Stronger = Better

This always makes me laugh.

Over the years, the general level of animosity towards espresso seems to have greatly diminished. It's still very much present, but I don't have these (previously very common) exchanges in cafes any more:

I've really downplayed the average conversation length and waiter's confusion.

And after all that, this is how it was served:

I always drank the milk separately. I mean, you may not want it in your coffee, but if they're giving you milk, you might as well drink it.

Maybe one of the reasons I don't have to deal with all that now is because I don't order coffee at a cafe/restaurant any more. I just buy ground beans and make it at home, as strong as I like. None of that milk, sugar, and whipped cream nonsense.

Why I love Gilmore Girls Reason #2: They really get coffee.

Contrary to what some of my friends may think, there's more than just one reason why I love GG.

They seem to be making something close enough in coffee shops. One of my friends showed me this new coffee that sounds delicious and apparently isn't sold in a large cup because it's so strong. Look!

Now I do know a couple of people who make good strong coffee, but I've come to accept that when most people say "strong", it's usually what I'd categorize as weaker than average.
So when I have coffee made by someone else, it's pretty awkward when they ask me how it is. Sometimes I get away with a cheerful "it's coffee!" and a huge smile (before gulping it down so I don't have to suffer through it too long). But there are some who just have to keep asking.

*People must either think I'm bluffing or not understand how strong decoction can be

Then I watch their eyes grow wider in horror as I keep saying "maybe just a little more" until I stop because I don't want them to have a heart attack. And of course my coffee is still only almost-average strength.

Here's a relatively recent instance when I was particularly frustrated but couldn't say anything because this lady was so sweet:

She then added the decoction with a tiny coffee spoon, so after a few spoons, I had to say

when what I really wanted to say was:

And lastly, here are some words of wisdom from a 7-year-old student of mine: "If you drink coffee, then your brain goes mad". She's not entirely wrong.

Tea is for calm. Coffee is for crazy.

P.S. - Why I love Gilmore Girls: Reason #1, in case you're wondering:

"Really? You seriously thought you could write about Gilmore Girls without mentioning me?"

"I dare you to try again."

Fine, whatever. Milo Ventimiglia is awesome. I've not even watched any of the GG episodes he isn't in. And yes, he's a lot older now and looks different, but he's still hot. In fact, I'm about to go watch him on Ellen's show in a few minutes, so bye!

Stupid Sayings

Sometimes we say things without thinking about them simply because they've been said several times before. Luckily, once in a while, we realize that just because a phrase is used commonly doesn't mean it's true. Here are some examples:


> What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Counter explanation from Modern Family's Manny:

Thanks, Manny! Sorry, Kelly Clarkson. I like that song, but it isn't true most of the time.


> The road to hell is paved with good intentions...

...making it just like the road to heaven, yes?


> Your day will go the way the corners of your mouth turn

Ideally, yes, but we don't live in Utopian conditions. Wait, scratch that. I just realized that this also implies that if, say, you're crying, your day will continue to be crappy. That's mean.
It's much more likely that your day will depend on whether or not you had coffee in the morning.
For example, you can't not be happy (or happier, if you started off sad) on a regular day when you have this:

I've been seeing many similar pictures lately. Dying to get hold of one of these!

> If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, its yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it was never meant to be.

Reality check: nothing is really yours. Nothing at all. Think about that.

> Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

Rebuttal:

And a great fruit salad at that. Case closed.

> He who laughs last laughs longest

Or maybe it seems that way because he started after everyone else. Literally taken, it's logical enough, but the implied meaning seems off. He who laughs last probably just takes longer to understand the joke. This is one of those sayings that ought to be taken at face value. And speaking of face value...


> Beauty is skin deep.

I could say a lot about this, but Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake say it best:

Seriously, this will never stop being relevant. It's something we ought to think about every day.

> A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.

It should, but I doubt it would. When I was little, mom sometimes spruced up leftover rice with vegetables and things, and a "risotto" or a "kedgeree" definitely tasted a lot better than, say, "leftovers" or even "fried rice".

So maybe a rose by any other name would be just as sweet-smelling. But would it actually smell just as sweet? Probably not.


> Roses are red, violets are blue, etc.

Who made up this silly rhyme? And more importantly, why is it popular across so many generations? Besides, aren't violets called violets because they're violet? Blue-ish, maybe, but not blue.

Hope I've covered all the rose colours.

This is fun. I'm already getting carried away thinking of more stupid sayings I can point out flaws in. Going to dissect a few more very soon.

Video Games

Of all the things I've ever tried to do, there's probably nothing I'm worse at than playing video games. I'm so bad at it that trying to play something is rather discouraging. It's also annoying to other people if it's a multiplayer game. The one time I played tried to play Halo, all I did was accidentally fall to my death several times before giving up.

However, I've found certain games I don't suck at too much. Right now it's Two Dots which works well for me because I only play until my lives run out (= a few minutes every day) and don't bother playing more than once a day. Also, it's clean, simple, and challenging. My mom saw me playing it once and has since been the closest thing you can be to addicted without actually playing.

So how do I decide whether or not I want to play a video game? Simple, really:

There's no way I can write about video games now without mentioning Pokemon Go. This was my reaction when I heard about it:

I don't blame video games as much as people's lack of self-control for bizarre stuff they do for these games, but this is the most absurd VG-induced accident I've ever read about: "On Thursday two men in San Diego fell off a cliff after they climbed over a fence in an attempt to catch the animated characters." Really, guys?

You know what should become an augmented reality game? Temple Run. While most people complain about the roads in Bangalore, I like to make the most of it by pretending I'm in a game: swerve to avoid people and vehicles, jump over the potholes and loose pavement tiles, duck to avoid hanging wires, and so on. This city is already an obstacle course for pedestrians. Augmented reality Temple Run would work really well here. We'd learn to be careful on the roads while having fun, and we'd lose so much weight. Oh, and it could also be time-bound so we don't use vehicles and contribute to traffic jams to go to places that are within walking distance. And maybe with more people out walking, they'd be forced to fix our pavements.

Well, one can dream. Even if that never happens, I'll still have my obstacle courses and imagination.