Vacation!!!

Using up three weeks of my yearly vacation! It's a great benefit that we have at my college. Nice to just relax at home with a good book during the rain. I am fortunate to have very helpful and supportive colleagues and I'm grateful for this opportunity! I'm looking forward to new ways to mentor in the future!
Below are some pictures I took of my workplace!
Cheers Y'all!-Natasha

Udipi Sri Krishna and the best Fish Fry!

Below is  a statue of Udipi Sri Krishna that I like, it stands tall near the Krishna Temple area. I remember clicking a picture of it years ago, and I clicked one today when I wanted to fix my phone.

                                                      

                                                        

                                                        

Visit Hotel Vishwas, branch of Thimappa's in Manipal for the best Fish Fry, marwai and chicken sukka. It's a tiny hole in the wall but is worth the effort finding, and trust me it was a lot of effort getting here in this rain.

Cest La Vie

                                              

Found these two cuties yesterday. The Girl reminds me of someone coming back home from a long journey maybe from Paris, or somewhere European. The Dog is cute because I've gotten really into pets recently. I have a dog and a kitty. 

 I've seen these before in shops in India when I used to live here 20 years ago; and finally they are back in stock.

  

Many songs today: Feist, Lobo, Amy Grant and J Balvin

            

St Columba

  

In Iona of my heart, Iona of my love,
Instead of monks' voices shall be lowing of cattle,
But ere the world come to an end
Iona shall be as it was.

Today is St Columba's Day, and the above is a poem by him; also you have a picture of the island he loved; Iona! From Catholic Culture Support this site if you can! Great resource!

• From Google Gemini

  Iona is renowned as the site of an ancient monastery founded by St. Columba, which served as a center of Celtic Christian learning and missionary activity. The shift described in the lines could refer to changes in the island's religious landscape, perhaps following periods of decline or external pressures. 
• Historical Context:
• Hope and Faith:

  The poem expresses a strong faith in a future restoration of Iona to its original glory, suggesting a belief in the power of faith and the cyclical nature of history. 

Amen to that!!!   

Some Iron Maiden and Hymn to St Columba to get you through the day.

I will come back, I will return!!! ( Song of course refers to the beast from the Book of Revelation)

     

Wendys

Wendy's Korean Fried Chicken Burger is Chef's Kiss. I had a Wendy's Burger after ages,  they just opened in my hometown. Reminded me of all the impromptu team lunches we would go for in the middle of long workdays in the US! 🌎#GodBlessAmerica

Also, if you've driven in America you will have seen many Wendy's on the highway, especially if you're on a roadtrip. Going to the actual Wendy's tomorrow. This was a Swiggy delivery. 

Koin Home!

I visited Koin Home yesterday, it's nestled in a quiet enclave in Kadri in an old Catholic home; and took a few minutes to find on Google Maps. The food here is delicious so it gets crowded. I had to wait 15 minutes for a table. As you can see I got a Bibimbap, Jiggly Bunny, Fish Pancakes, Korean Fried Chicken and Tempura Sushi. The service and food is comparable to restaurants abroad. I'll give it five stars and will go back again. 

My next meal outside will be a Subway Sandwich for the Subway Socceroo's Vs Japan FIFA World Cup qualifiers!🏆⚽🥪

Song of the Post: Sukiyaki Kyu Sakamoto

    

Here's what I got Veggie Delight and Meatballs! Congrats Socceroo's on winning the game!

Cruisin'

I had mentioned in my earlier posts, that I wanted to travel more this year. So when I found out about a cruise from Bangkok to Mumbai from the University of Alabama Alumni website ... I immediately added it to my goals... The cool thing is that it stops by my home town the Port City of Mangalore

This is what the itinerary of the Oceania/ Conde Nast Traveler cruise looks like!

Curated by Conde Naste Traveler with Oceania Cruises 

Enclaves of Indochina

1) Bangkok ( Ayutthaya)

2) Koi Samui - The White Lotus S3 Filming Location

3) Singapore

4) Kuala Lampur

5) Penang

6) Langkawi

7) Phuket

8) Colombo

9) Cochin

10) Mangalore

11) Mormugao (Goa)

12) Mumbai

The cruise is early next year around my birthday! Hopefully I would have saved money for the trip and found a friend to join! Thank God, I don't need visas for the Indian cities, and actually for most of the trip ( as I'm an Indian citizen.)

Cheers to travel!

Here's today's song! Los Angeles by The Midnight

LA residents will get this.

Don't these two videos don't make you nostalgic for Los Angeles... Those were the days....

Kyrie

These songs have been playing on repeat on my TV Youtube for months. 

So if I say, "Save me, save me"
Be the light in my eyes
And if I say ten Hail Mary's
Leave a light on in Heaven for me

Kyrie eleison down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison where I'm going, will you follow?
Kyrie eleison on a highway in the night

FIFA!

Over the past few years, I've developed an interest in sports, i mean I've collected Panini stickers as a child, and almost had a full book of stickers. I've developed an interest in specifically football (soccer and NFL), and yes I follow some cricket here and there. Eagerly looking forward to the next FIFA World Cup in the USA. And yes, Happy Birthday to the FIFA World Cup (IYKYK)! And let's not forget about the NFL and Alabama Football! Roll Tide! I've been supporting the England team for a while so go Three Lions!! And Go Team India and Team USA for the 2028 #Olympics in Los Angeles.

                                                  

                                     

              

Big God!

This song is so catchy! Love me some Christian Pop!

Kermit the Frog's Commencement Speech

Here's Kermit The Frog's Commencement Address @ The University of Maryland!! Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me! 🌈🌈

Ghosts

Sometimes when you live in old countries, in old buildings and as long as I have lived ( 43 years) you see ghosts, or aliens, or i could be imagining my next blog post! 

A good song for spooky season is Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights.

Something about Tiffany!

Love my Tiffany Heart shaped pendant! Looking forward to add to my collection as there is now a Tiffany store in Mumbai! Those Blue Green Boxes are special indeed!

 Song: Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something

Amsterdam!

Just saw that Indigo Airlines will start direct flights 🛫 from Mumbai to Amsterdam. I'm going to save for a trip to Amsterdam and maybe explore Europe. Having flown through Amsterdam Airport a few times, I have to say that it has a charming duty free with Windmills, wooden clogs and wooden tulips for sale . Flying into Amsterdam you can see the fields and Windmills. Truly an experience to look forward to. With my Schengen visa I hope to visit a few more countries in Europe. I'm still in the planning stages. So I will update this post as I get further along, with my itinerary. 

On further thought it would be nice to visit Amsterdam during Christmas!

P.S. I'm looking forward to buying some miniature Dutch houses!

https://www.klm.ca/travel-guide/destinations/europe/netherlands/amsterdam

Film Review: Netflix Nonnas RIP George Wendt

I watched Nonna's on Netflix yesterday. Such a heartwarming movie about Nonna's, New York City, food and family! Do watch it if you can. I loved this song by Billy Joel at the of the movie.  " Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" . As someone who LOVES eating at restaurants this song ( one I've heard before) is now a new favorite. 

                                                   A bottle of whites, a bottle of red
                                                    Perhaps a bottle of rose instead
                                                    We'll get a table near the street
                                                    In our old familiar place

                                                            

RIP George Wendt. Condolences to his family and friends. 

Family!

Suddenly realized that I've spent the past 9 years at home with my family in India. Here's a picture from yesterday of me with my dad! Expect more family pictures soon!

Mid year Goal setting

Here we are in the middle of May 2025. Time to reassess my goals:1) Fitness Goals: Train for a marathon and eventually an Iron Man2) Reach my financial goals with regards to savings.3) Reallocate my donation money for the year. ( There is a Terry Jones / Monty Python Statue to donate to!, sometimes you get cool stickers when you donate to colleges!)4) Set Travel plansa) Amsterdamb) Enclaves of Indo China5) Career goals6) Family Goals7) Redecorate my house!

Song I'm listening to Train in Vain by The Clash!

Hampi!

Planning a road trip to #Hampi with my parents, sister, niece and nephew. Let me know if you have any tips! BTW, we are staying at the #Hyatt. Love their hotels! 

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and My sister. And Happy Wedding Anniversary to my parents! ☺️🌷❤️

Pope Leo and Chicago

We have a new Pope! And he's from Chicago! Congratulations to Pope Leo, the first American Pope!🌎In this post I would like to share some pictures from my two years in Chi -Town.