Today Matt H and I went for dinner. I havent seen him since December of last year and he is one of my friends from Seattle who fall under the family bucket. Its nice to catch up with good friends, they bring out the best in you.
He talked about his iphone with so much passion that I want to buy one now. 
Asayo, moshi moshi! I miss my Seattle friends, please come and visit!
Can you trust people you just meet to be honest with you? After having been in SF for six weeks, and meeting several new people, I have started questioning myself. Instinctively you know when you will get along with someone but as we grow older we have a lot of stories. And sometimes I feel people manipulate them to their advantage to cover their insecurities.
Just because I am really honest doesnt mean that I can expect that of others. Can I? If I detect cognitive dissonance in actions and words should I stop and worry? Should I catch people when their actions and words dont match up. Its really different if you are part of a closed network because then you are meeting friends of friends and you invariably know the truth will leak out at some point.
But if you meet a stranger besides your gut feeling how can you trust them to be honest?
The things I have learnt so far…
I hate this playing it by ear business. I have seen it used more out here in the past few weeks than ever in my life. I translate that as “You are not really that important and if something better comes up, I will definitely be doing that. But I dont really want to tell you that and so I am going to play it by ear instead.”
So what does one do when someone says “Lets play it by ear.” Just assume thats its not going to happen and find a different person. Last night I went through a mental list of all my friends and how they interact with me. Noone plays it by ear. They just tell me they dont want to do it. And they call when they say they will. And they never ever blow me off unless its a major emergency. Jesse actually called me to let me know that he started working on a major project and wouldnt be available to hang out with me for 2 weeks. Talk about honesty. I think I am spoilt now with such honest communication.
I think unless you know someone really well, playing it by ear is a nice way of saying goodbye.
I moved to San Francisco last week. I had five boxes to unpack. My entire life is 5 boxes and in there somehow I saved a stuffed toy. We are all strange sometimes, somehow I made the choice when I was packing in Philadelphia that the toy was really an important part of my life.
So I am in San Francisco and JJ has asked me to continue writing this blog. JJ is my little Chinese brother and I do what he says. My family friends from Portland grew up 2 buildings from where I live in Nob Hill now and yesterday I saw the area from thier eyes.
I dont quite know where my career is yet. I dont know how to market or sell my fathers company. The most important thing I learned from my Wharton MBA is I dont know a lot. A LOT. There is so much to learn.
I love San Francisco, I tried to run from my apartment to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill via Lombard St. I couldnt do it, but today I will try run a little further than I did last time. And I think in 2 weeks I will be able to run it. Its very exhilarating to run and the San Francisco weather is perfect for it. The air is crisp and I dont get too warm.
From my apartment, I see views of the water and the last week all I have done is cook, run, breathe, catchup with friends and sleep. Its time to wake up!
So Dave has been working like crazy so he can take a biketrip from Seattle to Chile. He had a lot of issues, he couldnt sell his house for months and then he finally found a buyer. He fell short of money. But after tedious months of planning, he left in November and is now in Baja http://www.ridesouth.net . Its so exciting.
He is biking away every single day. And every time I hear his voice, its brighter and chirpier. He is so happy and relaxed. He is following his dream. The dream that only his inner spirit can follow.
Highlights of the trip so far..
Accra (Ghana) - Visiting the arts market, so many people trying to sell you everything. Sitting by the hotel restaurant and looking at the ocean drinking ginger ale all afternoon. Learning to play African drums in the afternoon, this was a class right next to the ocean, the drums, the ocean, the palm trees, the sole fishing boat in the ocean and the blue skies created a surreal and beautiful moment.
Nairobi (Kenya) - Our visiting team rang the bell at the Nairobi stock exchange, eating lots of Indian food and staying at the most awesome hotel - http://www.serenahotels.com/kenya/nairobi/home.asp
They had velvet umbrellas with ornate designs decorating the ceiling in the bar and a really nice spa. While we were there the comesa agreement was being worked on and the president of one of the countries was in our hotel.
Johannesburg (South Africa) - Checked into an airport hotel late on friday night, we got the keys and went into our room. My roommate came running out saying there was someone in the room. The management had checked us in into an occupied room. The next day we headed off to the pilnaesburg national park and are now staying at Kwa Maritane http://www.legacyhotels.co.za/content.aspx?h=11. Yesterday and today we went for a bush drive, We saw all kinds of animals, a lion with 4 lioness and a cub, elephants, wild beasts, hate beasts, gazelles, all kinds of anteloppe, wildhog, baboons, mangoose, zebras, giraffes. This is my first experience in the wild. From my hotel room, we can see all kinds of wild life, zebras, wild hogs, monkeys. This has probably been my best experience in Africa so far.
After spending three nights in the windy town of Essawara, I am now in Accra, Ghana. Essawara is a super windy city, and is known for wind surfing. It was really cold there, so cold that we had to wear winter jackets in the evening. The wind chills your bones in this city. The town was again a mixture of tradition and modernism. We stayed at a riad - http://www.riadwatier.com/. We actually stayed in the suite on the front page. It was heavenly. The coolest place I have ever stayed at.
The landlord was extrenely hospitable and was in crutches due to an accident. But he tried to find a cool bar for us one night and walked with us till there. Very nice people. Ate lots of tagine and harira soup and walked around the white city with blue walls and doors. Reminded me a bit of the pictures of Greece that I have seen.
We then left for Accra,Ghana as part of the Africa Global Immersion Program with Wharton and have been here for three nights now. We are staying at the http://www.gbhghana.com/lapalm.html. Again a very nice hotel. In Accra so far we have been visiting a lot of companies and learning about the culture. The next two days are free for shopping and exploring the city and I am looking forward to it. The hotel is right by the beach and has really yummy Ghanaian chicken.
What a strangely fascinating country! I have been here for the last six nights and am really enjoying myself. Amit, Urvashi, Keith and I have been in Casablanca, Marrakesh, Essawaira.
We stayed at some pretty cool places called riads, old palaces redone very nicely. At Irenes suggestion we went to Al Fassia, a restaurant run by housewives. The food was superb, had a pigeon pastilla. Amit and Keith went crazy and had sheeps brain and snails on the roadside stall. The medina in Marrakesh is like a a crazy bombay market. Everyone is trying to sell something.
One night we headed off to the mountains to stay with a traditional berber family. There we stayed with a donkey, a cow and some chickens. The family was quite poor but thier hospitality was phenomenal. They cooked the best homemade meal ever. They had a threadbare existence in the snowcapped mountains. At night we fell asleep to a million stars.
I have been drinking mint tea 10 times a day, very soothing in the oppressive heat! We eat tagine at every meal, in the morning its always fresh orange juice and parathas. The lamb out here is excellent.
We are currently in the seaside artistic town of Essawara. Amit and I squabble a lot; he reminds me of my brother Ameet! He did laundry for the first time in his life, it took him several hours to wash a few boxers. The whole bathroom was a swimming pool after that. All is well and I head off to Accra tomorrow evening.