2AM Reckonings

2AM Reckonings with Amrutha & Sheila Ep. 16

A.I. photoshop, we need to talk. The youths are really, really good at makeup and we can learn a lot from them. Today’s high school graduations are DIFFERENT. Sheila’s at war with protein and kind of okay with it. Ahead of the Adriatic Writers Conference [https://www.adriaticwritersconference2025.com/] and summer travel, we’re thinking about what we have to have in our bags, besides chargers and passports and all that jazz. A beach cover up that doubles as a dress / thing you can throw on over pants and a shirt to FEEL dressy (here’s a steal [https://go.shopmy.us/p-59813828], here’s a splurge [https://go.shopmy.us/p-59829356]). A sketchpad [https://go.shopmy.us/p-59829800] and watercolor pencils [https://go.shopmy.us/p-59829920] to keep you off your phone. A Cadence kit [https://go.shopmy.us/p-59830541] that makes all your skincare magically travel size. Corded headphones [https://www.target.com/p/apple-earpods-usb-c/-/A-89827259?sid=&ref=tgt_adv_xsp&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tmnv&DFA=23699302556&CPNG=PLA_DVM%2Ba06Do000000WDSnIAO-Apple_BMP_HW_Apr_Q2_2026_Accy-1826776&adgroup=PLA_Apple_BMP_HW&LID=5143198495pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9030930&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23699302556&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfbO8cY7kGk2_ARgLAcsvSrrQ&gclid=CjwKCAjw2rrQBhBuEiwAarLWHRGv1hwNRRG5_ffSnvfcEvmHUSbK0UE7fltMLhNH9kIROSemG85L0RoCtw8QAvD_BwE] (Amrutha calls them “punishment headphones”). Sunglasses galore, the best to switch up your look (how cool are these [https://go.shopmy.us/p-59831328]). A wax stick [https://go.shopmy.us/p-59831546] for when you can’t / don’t want to do your hair. Do you have questions for us? Comment below or drop us a line and we might answer in a future episode. If you liked this episode, we’d love if you “liked” it by clicking the heart button. That helps it get seen and heard by more people. Thank you for listening, until next time! Get full access to Your Friend on the Ground at yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe [https://yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

2AM Reckonings with Amrutha & Sheila Ep. 15

How to celebrate an anniversary? Osteria Mozza [https://www.osteriamozza.com/] is never a bad call. (Try for corner seats at the Mozzarella Bar, the best in the house.) Sometimes a movie’s [https://michael.movie/] entertaining, and that’s enough. Is a screen version of the Wall Street lawsuit [https://www.wsj.com/business/jpmorgan-banker-chirayu-rana-sexual-assault-lorna-hajdini-179b67b3?mod=e2fb&fbclid=IwY2xjawRwMpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFJbVNJck9uZnFxNE1WdnVJc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjVkPApnFa1zkZ57ASsBfhY5gRoUL_1bwX2EyJeWPTCxFYKsBk0hhhY0-I8Y_aem_fidPlImrY78Jwk3zQyajjw] in the works? Because that one’s WILD, and thank goodness one of us is a lawyer who can shed light. Is every election destined to have a reality TV contestant [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/opinion/spencer-pratt-mayor-los-angeles.html]? Should Bravo start a bootcamp? One thing that is not up for debate: the supremacy of head massages. This Vietnamese head spa [https://www.nhienheadspaandwellness.com/] is at the top of our list. We’ve got an at-home scalp massager [https://go.shopmy.us/p-58426850] for a fix between sessions, but we might have to put the LED version [https://go.shopmy.us/p-58427693]to the test ... Do you have questions for us? Comment below or drop us a line and we might answer in a future episode. If you liked this episode, we’d love if you “liked” it by clicking the heart button. That helps it get seen and heard by more people. Thank you for listening, until next time! Get full access to Your Friend on the Ground at yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe [https://yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

2AM Reckonings with Amrutha & Sheila Ep. 14

We can’t find our lip gloss. Oh wait, we can, and it melted! Use the good stuff [https://go.shopmy.us/p-39359941] before it’s too late. Sheila went to Sushi Samba LA [https://www.sushisamba.com/locations/los-angeles?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23725964120&gbraid=0AAAABBi8l-fDHGCaw2oCx9Q9lH0v-i5OC&gclid=CjwKCAjwwdbPBhBgEiwAxBRA4QjuvETJdMY-doUGIw60MJXLJ2f9L7tdeTsPMRpo-nf0M-TCVRHtwRoCDsoQAvD_BwE] and teleported back to Sex and the City (the original). On the other end of the sushi spectrum, she dropped in on Morihiro [https://morionodera.com/]. Amrutha went to Jerome Bailey Jr.’s [https://www.instagram.com/jeromebaileyjr/] show and would like more weeknight art gallery happenings, please and thanks. Whenever possible, we’re sleeping without an alarm. And listening to Lena Dunham’s Famesick [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/609917/famesick-by-lena-dunham/] while walking (or driving, but not while eating). We will find time for our hobbies [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/do-we-need-hobbies] and we will not monetize them! (Unless someone wants to sponsor our return to tennis in which case, please get in touch.) Do you have questions for us? Comment below or drop us a line and we might answer in a future episode. If you liked this episode, we’d love if you “liked” it by clicking the heart button. That helps it get seen and heard by more people. Thank you for listening, until next time! Get full access to Your Friend on the Ground at yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe [https://yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

2AM Reckonings with Amrutha & Sheila Ep. 13

We’re back! Sheila did a top to bottom tour of India and discovered that traveling there for work is a whole other animal. Key to combatting jet lag: a padded eye mask. Doesn’t have to be fancy. Amrutha’s into “The Pitt,” even if she has to watch it through her hands. Are sound baths the key to true relaxation? What if the person next to you is snoring? What if YOU’RE snoring? Maybe we have to embrace the awkwardness and while we’re at it, accept that it might take a minute to get back to the grindstone after launching something big [https://www.amazon.com/Incidentals-Novel-Sheila-Yasmin-Marikar/dp/1662527691/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5scI6c8xGx36g98xS1-2bw.n80HXVHcdeASWtac34SGtKqSUN1zUR19WRp4F9HFozw&qid=1757963372&sr=1-1]. Do you have questions for us? Comment below or drop us a line and we might answer in a future episode. If you liked this episode, we’d love if you “liked” it by clicking the heart button. That helps it get seen and heard by more people. Thank you for listening, until next time! Get full access to Your Friend on the Ground at yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe [https://yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

2AM Reckonings with Amrutha & Sheila Ep. 12

Sheila celebrated the launch of her third novel, Incidentals [https://www.amazon.com/Incidentals-Novel-Sheila-Yasmin-Marikar/dp/1662527691/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5scI6c8xGx36g98xS1-2bw.n80HXVHcdeASWtac34SGtKqSUN1zUR19WRp4F9HFozw&qid=1757963372&sr=1-1], in New York and L.A. and we’re not going to get into the weeds about it here because there’s another post coming about all of that! Why does our social battery seem to drain faster these days? Do we need a software upgrade? Speaking of technology — at what age do you start taking calls on speaker by default? Amrutha spent a week with her parents and rediscovered physical photo albums, which we’ll both make … one of these days. Do we need a life admin party to get our taxes done? Do we need a life admin party TO SCHEDULE the life admin party? Amrutha’s starting her Substack. No time like the present! Do you have questions for us? Comment below or drop us a line and we might answer in a future episode. If you liked this episode, we’d love if you “liked” it by clicking the heart button. That helps it get seen and heard by more people. Thank you for listening, until next time! Get full access to Your Friend on the Ground at yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe [https://yourfriendontheground.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]