And another year ends - Revisiting the 2014 List

It's time to look at the list of resolutions made for the year. My success rate has definitely gone down from the previous year and I know where my problems were. Nevertheless, I have taken on this task upon me and I need to stand by it. So, here's striking off the list -

Make a Daily Habit  - I must say I do keep up to it quite well, however, the past year saw me going through a Love-Hate relationship with books - I want to change the status to a simple 'Like' and want to set aside at 30 minutes to an hour a day to read. I want to make sure I don't have gaps and would like to read everyday.  Yes! I did it and no one can take this away from me now. I didn't stick to reading only novels which was the issue, Blogs, magazines, key articles, write ups, poetry and you name it, I am so pleased to have managed to keep some time aside everyday for reading.

Don't bank on the memory - Pick up the diary again. Don't write stories (as we know what happens after a couple of months), don't write only sad things (as we know we will never read them). Just pencil in a what happened that day and make a note if something nice or not so nice happened. Come on... that should not be so hard! Hmmm....This has been a Hit-or-Miss. There has been times when I did put in a note and times when I didn't, today I look back and realize that a lot of things sure happened this year but I don't quite remember. Will have to give this one a FAIL

Get out of the Comfort zone - I could rename this 'Conquer a Fear' - All this while I have either been driving people away from me or driving crazy those who stay. I want need to learn how to drive. Enough of laziness, enough of pushing things around, enough of escaping.  Need to learn how to drive - and this time in a correct methodical way. FAIL. FAIL.FAIL. All I have today is an application that I have completed for a provisional license. That does not give me any points to get close to striking this off 

Explore a Passion- Pick up the camera again and stop being (just) a smart phone photographer - I can't completely say I have discovered my passion but Photography is something I have enjoyed doing. I want to take this up as a project and work towards it. The actual project may take another year or two, but I want to start my work on it. At the end of this year, I should at least have the content, a plan, research done. Yes. When I had every chance to be somewhere magnificent, somewhere special, somewhere memorable I had my camera with me and glad with some outcome. The project I took on is not complete, but has taken some shape. 

Be Good with Food - I don't think I eat a lot of unhealthy food but definitely want to keep a check at what's going inside my body and not go too crazy with junk food. One thing I consciously need to act on is not to waste food. I tend to cook too much and the rest is not used or I buy too many things and have to throw them as they have expired - Need to stop this.  I haven't been more happy with the type of food I have been buying, cooking and eating. There has been some waste but I can live with it. I will go for a green, but I know this shouldn't stop here. 

Change a tad bit of the lifestyle - Wake up Early - something I have 'NEVER' managed to do. The past year was the worst, I slept late, woke up late and ended up at work really late on so many days of the week. I would like to wake up nice and early and have some time to eat my breakfast and not skip it. 7am is the aim now.... would love to make it 6:30!  (Currently it's between 8:00 - 8:30am). I would definitely do a lie in every now and then, but I'd want the majority of the days to be an early start. Let's see! This will be hard. 

Oh dear! This did not happen. Though, I have not been too late at work, I can't say that I willingly wake up early on a day when I have nothing to do. 

Stay Connected -  I'll take the lesson from mom again 'You do your bit and don't expect the other to do the same for you'. I have realized that my happiness lies in being connected to the people I love - family & friends and I don't want to run into months of not staying in touch. I want to get through the year knowing that I stayed connected and not thinking that it's been 6 months and I don't have a clue. Yes. I can happily say that I did my bit. Though this year has taught me a lot about relationships, I don't want to spoil my mood, but I tried to keep in touch and I can say that with my hand on heart

(Try to) Give up something - I'm tempted to write no alcohol for 2 months again. But, I would say restrict - may be not have a drink every week. If I can skip a couple of weeks in every month I would think I've done well here. 

I want to add a second item - biting my nails :(  which has 'NEVER' happened until now.   Well... I cannot really say I consistently worked on the alcohol bit, but I was not too bad. But, I can say for sure that biting nails in any crisis (or the lack of it) is not an issue anymore. 

Need to stick to these: 

Stay Fit - Have enjoyed the gym from the past 3 months. I need to just keep at it and not quit. The Plan is to maintain the 3-times a week workout to stay the way I am if not better it. I have done some form of workout for 42 out of the 52 weeks this year which is not so bad I guess. Now, if you don't agree it's ok, but I'd like to see this as a success. 

Do something for someone- Volunteering has been good but the 10K run was good too. I want to do another 10K this year and enroll in at least 3 different volunteer activities. Did not manage a 10K but volunteered at Crisis. 

Do something you like-  Write, Click and Travel - as fancy as they may sound, I would like to do more of all this and in a way they can be interconnected. Write at least 3 blog posts per month. Write all travelogues till date and the on the new travels (hopefully) I take. Did not do any of this. The flow wasn't there and I did not push myself. 

Keep the Faith/Keep the Culture- Two Festivals to celebrate  -need to really work on this one.  I am pleased to say I did this. Being in India for Ganesh Chaturthi made it quite easy. But, I celebrated Diwali and atleast observed Ugadi and Dusshera this year. Very happy with this. 

Carrying Over from the Last Year:

Try something again- I want to grow plants and NOT kill them. My aim is to maintain atleast 5 pot plants which I hope will nourish under my care. Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh Boy! Am I happy with the result. 2 of my 8 plants died but I have constantly had lush green pot plants and 2 full flowering cycles. 

Better planning - this is a wide topic. To start with its planning holidays, planning for activities during the  weekend,  planning my time when I go home - If someone asks me what I did when I last visited home, I dont have much to say - I want to change that. 

Need to work at this one. I am quite ashamed to say anything more about my planning which has been chaotic, mad, frustrating (not just me but the people around) and a failure. 

That's 9/14 - just about fair but I know I could have done better. 

What can I say, it's not looking that good but hey! another year beckons and gives a chance to pick it up again....though I must admit that for once I am strongly feeling that I should not bank on the 1st of January to give me the push. Hopefully a few years from now, I don't need to make a list like this and all the goodness comes to me with no real push. Lets see....It's been an OK year, hoping for the next to be better. Happy New Year folks! 

Having a Business Mind - NOT!

Fruit Garden is a little shop near home which stocks Asian groceries, organic and health foods. Every time I wait at the till to pay for my shopping, I can't help but notice the different types of little bites - cookies, fudges, health bars, protein bars, nut bars and so on that this shop sticks and it always tempts me to try one. They are pretty expensive for what they are and this stops me from picking things up.

A really tiny piece called the 'Indian bar' caught my eye and it was full of goodness as it said on the board - dates, almonds, pistachios and cardamom all beaten up and mixed together - can't go wrong with that combination, can you?  This tiny bite was 70p which is a lot for what it was. I started my conversation about this to the shop keeper who is a pal now and he mentioned that it's a very fast seller and though expensive, it is really very tasty. Now, all my resistance in the past months was futile and I had to try it. 'No one can eat just one' doesn't apply only for pringles or lays you know. This bite was indeed quite tasty.  I also spoke to him that if I can make it, I would sell the same for 40p and jokingly chatted if he can stock my product - his quick answer being  that another Indian lady who frequents the shop had a similar idea and the taste was not quite the same when she tried it.
 

During my walk back home, I pondered on stopping by Tesco to buy these ingredients to make at home. But by the time I got home and started getting into the mundane evening chores my mind slowly drifted from the whole business idea - making some to stock it in the shop was a out of the question, I couldn't be asked to make some for myself!
 

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine and me did almost of week of research and looked into the paper work to start up a Indian chat stall in one of the markets in London. Well, a Saturday business where we can cook some simple one pot Indian meals and sell it. Though this idea came by for our love of markets, street food and cooking, the thought of starting something up on our own gave us the thrill.

 

Of course, by the end of the week when we went through the process steps that we need to go through to get a license, to the logistics issue, to not having a large kitchen and extra space in either of our homes to stock the pots, pans and groceries and to the final thought of giving up the precious Saturday did not look like it was worth the effort. Was it not easier to stop by one of those stalls, buy the food, sit under a tree or on the lawn, or by the river to rejoice the food?

 

There were many other small ideas that came and died a silent death with my I-don't-wanna-take-a-chance, it's-too-much-effort, the-returns-aren't-really-that-good or in other words a 'I'll-stick-to-my-day-job-and-do-nothing-more' attitude that runs in me.

 

The hubby on the other end is quite an opposite.  Though he does have the ' it's-too-much-effort 'problem, he definitely does not have the other traits I have. In the past 6 years, I have noticed him speak and do things that I might not have imagined in my wildest dreams. That thought would have NEVER occurred to me. He too is busy with his day job of being a doctor which is far more tedious and time consuming than mine - so I will not hold him against not really starting anything but appreciate the fact that his passion towards it doesn't die as quickly as mine.

 

He mentioned recently out of frustration that he should have been born in a Gujju or Marwari family where everyone is up for doing something on their own. The people who surround him, in other words me and his dad of course lack that drive.

 

Someday, I wish I can come around to doing something than just making notes of what I could have possibly done, but for now I understand that I don't really have a 'Business Mind' whatsoever.

 

The List is Ready - Resolutions - 2014

I started this madness last year where I thought of making a part of my things to do for the year public - I felt accountable, responsible and it helped me keep a check at things, I am kinda pleased with the results and am taking the plunge again to publicly show off how big an idiot I am (yet again!) 

As crazy is it may seem I am publishing this again.  My list for 2014 is ready and this is it! I have taken it easy on a few things - no hard set goals this time, I had to omit a few out as it's not entirely in my hands - dependency is a bad thing! and I have some items not published here and lets see how well I can keep up to that. 

I had to carry over a couple of items from last year and continue working on a few others  but have a longish list of new items too. Exciting, Driven and still a little scared about a few of them - Let's see...only  time will tell. 

Here we go....

Make a Daily Habit  - I must say I do keep up to it quite well, however, the past year saw me going through a Love-Hate relationship with books - I want to change the status to a simple 'Like' and want to set aside at 30 minutes to an hour a day to read. I want to make sure I don't have gaps and would like to read everyday. 

Don't bank on the memory - Pick up the diary again. Don't write stories (as we know what happens after a couple of months), don't write only sad things (as we know we will never read them). Just pencil in a what happened that day and make a note if something nice or not so nice happened. Come on... that should not be so hard! 

Get out of the Comfort zone - I could rename this 'Conquer a Fear' - All this while I have either been driving people away from me or driving crazy those who stay. I want need to learn how to drive. Enough of laziness, enough of pushing things around, enough of escaping.  Need to learn how to drive - and this time in a correct methodical way.

Explore a Passion- Pick up the camera again and stop being (just) a smart phone photographer - I can't completely say I have discovered my passion but Photography is something I have enjoyed doing. I want to take this up as a project and work towards it. The actual project may take another year or two, but I want to start my work on it. At the end of this year, I should at least have the content, a plan, research done. 

Be Good with Food - I don't think I eat a lot of unhealthy food but definitely want to keep a check at what's going inside my body and not go too crazy with junk food. One thing I consciously need to act on is not to waste food. I tend to cook too much and the rest is not used or I buy too many things and have to throw them as they have expired - Need to stop this.  

Change a tad bit of the lifestyle - Wake up Early - something I have 'NEVER' managed to do. The past year was the worst, I slept late, woke up late and ended up at work really late on so many days of the week. I would like to wake up nice and early and have some time to eat my breakfast and not skip it. 7am is the aim now.... would love to make it 6:30!  (Currently it's between 8:00 - 8:30am). I would definitely do a lie in every now and then, but I'd want the majority of the days to be an early start. Let's see! This will be hard. 

Stay Connected -  I'll take the lesson from mom again 'You do your bit and don't expect the other to do the same for you'. I have realized that my happiness lies in being connected to the people I love - family & friends and I don't want to run into months of not staying in touch. I want to get through the year knowing that I stayed connected and not thinking that it's been 6 months and I don't have a clue.

(Try to) Give up something - I'm tempted to write no alcohol for 2 months again. But, I would say restrict - may be not have a drink every week. If I can skip a couple of weeks in every month I would think I've done well here. 

I want to add a second item - biting my nails :(  which has 'NEVER' happened until now.   

Need to stick to these: 

Stay Fit - Have enjoyed the gym from the past 3 months. I need to just keep at it and not quit. The Plan is to maintain the 3-times a week workout to stay the way I am if not better it. 

Do something for someone- Volunteering has been good but the 10K run was good too. I want to do another 10K this year and enroll in at least 3 different volunteer activities. 

Do something you like-  Write, Click and Travel - as fancy as they may sound, I would like to do more of all this and in a way they can be interconnected. Write at least 3 blog posts per month. Write all travelogues till date and the on the new travels (hopefully) I take. 

Keep the Faith/Keep the Culture- Two Festivals to celebrate  -need to really work on this one. 

Carrying Over from the Last Year:

Try something again- I want to grow plants and NOT kill them. My aim is to maintain atleast 5 pot plants which I hope will nourish under my care.

Better planning - this is a wide topic. To start with its planning holidays, planning for activities during the  weekend,  planning my time when I go home - If someone asks me what I did when I last visited home, I dont have much to say - I want to change that. 

That is it! So, I guess it's time to start working now. If you managed to get through till here, Thank you and Wish you a very Happy New Year. 

Check Off the 2013 Bucket List

Overall, I would say 2013 was my worst year ever. The past year pulled me down every single time I tried to stand up. I was unbelievably rude, disconnected, alone and lost for most of it.  Trying too hard to please everyone and keep everyone happy, I have done no good to being sane and happy with what I really want.  Juggling away too many things, I don't think I gave justice to anything which needed it's due. 

In a way, I am happy that the worst is done and it's time for better days. Revisiting lists is good and striking things off the list is better. 

About a year ago, I had made these plans for 2013, it's unbelievable how this  year has gone by and we have set foot in a new one. I'd like to take a re-look at this, publishing it here did help me get on with it - perhaps a little better than the other personal list I had for myself. So.. here we go... 

• Try something again- I want to grow plants and NOT kill them. My aim is to maintain atleast 5 pot plants which I hope will nourish under my care. This was a Non-Starter. Though the thought crossed my mind a few times through the year, I actually did nothing about it. A FAIL. 

• Stay Fit- I still detest going to the gym, however the weather being cold I have stopped doing my runs too. The aim is to do some kind of exercise at least 2 times in the week ( tempted to say 3, but thats the start of things going downhill).  I haven't felt this fit ever before in my life. The ME TIME was used well.  I'd like to give this a yellow as this isn't a destination and it would always be a work in progress 

• Better planning - this is a wide topic. To start with its planning holidays, planning for activities during the  weekend,  planning my time when I go home- If someone asks me what I did when I last visited home, I dont have much to say - I want to change that.  A complete FAIL. The one holiday we took was a super bad plan and the fact that I had 8 days left of leave with nothing to do at the end of the year sums up this item on my list. 

• Learn something New - I want to learn how to play a musical instrument. The plan is to learn how to play 5 known tunes on it.  Did manage to learn 3.5 tunes on the Flute - still loving the instrument but a long long way to go. 

• Do something for someone - Run a 10K -at least 1 for a charity. Managed a 10K for Race for Life Charity with 3 other friends and raised close to £300 for the cancer research. (Very Pleased). Also managed a day at Crisis for homeless people -What an experience. Hope to do more. 

• Do something you like- Write more- at least 2 blogs per month.  One of the most enjoyable things I have managed this year. Again, would like to keep it going. 

• Get out of the comfort zone - The Journal - This is a little project I took on myself last year but left it mid way ( like most other things). It's my collection of notes about life and living in London- need to atleast complete 10 chapters this year. Changed the plan a little bit, instead of keeping it all too serious, I took the route of writing up my London Diaries - It's going OK, nothing special

• Keep the Faith - Visit Subramanya - my most favourite temple on Earth and haven't visited it in more than 5 years. I hope I can manage a visit this time. Yes! Thank you dear God (and mom & dad and bro) for making this happen. 

• Keep the Culture - Celebrate at least 2 festivals this year in a simple way.  Can't really strike it out as the only one I did was Ganesha habba. Would have loved to celebrate Diwali, but was painting the house instead. 

• Set a goal - 100kms in 100days - let's see! - Yes! a big strike off and I am now doing 50km every month in running. Will take it easy on this one in the coming year. 

• Give up something - Alcohol free Month - 2 months....come on that shouldn't be hard!  - Yes! February and September (ok ok.. the shortest months!) - But, the detox was good :)

Now it's time to make a new list and I am so looking forward to it in all it's grand silliness. It does help to keep me look forward to something and I get a sense of responsibility by publishing it here. Well, I'm glad you're over 2013, you weren't really my best. 

My Virtual World - II

Well! As if it wasn't enough to have published being a total saddo once, I am doing it again. There is a method in the madness though, I had written about the web widgets that I adore and think as either useful or nice thing to have. It's been a few months now and I see the list has grown, so this is an attempt to talk about the add-ons to my original list. 

Instagram - Perhaps the best portal I have seen to store and share pictures, the hitch being that this app can be used to load pictures from a mobile device and not from your computer. Even better as I see it. In this age when we carry phones which can do a lot more, we end up clicking loads of pictures of things, places, events and what better way to keep them in one place other than instagram! You can also jazz this up a bit by applying one of the many design templates given, add tags and share them with friends. It's the best place I can think of for pics on the go, you don't need to have put in thought or used a great camera to capture this moment.  I was a fool to have ruled this off initially as not good. 

Quora - This is what I call a newspaper with a personal touch to it. A portal where questions can be asked about anything and everything and the common (hu)man replies - it could be you, it could be me...though I am more of a reader on this portal than a contributer. There is a way to vote up an answer that you agree to or follow a topic or a specific question that you are interested to know more. I now spend a little time reading through this and there is always something good to pick up from the conversations. 

Magzter - Who doesn't like magazines? This is really a one stop online shop to find, browse and subscribe to any magazine (of some reputation) anywhere in the world. Having had a habit of picking magazines every week from the local library, I had missed flipping through them for a quick read. This fulfills the gap. The subscription options are really inexpensive and there is a free magazine section too. 

What's App - Who doesn't know about this one! Perhaps the best thing that has happened to technology in a long long time. Feel blessed with this that I can catch close family and friends with a note. No hassle of email, being available, being expensive, a simple way to communicate and it even tells you if the person has seen it or not, is online or not. 

Nike+ Running/Endomondo - Well, I wouldn't say that this gets you running, but sure helps to keep you motivated. While Nike is meant for tracking your runs, it does have a system of collecting miles, adding friends, creating challenges and giving you awards on your profile to offer those cheap thrills. Endomondo is brilliant to capture any outdoor activity/sport you would do. I love to use it for cycling and walking. The best part is how you can give kudos to friends you have on your profile. 

A few years of being Myself

This forms my post-birthday blog post :) Typically, people write something on these lines when they hit a 'certain' special birthday, mine was no such number but the thought came across and hence it goes in here. 

My life seems to be driven by lists most of the time and I wish to list a few realizations that I think have dawned on me in the past few years. 

As I see myself add another year around the solar calendar I think about how I have silently been getting on a bit. As much as I think I am really young, to be honest I don't even feel I've crossed being 24 from within, there are some signs that I have collectively noticed that I might be getting on a little bit here and a lil there. 

OK, let me not try and make it up like I have totally lost it, coz I haven't. Irrespective of what's happening in my life and what isn't , what I have and what I don't the utmost thing I am looking at is to be happy.  

Some things DON'T Change:

-I don't feel my age and this is not just happened now, it's mostly been this way. As much as I think its a great thing for me, for those around you I am expected to behave, be more mature, more responsible and act in a certain way. As much as I would want to see this change in me I have come up resign to the fact that this is how I am going to be. Childish, Stupid or call me whatever. 

- I take one day at a time. Pretty much. 

-Being funny does not come to me naturally. Love for this to change but sigh! 

-Being a good writer, consistent blogger also does not come to me. Plan to keep reading, learning and writing nevertheless. Have started following more blogs and WOWing about how well they are written. Well...lets call it that's my latest hunger now. 

-I love watching the neighbour's little kitten walk all around our courtyard, but that does not bring me any closer to having them with me...was not a pet friendly person, may never be one.

- I think I can still be (quite) nice to someone/anyone who has not been pleasant with me (or my parents). I may not think too much about that person but would not let them know. 

- I can never give up on food of any kind. If I ever visit Kashi, dear Lord Vishwanatha, accept my apologies in advance, I really cannot give up any food. 

- Waking up in the evening after a long afternoon sleep (can't call a long one 'Nap') makes me feel all heavy eyed and irritable. 

- Vicks can cure (almost) anything. 

- When someone asked me what my hobbies were I used to give the 'rehearsed answer' - reading books, listening to music and travelling. Never had I realised that these would really become such an important thing to me. 

Changes & Something to think about:

- I could give up sugar. 

- I don't think anything or bother about my height or weight or colour of my skin, if you think about it.... too bad for you. 

- I have at least one good friend and I am extremely happy about it. I actually need to do this friend more justice than a few words here. 

- I would like to think of me as a fairly strong person. I know I can (almost) comfort me with most issues I have.

- I have come to be my best friend and I enjoy my company as much as being around close family & friends. 

I am definitely showing 'some' age here:

- The minute I walked out of a noisy (yeah!) night club, the first thing that I uttered was 'Thank God! It's over!'

- I am upset even before hitting the bed that I would only get 6 hours sleep that night when I hit the bed late and have an early(ish) start the next day. 

- A day long wedding has got me all tired and I need 3 days to get over it. 

- Too heavy a meal for dinner keeps me bloated and feeling sick all night. 

- I don't want to have too much to drink. (you know... alchohol) 

Keep the child-likeness in you alive or don't let the enthusiasm die: 

- I have always looked up at the sky to see the stars, something about it remains a fantasy 

- To always greet a person with a hi so bright that it lights up the other's day. Doesn't matter how long it has been that you have seen them, how close they are to you....it's the greeting that matters.

- When I see something new, a place, a thing,a sight I became a lil kid in one instance - look at it, ' alli nodu' is what I utter pointing at that whatever irrespective of where I am. 

Don't know what's in store for me for the year(s) to come, I wanted to record a few things that cross my mind most often and that's what you see up here. Some of you might also think.....what a whole lot of crap... but well....as the intelligent man once said.... 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” 

― Albert Einstein

My Virtual World

I have been putting off writing about this for a while now, just coz I didn't feel like publishing how big a saddo I am!In this day and age a lot of the human population stay connected in various ways to the online world, similarly, I saw myself doing the same. I was considering the list of applications that I use for various purposes and thought of writing about it....


It is such a boring topic, but as one can see I have lost my flow again!!! My virtual world (as of now) consists of the following:

Gmail/Gtalk - I have been using gmail ever since it's conception and have totally loved it! Gtalk - comes within and is great to have a quick chat (if someone wants to!)

Blogger - I have been on this for a while now and was introduced to this by a pal. High maintenance!!, but if I feel like penning down something it's great to do so. I also like the thought of putting up something which I can go back and look at whenever, wherever.  I enjoy reading others blogs, wish I had some good Html skills to add links to my blog page.

Evernote - I mainly started using this to maintain my diary ( of course after having tried paper diaries, notebooks, calendar style pads), this is one which has worked best for me. I also started taking random notes, made points, wrote quotes which I came across in this app.

Twitter - I have already blogged about my twitter bug. It's great as you don't need to think too much, you don't need to be correct about anything, it's a glorified scribble pad for me. Though, the app is used by many for professional and informative purposes.

Facebook - Needs no introduction. I see myself drifting away from it...but I'm back on it!

Viber/Skype - Internet calls/messages - no cost - don't have many connected on it but it works well!

Goodreads - A friend of mine introduced me to this. My first impression was that this is a place where I can read any book - wrong! It's a place where I can track what I read, add friends and get an idea about what they read. The best section is that the app recommends books based on what you have read or by genre - awesome! I can't think of a better way to look for books to read.

Dhingana - Brilliant app to listen to hindi songs - the latest & greatest included. I have found that it does not have everything that you may want, but has a pretty decent library of songs.

Needless to say, I am hooked to Google for everything I want to look up. If I need a quick info about something I go to Wikipedia. I was tempted to write iBooks, but I still struggle to read books on iPad or a device, love the fact of holding a book.

I also have a host of other sites and apps I frequent, I am sparing myself the task of penning down everything and bore myself and you to death!