Travel &c.

“Not all those who wander are lost.” — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

• San Francisco — Jan 2. The Dancing Yak. Went for dinner. Casual, unassuming place with very tastefully done interiors. Service was very friendly and warm. Ordered kale chaat, chicken momos, lamb shapta, goat curry, and thali. Everything was super yummy. Excellent experience. Will come again for sure.
• San Francisco — Jan 10. The Dancing Yak. Went for dinner (yet again). Ordered kale chaat, chicken momos, lamb shapta, chicken chowmein, butter chicken, and lamb kebab. Everything was super yummy. Excellent experience. Will come again for sure.
• Pasadena, CA — Jan 23–25. Caltech Math Meet (CMM). Road trip with my parents. Listened to this playlist on the drive to Pasadena and this other one on the way back. The drive was beautiful in both directions — the landscape lush and green instead of desert sand and parched earth. There were several moments that reminded us of the Cotswolds. We stayed at the Pasadena Rose and Crown Hotel, which was very comfortable and functional. Had Din Tai Fung for dinner on Friday and Cava on Saturday. The contest itself went really well — we took 1st place in power, 1st place in team, and 1st place overall.
• Cambridge, MA — Feb 13–15. Harvard-MIT Math Tournament (HMMT Feb).
• Bucharest, Romania — Feb 20–28. The 17th Romanian Master in Mathematics, RMM 2026.