The Carbonaro Effect

I recently stumbled upon the magic hidden camera TV show called 'The Carbonaro Effect' on Youtube and loved it. Shortly after, I found out he was performing in San Jose. I showed a few clips to my BIL and SIL and they were interested in going as well. I quickly bought tickets for the show.

It was held in City National Civic (the same place where we saw SPB perform previously). The hall was packed and the show started on time. The opening act was by another comedian-I forget his name-but he was pretty entertaining.

Once Michael came on stage, it truly was magic. He has such a great personality and he is an amazing performer. Every sentence and voice modulation was well prepared and delivered. The magic tricks were outstanding which was expected. What was impressive was the comic element to each of those acts that left us laughing. Every trick was mind blowing and there never was a dull moment in the show. Definitely worth watching.  There was no photography or videos allowed inside the hall so don't have any pictures of Michael.

Beer Tasting at Hermitage Brewery

As we get closer to our R2I plan, our friends Anne & Nush have been so particular about ensuring we do as many fun things before we leave. Beer tasting at Hermitage Brewery was one such.

We went there around 6p so that we could go for dinner after the tasting. I am not a beer drinker but I liked the idea of visiting the brewery and just hanging out. There was a giant brewing tank right near the entrance. The area where the brewing takes place can be viewed from outside. I hear there are tours offered with a walk-thru of the facility. We did not take the tour.

The place has a fun and relaxed vibe to it. There was indoor and outdoor seating available. They had a big board which listed the beers available with a brief description. They specialize in barrel aged sours. We decided to buy one tasting and share. A flight of 4 beers costs $10 with $3 extra for the sours. I was intrigued by the Cherry Almond Beer. The others we ordered were Maltopia, Ryetopia and another IPA whose name I forget. As expected I did not like any of the non-sour beers. I loved the Cheery Almond because it did not taste like beer at all-no bitterness whatsoever. It was super sour and had a slight sweetness. It reminded me of some of the fruity ciders/ales I have tried before only this was much more sour. It was very strong though with 7% ABV. I was buzzed after having just one. They were out of pretzels to much on and there is no food available for purchase either.

After a relaxed beer drinking session, we headed to a Chinese restaurant (Sweet Mango) for dinner followed by ice cream at Baskin Robbins. What a fun evening filled with great conversation, exploring new things and of course food!

SPB Concert

This was my first concert here in the US. We booked tickets and were so eager to go but the day before the show we heard about the legal issues that organizers were facing due to which they could not sing certain songs. That was a bummer. Since the tickets were non refundable we went anyway.

The show was in downtown San Jose in the convention center. The venue was spacious, clean and with good acoustics. The performers were beyond amazing. It was a pleasure to listen to SPB and Chitra live.

 

I was annoyed by the yelling kids and the adults who kept walking in and out to grab food. Other than that it was a pleasant show despite me not knowing half the songs.

Don't have anything more to add but just wanted a record of going to the event so wanted to put this up.

Gurdwara Sahib of San Jose

This weekend, our family outing was to the Gurdwara in San Jose. I had heard about it from many people but never got a chance to go there. In fact, BAO even conducted an event based on my suggestion last year but I got to go there only now.

The Gurdwara is about a 30 minute drive from Sunnyvale and is located on a hill. You get a great view of San Jose from up top. We reached there by noon. As soon as you enter, there is a place to leave your footwear and wash your hands. Entering the main prayer hall, we offered our prayers and sat down for a few minutes. A satsang in Punjabi was going on at the time. We then proceeded to the langar hall where lunch was being served. Grabbing a plate we stood in line, got the food and sat down to eat. Seniors and those who have difficulty sitting on the floor can sit at the tables.

The food was delicious and volunteers kept walking around serving more. After a satisfying meal we walked around clicking pictures and then made our way back home.

With my lovely In-laws

The noise caused by kids treating the place as a playground and adults socializing took away from the peaceful and meditative environment one expects from a holy place. The walls of the langar hall had a lot of posters explaining Sikhism and its tenets. It was an eye opener and I was amazed at how modern a religion it is. The teachings are very practical and are a good guideline to lead ones life by. The most impressive poster was the one which listed out the reasons why the Guru Granth Sahib is the most unique religious book. Some of the key points were as follows:

-Written by the original Gurus so there is nothing lost in translation or room for misinterpretation unlike other books which were compilations of word of mouth teachings.
-Followers consider the book as the ultimate truth and no one is worshipped above the book.
-Has a lot of different languages and dialects.
-Written in poetry form and has literary value
-Stress is on morals and value rather than miracles.

I'm very curious and will be taking up further reading about the book and the religion.

What: Gurdwara Sahib of San Jose
Where: 3636 Murillo Ave, San Jose CA
When: 24X7

Escape From The Time Travel Lab

Ever since I played the last Escape Room game, I have been waiting for a new one.  When I read about the latest Time Travel Lab room, I knew I had to try it. This time, I had a much bigger group comprising mostly of my colleagues. Everyone except Vishnu and I were first timers but super excited about the game. Luckily for us, no outsiders joined our team.

Happy face

As we were familiar with the set up of the game and learned from our mistakes from the past, we met up for dinner before the game to strategize. I explained the rules and split us into two groups: searchers and solvers. The former looking for clues and the latter unraveling the mystery. This really helped us become organized and we did not waste much time.

I won't reveal much about the game and spoil anyone's fun. I will say that it was a lot of hard work and suspense. The time travel element of the game was superb. We almost managed to get to the very end of the game and then ran out of time. Everyone had a blast running around rummaging for clues, puzzles and finally the key to escape. An evening of detective work, laughter and race against time. Can't wait to do more escape rooms!

Sad face

What: The Real Escape Game

Where: http://realescapegame.com/

Cost: $39

Stage 4 Improv Comedy

This weekend, I attended an improv comedy show for the very first time. Improv shows are basically scenes or stories enacted by actors on stage using suggestions from the audience. This means nothing is scripted and things are made up on the spot. The best part is that it is funny!

The show was performed by the very talented group called Stage 4 Improv at the Black Cat Licorice Theater in San Jose. It was an hour and a half long show. We arrived at the theater early as we wanted to have dinner before the show. We parked at the theatre and walked toward Gojo Ethiopian Restaurant. It was one of the most amazing meals I have had. Highly recommend the place.

The theatre is quite small and seats about 40 people. This means there are no bad seats and everyone gets a good view of the stage. The show started promptly at 8pm. The 4 actors arrived on stage and asked a few questions to the audience. Based on the responses (birthday, undertaker and toilet paper!), they performed a 2 act broadway musical titled 'A life worth wiping :D' complete with songs and acting. My mind was blown away by the sheer talent in terms of the songs, humor, acting and the story. It was incredible! After the long form improv show, they performed several small scenes again based on audience suggestions. Those were superb too.

There was not a single dull moment and I was laughing throughout. I was so glad I got introduced to improv comedy and I'm sure I'll be going back to catch more shows. High quality entertainment at such a low price-what's not to like!

What: Improv Comedy 

Where: Black Cat Licorice Theater

Crime Scene Investigation Lecture

Bay Area Older Adults organized an event around Crime Scene Investigation. It was held at the Forensic Science Center in downtown San Jose. Our host for the evening was Cordelia Willis, a Santa Clara County Criminalist. She has almost 17 years of experience working in the various labs of the forensic department (blood spatter, DNA, prints, firearms, trace evidence etc).

As the general public does not have access to the labs for obvious reasons, the event was in the form of a lecture with a presentation. It was a very educational session with lots of good questions from the audience. I learnt so much about DNA collection, database matches, trace evidence collection and ballistic reports. Cordelia peppered the lecture with real case stories that she worked on which ensured the audience was hooked. With constant barrage of audience questions, the two hour session got extended to three hours!

I think these lectures are held once a month and are open to the public. If forensics interests you, this lecture is not to be missed.

Real Escape Game

My latest activity was a super fun game called the Real Escape game. Ten people are locked inside a room and the aim of the game is to kind a key to get out of the room. There are lots of puzzles and clues hidden inside and solving all of them ultimately leads to the key.

I have never done something like this before and was absolutely thrilled when I heard a friend mention this. Since it is more fun doing this activity with people you know rather than with strangers, I managed to convince a few friends to join me. And I'm so glad we played the game. 

The concept of the game originated in Japan and is now popular all over the world. In the Bay Area, it is located in San Francisco and San Jose. We went to the one in San Jose. You have to reserve tickets online in advance. The duration of the game is one hour with an extra half an hour for introductions,  explaining the rules and questions.

The room in which we were locked looked very ordinary but was full of puzzles, crosswords, clues and mystery. As a team, we had to figure things out. I can't really say anything more about the game without the spoilers so I'll stop. We did not manage to find the key in time and escape but I'd say we did pretty well for ourselves and everyone was pleased. There was a lot of collaboration, creativity, time management and brain work involved and it was thoroughly enjoyable. 

Sad face: Real Escape Game

They have a few different themes for the rooms to choose from. The one we went for was called 'Escape from the Mysterious Room.' It is a very good activity as a corporate team building event as well as a day out with friends. Even if you don't have a group of ten, you can always book your tickets and you will be clubbed with others who reserve that slot. I'm excited about trying some of the other rooms and puzzles.

Happy face: Real Escape Game

What: The Real Escape Game

Where: http://realescapegame.com/

Cost: $39

San Jose Flea Market

I haven't been up and about exploring new places after my hectic New York trip. So this Saturday, I decided to check out the San Jose Flea Market. I had heard a lot about it from my neighbors but never really got around to visiting it.

San Jose Flea Market

The San Jose Flea Market is the largest open-air market in the US, spanning 120 acres of land and has around 2000 vendors. Furniture, clothes, vegetables, electronics, household goods-you name it and this market has it all. There are some stalls that sell second hand things too-used machines, music systems and even used cars! There are some fun rides and attractions like mechanical bull, pony rides, petting farm etc for children to enjoy. Live music by bands and lots of food stalls makes the market a perfect entertainment spot. Note that most vendors only accept cash. ATMs and restrooms are available in different areas of the market. 

Live Music performance

Petting Farm

This market reminded me of the exhibitions that we have back in India. The main difference being that the Flea market is better organized, less crowded and the price of goods is cheaper compared to regular stores. 

Judging by the style of clothing and the type of fresh produce being sold, I got the impression that the market caters largely to the Hispanic population. 

Fresh produce stand

The market operates on Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends rain or shine throughout the year. The vendors arrive between 5-6am the market closes at dusk. However, I saw most food stalls and a good number of regular stalls fold up by 5pm on Saturday.

What: San Jose Flea Market

Where: 1590 Berryessa Road, San Jose CA 95133

When: Wed, Fr, Sat and Sun: dawn to dusk

Fee: $3 parking fee on weekdays and $7 on weekends.