Weekend with Naman
Naman was town this past weekend and it was so nice having him here. He was in true vacation mode — brought a bit of work but mostly it was just to take a break from medical school. He stayed over at Nader’s place which was helpful cause it helped him get a better handle of what Nader was up to and how he was doing.
The flight got in late and we ended up just picking up some snacks at the grocery store and eating a bit at home before taking an evening stroll around campus. Walking and talking. Saturday morning he went down to San Jose to see his uncle while I finished up a short report, picked some spring courses, and baked some apple pie from scratch (it was Pie Day! 3/14!) before heading over to Menlo Park to have dinner with the Williards and Eltings (ie, Matt and Mary). I’ve said this before but I can’t help but say it again — they are so nice and generous. It never ceases to amaze me. It was great catching up with Grant and seeing what he’s up to, and of course Mrs. Williard’s jaw-dropping cooking. Every meal is like a gourmet experience! I humbly offered my pie and it actually turned out to be quite good. I just picked the simplest recipe on the internet….and for once in my life timed the baking perfectly. I mixed and matched my apple filling, opting for braeburn, granny smith, and a golden delicious. The from-scratch crust helped too.
I swung by Nader and Naman in the evening and we planned an early morning hike up to the Big Dish but when I called them at 8:30am they were already finished. Miscommunication on the timing. Anyway, we strolled through the farmer’s market enjoying the samples, coffee, and fresh samosas before spending a few hours doing work at the Old Union. Naman and I then drove up to San Francisco to meet up with our friend Andrew. Since there were friends visiting the area, he invited folks to his place for some tea, snacks, and dinner. What a delightful evening — their apartment just off Twin Peaks and Noe Valley is cozy with clean white walls, richly diverse bookshelves, naturally lit, and when we entered had strains of Sigur Ros wafting throughout. Andrew had some fresh bread in the oven — the chemical deliberate nature of it appeals to him — we discussed banana bread and cooking as a creative outlet. Andrew had a friend from Duke who is currently studying IP law at Columbia, Anjan (whom I met earlier — former McKinsey colleague who is currently writing a book), as well as Zan from Andrew’s time at Google.
It’s one of those long meandering conversations that you feel tired but good from — like a satisfying run…only mentally. If that makes any sense. I’ll stop with the analogy here.
Naman headed off on the red eye Monday night. Let’s see if I can return the favor and drop in on him while he’s out near Bhutan this summer on the frontlines of the fight against malaria.