This week: a trip to Varkala, enjoying time with friends, fitness plans, dog adoption, and a few links.

For folks not in the know, this is a weekly stream of consciousness zero-agenda “here’s what’s happening” or “here’s what’s interesting” post.

What’s been happening

• Went by Ammu’s place last weekend just before our trip to Varkala. As usual, there was great food, some walks around the house, playing with Rocky, and lots of nice rainy greenery all around.

• I keep saying this, but I look at my Jeep and still think it’s one of the best purchases I’ve made the last couple of years. I could have cheaped out on a smaller car, but the combo of driving feel + comfort in the Jeep is really great.

• Varkala was so good for both of us. I think Ammu & I both healed a lot, and just watching the sea for a long time and doing nothing, spending time together was good for both of us. Prema and Sanjay were there as well, and we spent quite a bit of time with both of them. We stayed at Elixir, and having an investor discount there was ? worth it.

• I also decided to register with Pradfit run by Pradyumna again. I’ll turn 40 real soon, and it’ll be good to get my body back into shape. Both Sanjay and Prema have inspired me here, doing yoga & surfing every day seems to have made them 10 years younger.

• We also adopted a dog for Ammu’s parents. They already have a dog, but it’s getting older, and we thought it’ll be nice to introduce a smaller pet for them so they’ll continue to have a dog to roam around. In addition to being friends, dogs are also super useful in Kerala when you have a large house. Just this week, a snake (a small cobra) appeared out of nowhere in my mom’s place and she was telling me how much the dog helped to keep the snake in place until the snake catchers arrived. Anyways, we had a lovely time with the adoption. Polina is a Russian tourist who’s been in Varkala for a long time and she helped us with finding the puppy. Here is a video of Ammu with Pranchi, and a photo with both Pranchi and Rocky together.

• It’s so nice to have the privilege to take a break like this. I know a lot of companies say “unlimited time off” or “take as much time as you need” but having the ability to take time off when you genuinely need it is still not normal in our profession. Having run a startup myself, it’s harder to walk the walk here, and I love Automattic for this.

Links of the Week

• This list of certified snake catchers in Thiruvananthapuram helped us a lot this week. I called the number listed against Pattom, and they came within 15 minutes to collect the snake.
• Ammu has been asking me to upgrade our audio system for a while now (her ears hear a lot more than mine) and I did a little bit of research this week and last. The number of options in the audiophile world is just crazy. The pragmatic option (especially if you want to listen to music via TV) still seems to be Sonos. But there are cheap options there like this DAC that when paired with a cheaper pair of powered speakers can go a long way.

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