The Green Shack

Usually when I procrastinate too much a certain amount of time passes between when something happens and when I get around to blogging about it, I throw my hands up in the air and say "Crap, it happened too long ago and it's too stale to write about now."

But some things are too good not to share. Some things transcend time and space. Some things find a place in your heart and nestle in comfortably, never to leave. The Green Shack is all of these things.

When I say the Green Shack, I am actually referring to the Oban Seafood Hut. But the Green Shack is how it was first described to me and in my opinion, is a much more apt name for the best seafood establishment I've ever been to in my life.

Here's the backstory. The first time I visited Oban, it was with my family when we were en route to the Isle of Mull. We had heard of Oban being famed for its seafood so we stopped for lunch. At the recommendation of a local, we made the long, uphill trudge to a restaurant called Seafood Temple. Luckily for us, they were closed for lunch. "Try the green shack on the pier. You can't miss it," one of their employees told us. "Just don't expect to sit down with a tablecloth and everything."

Ten minutes later we found ourselves standing in line, drool pooling more rapidly than we could manage as we took in the smells and sights of fresh seafood all around us. A lifetime later, we made away with the goods: hot mussels cooked in white wine and butter, a grand assortment of various seafood, and a couple of salmon sandwiches to tuck it all in.









My family is from Maryland where lobster, blue crab, and other delicious creatures from the oceans make regular appearances on our dinner table. But we unanimously agreed that this was the freshest, most delicious seafood we had all had to date.

The boy and I went back to the Isle of Mull a few weeks later to go whale watching. We made sure to book a hotel in Oban one of the nights. This time we added oysters and scallops to the lineup.









I love how simple it all is.  It begins when local fishermen bring in their catch and unload right at the dock, often with their faithful sea dogs in tow.



The seafood is cooked simply to highlight its freshness and natural flavor. The prices are kept low; there are no middlemen. There is one large bench and another stand to eat. If you're lucky, you may find a seat. Many others stand or stoop near the shack, too engrossed in their meal to worry about such trivialities like a proper seat. You immerse yourself in heaven for a while, and afterwards, you clean up, wash your hands, and you wish you had four more stomachs to relive the experience.



It's been many moons since we've had a meal there, but the Green Shack comes up in conversation at least once a week between the boy and me. We reminisce about the flavors, torture ourselves with the pictures, and plan elaborate layovers in Scotland that give us just enough time for one more spin...

If you're a lover of seafood who is planning to visit the bonnie lands of Scotland, don't miss the Green Shack. It's truly one of the most unforgettable culinary experiences I've ever had in my life. Simple, scrumptious seafood at its very finest.

First week in Istanbul!

There are only a few times a year when I experience weeks as disruptive as this last one. Everything is so new and unfamiliar, from the location of knives in my kitchen to the Turkish column names in the database tables our team works with. Just like when I first arrived to Glasgow, I'm operating in constant 'what-is-happening-brain-overload-hallppp' mode - every little thing is something new to learn and master.

It's definitely been overwhelming - but in a good way. I'm a firm believer that this kind of shakeup is good for the brain. Too much lollygagging in the same place brings about mental canker sores.

In my last entry, I alluded to spending our one day in Glasgow in packing hell...

Brought to you by Hurricane ThoughtWorks.

Above is a highlight from Packocalypse. Everything on the daybed was to donate or give away, everything on the coffee table was a 'maybe', and everything on the dining table was a 'definitely take with us'. Not pictured: further Packocalypse wreckage in bathroom and bedroom.

The move was made up of a series of small miracles.

1. I was able to sell my Lady Gaga tickets that day via Gumtree, the UK's answer to craigslist 

2. We were able to offload many items to co-workers

3. We eventually managed to to sit/stomp/punch our belongings into a total of 10 bags. 

4. The airline only lost one of said bags. 

5. The airline recovered it and sent it to us. 

6. Neither of us went insane.

Our unit here in Istanbul is in a ridiculously glamorous skyscraper. If it looks familiar, it's because I stayed here six months ago when visiting the city. What's funny is that the bedroom we slept in then, which belonged to another ThoughtWorker who was out of town at the time - is the one we ended up moving into now. And the colleague who had hosted us before is now our roommate - small world!

Our new living room - pretty different from the old one.

Breakfast with the roomies.

I could get used to these floor-to-ceiling windows.

The residence tower where we stay is connected to the corporate tower where we work via a shopping mall. So the commute is a five-minute weave between the two buildings and does not require going outside...sounds pretty great, and it has been so far (no need to carry an umbrella...what a difference from the UK!), but I'm fairly sure it'll begin to feel a bit Truman-Show-esque after a while.

Where I work. This building looks identical to the one where I live.

In between all the packing and shopping for supplies, we managed to squeeze in a long run over the weekend. Along the way, we encountered a few interesting locals:

We cracked up at this Jesus-like bird basking in the warmth of the rising sun.

Our roommate and a furry friend.
The stray dogs in Turkey are incredible - friendly, mostly huge, clean, and healthy.
This fella was downright fat!

Just from first impressions so far, the boy and I have dubbed Istanbul as the the love child of Manhattan and Bangalore, which rings true to the epithet of this city being where East meets West. There are people milling about at all hours of the day and the city seems to offer a bit of everything. Admittedly, I've seen very little of Istanbul so far but I hope to explore more in the coming weeks and share what it's like here.

One thing I've already grown fond of are the salats, or prayers, that are performed five times a day in the mosques. At first, I (very stupidly) thought they were recordings. Which in retrospect makes no sense at all. Derp.

Here is an example of a salat being performed at the Blue Mosque. I think they sound very beautiful.

I'm happy and excited to be here. It doesn't take much - just being around wonderful people and amazing food (almost as important!) tends to do the trick. Istanbul is already beginning to feel like home away from home.

ThoughtWorkers up to no good.

Magnets from our travels holding up far-away family and friends.

We've been playing a lot of Jaipur, an excellent boardless game.

I couldn't resist a quick snap of my new bling against the urban backdrop.

One thing in our 'definitely take with us' pile of things was our airbed. So if you, dear reader, are interested in visiting out this amazing city, let me know! I would love to host you and show you around.

Istanbul-bound!

It's confirmed* - I'm going to Istanbul!

The backstory: there have been some changes here at our client in Glasgow, one of which resulted sadly in our current development team being reduced to roughly half of what it was. At first, the boy and I were told we'd be sticking around. This made sense given that we were based here and many team members who traveled weekly from London, Manchester, etc requested to roll of. But the day before we were leaving for our 2-week vacation (which we are on now), we got the news that our schedules and skill sets lined up better with the gig in Turkey, and were we willing to go? And just like that, we announced to the team that the following day would be our last. 

Logistically we'll be operating in fast forward mode - once we get back to the UK, we'll have a day to pack up in Glasgow, the next day to fly to Istanbul to get settled, and the day after that we'll be at our new client...ahhh!!! Then a week after, we'll head to London to get obtain our full working visas, then it's back to Istanbul for good, with sighs of relief. 

I'd always felt pretty comfortable with the 'pack up and hop on a plane with ridiculously short notice' mentality that comes with being a consultant at ThoughtWorks, but I've definitely gone soft since living in Glasgow and not traveling for work the past year. I'm picturing our apartment and all the random shit we've accumulated - climbing gear, airbed and extra pillows/sheets/blankets, dozens of jars of spices, random souvenirs (thankfully we stuck mostly to magnets), clothing and electronics... to pack or donate all that, sell our bicycles, and pop in to say goodbye to our co-workers all in one day will be the ultimate test of my road warrior abilities.

I'll definitely miss Glasgow. I've grown fond of living and working here. There are still many things I wanted to do in Scotland, like hike Ben Nevis and eat a deep fried Mars Bar and go back to Edinburgh. Leaving on such short notice makes me feel cheated of a proper farewell. 

But travel madness aside, I'm really looking forward to the next adventure. I loved my visit to Istanbul earlier in the year - it left me craving to see more of the country, like the hot air balloons of Cappadocia or the salt pools of Pamukkale. Moreover, I welcome the challenge of a new client, a new city, a new culture. This assignment will take me out of the cozy, predicable nest I've built in Glasgow and catapult me outside my comfort zone. I'm looking forward to learning, to growing, and to helping my new team ship some kickass Turkish technology!

*Well, as confirmed as things at ThoughtWorks get, which is never quite 100%. I'll truly believe it when I've been there a week!

The English countryside

Having seen the beauty of Scotland's highlands, it was now time to give the English countryside a visit. We hopped into our rental car, scooped up a friend, and journeyed south.

A great way to experience British hospitality is to stay at a bed and breakfast. They are everywhere here and seem to be the default choice for many travelers. Quaint, charming and so much more personal than most hotels. 

We pulled up into ours in the wee town of Shrewton just as the sun was setting.

An vintage stone manor nestled within the rolling hills of the English countryside. Could anything be more romantic? The boy tried his hardest to blend in with the setting.

The next morning, we tucked into hearty breakfasts. Unlike most places on Airbnb, bed and breakfasts here take the latter part of their name just as seriously as the former. Some common breakfast choices in the UK include porridge, smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, and my personal favorite, the full English breakfast, which is a glorious array of sausage, bacon, baked beans, fried egg, grilled mushrooms and tomato, and black pudding, which is made with pig's blood. All served with tea and toast, of course.



Our next stop: Stonehenge. I'll be honest - I wasn't exactly jumping up and down when I first heard we were going to visit a very old pile of rocks. But we arrived on a sunny day, and I was surrounded by friends and family, and everyone was in high spirits. So a lot of jumping up and down ensued!







After doing my cardio, I moved on to my strength workout.

Do you even move giant monolithic structures, bro?

We learned about the structure's past and the history of the people who built it over five thousand years ago. Most of the context as to why Stonehenge was built remains up for speculation (and probably always will, as there is no documentation of its use). The how of its construction was more interesting to me: I learned about several relatively simple techniques involving rope and wooden tracks that may have been used to transport the stones. A couple of researchers proved that a wooden sledges enabled a team of only sixteen men to pull a 2-tonne stone. Painstakingly difficult, but not at all impossible as we'd once thought, and definitely one of the more impressive feats of human engineering.

Stonehenge, you're alright.



Lunch was a quick stop over in the city of Bath, named so because the Romans had turned the place into a spa and erected their much-loved baths there two thousand years ago.







We saw a rather fantastic street performance by a violinist named Joel Grainger in the square where tourists lined up to see the original Roman baths. Here is his YouTube and Facebook. Really excellent stuff, and makes me feel a twinge of regret for not keeping up with the violin.

Our last stop was in the town of Castle Combe. It was so quaint and perfectly picturesque that I almost felt like I was wandering around an artificial theme park - just goes to show how green America is by comparison! But these stone houses were all very real and the town had just been very, very well preserved from when it flourished in the 1500's. No wonder it became a filming spot for movies like Dr. Doolittle and the boy's dad's favorite, War Horse (Joeeeyyyy!).

We stopped into The Old Rectory Tea Room and helped ourselves to scones and clotted cream in Anna's beautiful living room. A tasty, relaxing break from all the day's frolicking.







I'll conclude with what might be my favorite picture of the whole trip: my camera-shy, impressively-bearded siamese twin made a rare appearance. Say hello to my little friend!