You

Knowing you,
Is a dew drop,
Silent and soft.
Meeting you,
Is the summer rain,
Light and breezy.
Loving you,
Is a hurricane,
Powerful and strong.
Living with you,
Is a mystery,
To be unraveled.

Solo travel - South Dakota

I took a trip to South Dakota during the Labor Day long weekend in 2014. I flew into Rapid City on Sat reaching there at 12:30pm. Soon as I landed, I walked over to the Enterprise car rental which was 1 minute from the gate(Rapid City is a very small airport). The car was not ready, so I grabbed a quick bite at the solitary cafe in the airport. Once I got the car, I went straight to the motel and dumped my backpack, taking with me the essentials. My first stop was at the Wind Cave National Park and I was 5 minutes late for the Fairgrounds cave tour, so I took the Natural Entrance tour instead. The tour was quite interesting, I got to see the famous boxwork cave formations. The tour guide was knowledgable and explained how the cave was discovered, explored and formed geologically.

After the cave tour I drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial, where I saw a short video of how and why the project was started. The video also showed the progress of construction and how each person contributed to the project. Then I drove to Mount Rushmore right on time for the lighting ceremony. The talk was very interesting to me as I do not know much about American history. The presenter explained why each President was important and what was their significant contribution to the development of America. The ceremony ended with the American national anthem. This was my last stop for the day and I headed back to the hotel.

On day two, I went to the Jewel Cave National Monument to take the Scenic Tour. The first 3 tours were sold out and I had to wait 30 mins for the next available tour. This was the best part of the trip. I was very excited to see stalactites, calcite crystals, draperies and flow tubes in real life. I had always fascinated about them while reading in books. Once again, the tour guide was excellent and answered all the questions patiently. The highlight of the tour was "the bacon drapery". The photo below will explain why it was named hence.

My next stop was at Spearfish which was about 1.5 hours north, which is when dark clouds started to form. It was a tense drive to Spearfish Canyon with rain hailing hard, that I could not see clearly even with high beam and full speed wipers. Luckily the rain was only for a short duration, but it made my journey longer. At Spearfish Canyon, I enjoyed the lush greenery and the gushing water of Roughlocke Falls and Spearfish Falls.

I drove along the Needles Scenic byway during my journey back to the motel. The next day, I checked out and headed to the Badlands national park. This was unique in terms of the terrain and the type of rocks found there. I would not call them rocks as they were too soft and could easily be broken down with a hammer or axe. But the entire park was filled with mounds of clay-like material which had color variations, possibly due to minerals.

After doing a couple of short hikes, the most fun among them being Notch trail, I started driving towards the airport, along the Badlands Loop Road. On the loop road, I stopped at multiple lookout points to get amazing views and photographs. The above photo was taken at the Yellow Mounds view point. And last but not the least, South Dakota, specifically Sturgis is famous for motorcycles. I saw a whole bunch of motorists on huge-ass Harley Davidsons riding along the freeway.

I took my flight back to San Jose and landed here at night 9pm. It was a perfect duration to cover the important places without having to rush through any of them. Overall, it was a well spent weekend.

A few more random pictures to relate to the culture of South Dakota...

Embroidery

Recycled newspaper penstand

This is a penstand made from newspaper and an old cardboard box. This is a good way to recycle junk lying around and serves as a useful stationary item.

Its very simple to make, just follow the steps below.

1. Cut out a portion of any old cardboard, for example shoe box, and leave the top open. A good dimension would be 4 by 6 by 8 cm.

2. Cut newspaper into rectangular strips of 8 by 4 cm. Roll each strip into a pipe and stick the open end.

3. Now paste these pipes around the cardboard box.

4. Paint and decorate your pen stand as you wish. You can use glitter, sequins etc to make it look more attractive.

Kundan flowers

Kundan stones are available in any fancy store. Flower making wire can be bought from a craft store. Aluminum wire can be used alternatively.

Pass a small length of the wire(6-7cm) through the 2 holes in the stone.
Wrap the ends of the wire behind the stone and twist them tightly. This makes a petal.

Now join 5 such petals to make a flower. Make sure the wires are twisted tightly together.

For the base, I used plaster of paris mixed with water and molded in the shape of the palm of a hand.

Once the plaster is completely dry(drying takes a day approx.), paint the hand black.

Use cotton dipped in gold paint and smear on the hand, when the black paint is half dry. This gives the bronzed effect.

Kusudama flower ball

The first craft i did after college is the Kusudama flower ball. This is a form of 3d origami.

Below are the steps :

Take a square piece of paper, the size can vary between 4 to 8 inches. Make sure the paper is slightly thick(origami paper). Origami paper can be bought in any stationary store.

Follow the steps shown in the below images to make one petal.

Stick both the ends to form a petal.



Now, join 5 such petals to make a flower.

You will need 12 such flowers to make a kusudama ball. Make 2 halves of the ball using 6 flowers each and finally join them together.

5 things I love about New York

Alright, I am highly biased about this particular topic. I love Manhattan as the whole package with all it's dirt, crowd and arrogant New-Yorkers. But if I have to highlight a few favorite New-Yorky nothings, then here goes.

1) Chaos. The crowd and rush of Manhattan make me forget the chaotic mess inside of me. I experience a feeling of calmness inside me owing to the distraction created by the chaos in the outside world.

2) Food(surprise, surprise :D) The street food of NYC simply rocks! Biryani carts, kebabs, crepes, tacos - you name it, and the streets of Manhattan have it. For first time visitors, I would recommend going through this if you want to enjoy street food.

3) Subway. I have never felt the need for a car in NYC. The subway is so well designed, that every part of the city is reachable by the metro/bus. Although, the system with peak/non-peak, fast-track/regular and the lack of direction when exiting the subway, might be a tad bit overwhelming initially, once you get the hang of it, the subway is the best mode of transport in Manhattan. The underground Manhattan.

4) Art. Manhattan is an artist's paradise. Starting from classy art museums, Broadway shows, street artists, street musicians to subway dancers, NYC has it all. The Met and MOMA are two of the popular art museums in New York. Apart from that, there are a number of street artists along Broadway who do caricature portraits, fancy name painting and scenic painting. For the art enthusiasts - http://streetartnyc.org/

5) Shopping. Manhattan literally has an outlet of every brand in the world. The posh SoHo district is famous for expensive designer boutiques. For the lighter wallets, the new york street fairs(http://www.nycstreetfairs.com/sched.html) are the to-go place for shopping. Apart from that, there are a number of street peddlers selling a variety of souvenirs for tourists. 

Red Dahlias

It was a lonely winter night, cold and wet, with the wind blowing strong. The dry autumn leaves were plucked by the wind and strewn on the street. The wooden bench by the pavement was old and moist, with pearls of water dripping down from it. The street was deserted and silent; even the night owls had left in search of happier homes. He stood in silence, taking in, the solitude and melancholy surrounding the place he grew up in. Scenes of life, colorful and bright, at the very same street replayed in his mind. Nostalgia took over his mind, and flooded his thoughts. He saw her there, sitting on the bench, dressed in a floral-patterned summer dress and wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Her eyes were like diamonds on her face, brightened by the sun's rays. She turned to look at him and smiled. Her smile made him feel weightless, excited and happy, all at the same time. He lived a life with her as a dream. Dreams gave him those small pleasures of being with her. But he knew the reality; she could never belong to him, she was beyond his grasp. The brush of the cold wind brought him back to the present day, to the empty bench. He walked forward, placed the red dahlias and the Merlot on the bench. He turned and walked away in silence, completing the ritual he had been doing every week for the most part of his youth.

Enigmatic Mind

Escaping the confines
Of my claustrophobic mind
Presents itself as
A virtual possibility.
Ironical will it be
To make it a reality.
The chaotic harmony
Of enigmatic elements
Is a luring temptation
To the greedy intellect.

Lonely in a crowd

Solo in Manhattan.
Faces.Lights.Sounds.
Around is a crowd
But lonely as an island
Memories to be forgotten
The winds blow them away
To distant lands
Far away from reach
By my fragile form.
Solo in Manhattan.
Sadness. Pain. Love.

Precious

Another useless one.

---

Forever it seems,
That I know you.
But just a few months.
Your thoughts are mine,
My words are yours.
Completing you,
Not changing you
Is my wish.
Feels dreamlike, unreal,
A day passes by,
The bond grows stronger.
To be your precious,
Is my longing.

Life lessons after alcohol : The only precious gem mined from inside of me using 3 vodka martinis and a tequila :D

To the optimist, the moon is a bride, awaiting a bright life ahead.
To the pessimist, the moon is a widow, mourning the sorrow of her past.