Adventures Unlimited ...

It all started with my decision of visiting friends over the 4th of July weekend. Excited that I found a cheap-ish ticket, I booked it right away, informed co-workers I would be taking a day off, and told my friends to expect my intrusion in a couple of weeks.

And I prompty forgot about it all until the day I had to leave.

Looking down from the plane, which was supposed to land in Newark, I saw a lot of tall buildings. Hmm, I thought. This place looks a lot like New York City. I saw something that looked suspiciously like the Empire State Building, and shook my head at the apparent imitation-trend engulfing the nation.

Once I landed, I called Aditi, telling her I was here. Aditi told me she was almost there to pick me up.

It took both of us some time to realize that 'here' was not exactly equal to 'there'. 'There' was what it should have been, the Newark International Airport. In my carelessness/excitement, I had booked the wrong ticket, and landed at the Laguardia Airport.

Things could have been worse than having to take a shuttle to the Newark Airport and meeting my friend and reaching her place 4 hours later (which included a back-tracking trip to locate her lost debit card). On the shuttle between NYC and Newark, I met two strangers, both from Texas, who shared random characteristics with me, and one another, and remarked on the amazement of life the whole way.

I thought the entire situation was absurdly funny. My dad, who had been keeping tabs on my travel, didn't share my views.

Philadelphia is awesome. My fourth time here was still as exciting as any other - the city is littered with astounding architectural marvels and an eclectic collection of oddities. The accidental (and entirely untentional) patriotism I displayed while spending Independence Day in the First American Capital culminated in watching the Franklin Parkway Parade, waiting in the rain for the fireworks, and eventually watching them from Aditi's enviable bay window.

Today was Atlantic City Day. We went to the beach, wrote
our names in the sand, collected shells, fed the sea-gulls Cheetos, walked in and out of Casinos, did some spontaneous shopping, and had our palms read. We also had a mini-celebration of our birthdays (just a day apart) with a no-nonsense chocolate cake (which we decorated ourselves).

And we also ran down 10 blocks to catch the train back.

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The new issue of Nazar came out today - My humble contributions:
Not Every Dog has its Day
All's Fair in Love and...

With every issue, I continue to be amazed at the talent and dedication that a group of then-freshmen showed, and continue to maintain over time.