My Life, A Cocktail

Yes, there is such a thing!!! Super delicious. @ Cafe Central at the Westfiedl Valleyfair mall in Santa Clara.

I was nearing the end of this book that I am reading, and a phrase about Turkish coffee and it’s aroma made me linger. Immediately and unknowingly, I was taking a deep breath and my mind was filled with the aroma of strong freshly ground coffee. I was transported to the crowded lanes of Manama, walking hand in hand with my dad, into this little coffee shop in the corner. It was the kind of shop that boasted several varieties of coffee grounds from the middle east - Turkish, Arabic, Persian. While my dad and mom would decide on which one to get, and wait for them to be roasted, me and my sister would greedily admire the huge baskets of candy wrapped in shiny foil papers of all colors. The store owner would notice and very fondly, call out to us and hand us a few pieces of candy. We would accept in delight. There are some memories that no matter how old, stay with you. They let you travel and relive the bygones as fresh as the present. Oh, you beautiful mind!

We live life like a race. A race to get to the pretend finish line. Like horses with blinders, we charge ahead, we walk with our heads held high, like nothing can ever deter us.   Until one fine day, one fine moment, nature decides to put us through an experience. An experience that opens up our vistas, and quite simply, swaps out the illusion with reality. You are amazed how you missed it all along, how can we not see? You realize there is no finish line. No race even. Priorities fall into place. 

Yet another beautiful birthday. What does a beautiful birthday entail you ask? Food. And perhaps a few diamonds? As always, woke up to calls from parents and in-laws. We headed out for breakfast deciding to try out a new diner in San Jose called Bill's Cafe. It had amazing reviews on yelp which made it a must try. It did not disappoint. The service was probably the best part. It is a true diner in the sense our coffee mugs never had the chance to get half empty (yes, yes, I ordered decaf). We ordered the Veggie Skillet which is basically grilled veggies and scrambled eggs served over crispy hash browns, garnished with avocado, sour cream and chives. We ordered just one breakfast and decided to share since we knew we had a full day of good eating ahead of us. This was probably the only restaurant that was nice enough to actually split out our dish upfront, so we didn't have to make a mess on our own trying to split out the portions. Each of our portions were individ