Cocoa Masala Chai

Have you ever walked into a room and took a look around to see if anybody else looked like you, the comfort of knowing you're not the only one?  Sometimes it feels like you're the only chocolate chip in the cookie, and other times there are only a handful in the cookie. (I traveled to a country where I was a chocolate chip in a chocolate cookie and I still managed to awkwardly stand out). Well, in India I'll be one of a relatively small handful of chocolate chips in the cookie. But since chai is the national drink of India, I thought cocoa (chocolate) and masala (spiced) chai would be better motifs. And thus, Cocoa Masala Chai was born! (Plus Cocoa Chai was already taken by a blog that hasn't been updated since 2006 😖 ) Photo by René Porter on Unsplash

Exactly one year ago on August 31, 2022, I got news that would make most people devastated. We've all heard the news about layoffs from the big tech giants (and other companies too) and read so many LinkedIn posts of how folks were callously given their walking papers as they were laid off en masse. The uncertainty and anxiety was palpable, and I feel for them. I too was unexpectedly given the news that my services were no longer needed. But for me it was a welcomed relief; I had to wait until after the Teams call to express my joy. I had been given a gift—a release from a job that would free me up to do something I wouldn't have been brave enough to do on my own. So the significance is not lost on me that, on the 1-year anniversary of that last-minute 'hey, do you have a second' Teams call at the end of the workday, I'm getting on a plane to start a new adventure in a new land.  It's even more exciting that, on what would have been 15-year anniversary with my c

Stay tuned for my first post on 8/31/2023! Photo by Huma Kabakci on Unsplash