serene’s posterous

We had the tastiest thosai (also known as dosa) in a while at the morning reception (after the wedding dinner the night before) of our friends' wedding in LA.  The groom's parents had hired caterer to make thosai for the guests on request, in addition to other tasty Indian food (mostly south Indian food I think).  The spiced potato filling (does that mean it is a masala thosai?) was particularly flavorful. 

I haven't had thosai in a while, but I sometimes purchase it for breakfast in the weekends when I am in Singapore.  It was great to get a taste of home!  Now it is time to look for a place that sells tasty thosais in the Bay Area...it would be several more months before I get to go back to Singapore for a visit.

And congrats to Aarthi and Vijay!

I was pretty excited about taking this new fitness class at school - Functional Integrated Training.  I like the teacher and it seems interesting to learn about exercises and movement that help develop functional strength.  There's also a recent NYTimes article about developing functional fitness.  Unfortunately...it seems that there is a far higher demand for an Abs and Glutes class - over 70 persons showed up for it versus less than 10 for the F.I.T. class.  After 2 reasonably interesting classes (amazingly, tennis balls are really good at working out the tightness in my hip area), the F.I.T. class is going to switch to Abs and Glutes to reduce the load on the other class.  Are Abs and Glutes workouts the in-thing these days?

I guess I have a sentimental streak.  We finally moved out of our old loft EV apartment on Sunday evening.  Lots of great memories there, despite the once-in-a-while ant problem, lots of spiders, a near flooding, and the lack of a bedroom door.  I definitely felt a pang as I biked past the area today on the way back to the new apartment.  Given a choice, we probably would have stayed longer on campus.

Eu-Jin sent me this article from WSJ.

Children with difficult temperaments, who were later placed in high-quality care, had fewer behavioral problems and teacher conflicts and better reading skills by sixth grade, compared with easygoing children in similar care, says the study, co-authored by Dr. Belsky. Those placed in poor-quality care showed the opposite: more behavioral problems and teacher conflicts, and worse academic skills.

and

Surprisingly, laid-back kids didn’t show any lasting impact of high- versus low-quality care.

I think I was the classic difficult kid..."marked by excessive crying, fussiness, emotional volatility, fear of strangers and clinginess".  Apparently I cried for 3 days non-stop when I was placed in nursery school when I was 3, at which point my parents gave up and took me out of school.  I didn't fare that much better in the early weeks of preschool at the age of 5.  Good thing I had great personalized care and love from my family and nanny...

As I was getting back home in the evening on Friday, I spotted a hawk flying pretty close, over my head into the tree nearby.  Over the past year, Eu-Jin and I have been seeing hawks near our apartment.  We think that a pair must have moved into the neighborhood recently. 

It is too bad we have to move from our apartment in a few weeks...I would miss the little birds hanging out by the rafters too.

Last Friday, I went to my first baseball game...San Francisco Giants vs Houston Astros.  The AT&T Park is a nice space, but it was very windy and cold sitting on the bleachers.   I was definitely glad that I had my fleece and windshirt.

I don't think I understand the appeal of baseball.  Despite the valiant attempts of the group I went with, I don't think I had a handle on what was happening on the field.  Apparently it was unusual that the Giants were up by 13 runs (including 2? home runs) to nil in the first three innings.  We didn't stay to the end of the game - nothing much happened after those first few innings.  I guess baseball games are an excuse for people to hang out and eat expensive food from the concession stands?

One of the most interesting talks I attended this week was by Tim Westergren of Pandora.  He didn't have slides and just sat on the table (sometimes sitting on his hands, which is a habit that I have too) and started talking.  He is certainly the chief evangelist for the company.

When you think about it, it is really hard to scale a business which requires musicians to listen to music and analyze them in over 400(?) attributes.  There is a huge body of music out there, and there's always new music coming out.  But the amazing thing is that Tim Westergren is still passionate about his business despite the terrible lows he faced in the business, inspiring people, and not compromising on his beliefs to make more money.  There are no top 10 lists and no accepting of money to play or analyze music.

I was inspired to go play with Pandora again.  And it is a really great tool, and it does pick the music that I like with uncanny accuracy and reminds me about artists that I haven't heard in a while and perhaps introduce me to more music that I like.  The minus is just that the sound quality isn't all that great.  I would describe it as somewhat tinny.

Attended a lovely wedding in Los Gatos today.  I just like the sentiment at weddings.  The commitment to love and honor each other, for better or for worse.  The promise of new experiences together...

Congrats to Bob and Felicia.

Via the Observer.

Women know how to read properly, while men have a desultory and, at best, casual approach to books

Eu-Jin and I got really bored on our usual weekend approximately hour-long jogs around campus.  Too many times in a row of running around faculty housing and campus drive loop, or doing the dish.  We started exploring a few new places. 

I really like the castle run along old page mill road.  While it is a little short, it is shady and we get to listen to the water flowing in the creek, sometimes see deer on the hill, goats and horses too.  There is also a castle-like tower (Frenchman's Tower - built by Peter Coutts).

We also ran a route around Gunn High School, which is also quite nice.  Lots of little kids out and about in the weekend.  There were donkeys too!