Expect the unexpected.

Andrew Card, the former Bush White House chief of staff, said, "August is a challenging time to be president. I think you have to expect the unexpected."*

Hypothetically, if I were to intentionally spin that quote to better fit my own situation, say, in a blog entry, I'd note that August is also a pretty challenging time to be a recent college graduate, move into your own apartment with minimal help from others, and start an accelerated graduate program. Not only do you have to expect the unexpected, but you also have to learn to handle it reasonably well.

A rose from our garden at home (Mobile, AL)

Photograph taken by Dr. Sailen Barik

Today was definitely a case in point.

After spending about five days at home in Alabama, I departed for my five-hour drive back to Atlanta. One unexpected power outage, two four-way intersections without functional traffic lights, and over a dozen torrential downpours later, I arrived in Atlanta.

Unfortunately, more unexpectedness was still to come.

Granted, you can't really hope for the royal treatment when you're paying nearly nothing for an old, starter apartment within 5 minutes of an unbelievably expensive university - but after moving in loads of items in the summer heat and unpacking for an hour or two, there's a basal standard of living that you do expect: running water, functional air conditioning, and, perhaps, a general level of cleanliness (i.e., no mold, unfriendly rodents, or pesky pests with wings or antennae).

There's certainly running water and no mold, but so far, I've killed two small spiders, one creepy roach, and two unidentifiable six-legged (or maybe eight-legged?) arthropod-like creatures... and there are probably more that either got away or couldn't be caught in the sweltering 88 degree heat of my apartment interior - because the air conditioning, according to my "interesting" roommate (for lack of a better adjective), apparently "works sometimes if you don't keep it on for too long, but the temperature usually doesn't change".

For the time being, I've borrowed a sizeable floor fan from my roommate, but it's safe to say I'll be stopping by the leasing office first thing tomorrow morning. Paris might not have had central air, but at least the outdoor temperature was cool enough at nights to open the windows and breathe in chilly, fresh gusts of oxygen...

Andrew Card might have gotten it wrong in his TV interview last week - I'm pretty sure that every month is a challenging time to be president. And I'm pretty sure that September will also be a trying time to be a new graduate student in a starter apartment.

At least I know to "expect the unexpected" now.

*Quote from Frank Rich's August 8th Op-Ed article in the NY Times, "Is Obama Punking Us?"

Biscuits with butter bring bliss.

Recently, Alabama (my hometown, specifically) was in an article of the NY Times - surprisingly, for something positive: biscuits. Not just any biscuits, but buttermilk biscuits that taste homemade and "Parker-style yeast rolls [dipped] in real butter."

From fluffy buttermilk biscuits for breakfast to yeast rolls with lunch and cheddar biscuits served at dinner, biscuits (and rolls) have become a staple of American cuisine, and not just in the South.With graduation coming up in less than a month, I've started thinking about my favorite memories of college, and how most (if not all) of those memories involve food, friends, and family, or some combination of those things. That being written, here are my top three biscuit-related picks for graduation weekend brunch: (hopefully, they'll include family and/or friends, as well.)

1. The Flying Biscuit: My all-time favorite order is the turkey meatloaf, with horseradish cream sauce, served with pudge (mashed potatoes with sundried tomatoes, basil, and olive oil). It doesn't hurt that you also get the best biscuit ever with cranberry apple butter on the side. It's pretty crowded on the weekends, but it's totally worth the wait.

2. Bobby & June's Kountry Kitchen: Don't let the cute misspelling fool you - this place has cuisine with a kick (or should I have written, "kuisine with a kick"?). It's probably one of the only places in Atlanta that you can get a Southern-style breakfast with eggs, bacon, and sausage (and biscuits, of course), and then come back for lunch to have BBQ with a homemade chili sauce tang.

3. Java Jive: I've never been here in person, but apparently, this restaurant ties with the Flying Biscuit for the best homemade biscuits - plus, they have a nice ambiance, complete with great jazz and 1950s decor.

The weather has been really weird in Atlanta the past few weeks - I can't really tell if it's winter weather or starting to become summer, because the temperatures have been fluctuating so much. But, as the Russian author Anton Chekhov** once wrote, "People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy." And, as soon as I get biscuits, I'll be too happy to pay any mind to the weather.

*Photo taken by S. Arora; from an impromptu celebratory dinner at Panera - i.e., food, friends, and great memories.
** I've been reading Chekhov for my English class; an explanation for the seemingly random insertion of a quote by a Russian author.

P.S. This post was written on my new MacBook =) I branched out a bit and got a case that's not black or white (part of my unofficial campaign to put more color in my life).

First, Break In Spring

Here's a recap of the images, words, and sounds that made my Spring Break more enjoyable - as usual, interesting factoids and copious amounts of commentary are included, too. Officially-speaking, the break's not over yet; but, unofficially, it's pretty much ended since it's time to get back to work again.

Flo & Tiny

"Our best built certainties are but sand-houses and subject to damage from any wind of doubt that blows." ~ Mark Twain

The photographs* below (click on them to view them at their full-size) probably speak for themselves, but the phenomenally-crafted sand sculptures of "Flo" and "Tiny" on Dauphin Island beach were one of the most memorable parts of my Spring Break. Whoever you are, and wherever you are, hundreds (if not thousands) of beach-goers were definitely amazed and entertained by your one-of-a-kind works.

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Sometimes, religion (and religious phrases) , like art, show up in very predictable places - like the bumper stickers on the cars of conservative Alabama towns, the welcome signs outside of Protestant churches, or the Sunday morning broadcasts of church services on local television channels. Other times, though, they show up in the least-expected spots - like the bottom of your bright yellow, plastic Forever 21 shopping bag.

Don Chang and his wife, Jin, immigrants from Korea and the founders of the clothing chain, were apparently "deeply religious" devout Christians. But store managers, customers, and news reporters (like Deborah Kolben of the New York Sun) have their own ideas as to why the Bible passage is quoted on Forever 21's bag. Religion, even in small and seemingly inconspicuous doses, always seems to be up for interpretation and never ceases to stir up controversy and confusion.

"Jai Ho"

"May victory be yours."

Speaking of things that are "up for interpretation", the Pussycat Dolls have recently come out with a cover of A.R. Rahman's song, "Jai Ho" (from the award-winning Slumdog Millionaire film) - the original song won an Oscar for best song; but, the cover, in my opinion, is just an overly-Anglicized pop version of an already Anglicized Bollywood song. As talented and gorgeous as the Pussycat Dolls are, I feel that this cover is one that doesn't really do justice to the true meaning of the original lyrics. It's always difficult to find a perfect medium between staying true to the original traditions and social morays of more conservative Eastern culture when trying to gain popularity with incredibly liberal Western audiences. In this case, what's happened with "Jai Ho" almost exactly reminds me of what the teenage-pop star-character Cora Corman initially did to the song "Way Back Into Love" in the movie Music and Lyrics... except that this is real life, and not the movies.

Since musical preferences are a personal thing, though, I'll just let each listener and/or viewer independently and individually decide what he or she thinks about the song and music video. Maybe some things just take getting used to and you enjoy them more over time - I mean, it's not until you break-in a pair of shoes that they actually start feeling comfortable, right?


*Dauphin Island photographs captured by Dr. S Barik.