the past few months, and I will only share the former category because I like you. 🙃 Only Murders in the Building was a delight, as was Ted Lasso. Dopesick is a difficult infuriating watch even in micro-installments but powerfully made. Sex Education is probably the cleverest socially impactful rendering of the modern high school experience that I’ve seen yet. Speaking of today’s youth, Mindy Kaling’s done them and really, all of us, good service with The Sex Lives of College Girls. Rage watching Succession is a definite thing in our home now. And finally, saved the best for last with The Good Place- um, why did nobody tell me about the most brilliant show of all time?! The profound premise, the thought-provoking twists in the plot, the silly characters- LOVED. We watched the series finale this very week and I am not okay. 💔
The Good Place 📍
Winter weekends produce a real internal fight in me. Like, why does nature gotta be at its award-winning best right when the weather is award-winning unfriendliest, you feel me? This year though, I’ve decided that the temperature matters not, for the rewards of a good rainy season await at every corner in sight! And so we went with puppy in tow last weekend to a nearby dog-friendly gem- the Arastradero Preserve. The sun was shining, wildflowers were swaying, the rolling hills of grass were alive… I know I know, I think I’m John Steinbeck over here. In sum, just about everything felt right in the world for those fleeting hours we were hiking in the Preserve. Needless to say, Brio was in his element, his good mood going so far as to patiently sitting and listening to me extol the virtues of a good view on a sunny day. Paw-rents, save this one for your next family outing!
Because I’m publishing this at a serendipitous time, here’s a second Good Place reco from the Instagram archives - the famous mustard superbloom of Half Moon Bay is back this year earlier than expected! Iacopi Farms is officially open to visitors now for a small entry fee, and four-legged friends are allowed here too. 👏 These pictures are from our visit last year with Brio and we’re looking forward to getting some new ones this year soon!
5. Used & Abused 🏆
I’m a through and through coffee person, which begs the question of why am I always talking about tea on AOT?! Maybe I see it as a novelty, or perhaps it is as life-changing as all the actual tea drinkers say it is. In any case, here we are. Tea, again. Yogi’s Egyptian Licorice Tea has become a recent companion on nights when I’m in need of some extra TLC, which let’s face it, is most nights. I actually impulse-bought it the other day at the store when it seemed vaguely familiar and then the memory came back to me- I had first discovered it upon moving to Buffalo when the brutal winters had my spirit almost beat. I’d sip on the warm spicy-sweetness, at my desk working in the lab or at home at night, until my bones thawed and the life returned to me. 8 years later, no wonder it struck a chord in the middle of a random store aisle.🥺
6. Man’s Gift to Mankind 💡
Going to humble brag about my husband here for a second, because he nailed the birthday gift game this year with surprise tickets to see Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the stunning Curran Theater. 🥲 As a Potterhead through & through, the most immersive thing I’ve done so far is to visit Harry Potter’s Wizarding World in Orlando (which is amazing to say the least!), followed closely by the incredible show put on by the cast and crew of the play. A top notch production with real-time special effects SO well executed, it made the magic real for as long as we were there. Highly highly recommend going if you’re at any of the show’s tour locations!
And that’s it for this issue of AOT! Thank you for reading, stay safe and have a great rest of your week! ❤️
xo Sushmitha :)
