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! 

There's always a first time for everything

Sometimes, Only Sometimes I am in this state of mind where most things with respect to bitter-sweet life seems perfect. Hold on, I haven't got into the zen-mode yet, but in the past week or so I have noticed this calmness which I am so pleased and thankful about. I wanted to record this hoping that during those crazy turbulent times which by the way happens on the majority of the days in the year, I can read this note and remind myself that after every bad there will be good and after every storm, a calm. 

There is absolutely 'Nothing' happening in my life at the moment. The morning is taken over by mid-day and evening and night and it seems to be on a repeat mode without a shuffle. Well, I suppose you cannot shuffle night to day anyway. Things are 'Not' at it's best - work wise, personal life, plans in life and so on and so on. I have little or nothing to say about my previous day on my daily call to Amma. Days are rolling by at the speed of light and I dont seem to recollect what git me occupied in the past week. The uneventfulness of the situation is written all over and shouts a big 'absolutely nothing happened' to me when i try to remember the past weeks. Yet! There is a tranquility in me which is a rare rare thing. I always thought I just cannot sit quiet, stay calm, be at peace. I was convinced that I was born without the genes that makes one be that way. 

I am packing my days with little things that makes me happy and I am surprised to see these little things had never made it to my list of things that I enjoy. If I ever decide to spell them out, people would be sure that I have lost it and the signs I had shown before were true. Plain simple things are such joy and this has always been my takeaway from life. Who recollects a ponsy moment more than a down to earth one? Not me!

For the first time, I didn't panic for not having the flow to write. 3 weeks gone and not a word written didn't make me jump into writing for the sake of absence. I was perfectly at ease, I read many many blogs in this space of time and marvelled the way they were written. All the ones bookmarked are either simple personal blogs or food blogs. Some of them are amazing.....it's made me drop all the books I was reading trying to read. 

Looking forward to a good hindi movie is something I have done for ever. A couple of days after having watched the movie '2 states', the hubby brought it up all out of the blue in between a random conversation that the movie that we watched the past weekend was 'good'. His words ' I too had a lump in my throat in a couple of scenes ' just cracked it for me. I had a big grin...this was the moment when I could confirm that he is now a Hindi movie convert, from watching none at all to casually asking what's on the movies, to actually liking it and best of all looking forward to the next one. This is a huge success to the huge huge Bollywood buff in me.

Zumba! The latest thing that has gotten into me. Love the music, the dance, the attitude and most of all love the pain...you know the good sorta pain? That. I admit being a Miss.Two-Left-feet but have enjoyed these sessions immensely. I am also beginning to believe this is doing a better good to my body than just running which I am trying to sneak in at least 1-2 times a week. 

Beginning to care for the few pot plants that we have started to grow is another big surprise. I was sure that I must be some kind of an expert in killing plants, but these little ones have not only survived me for a couple of months, but are in full bloom. What joy!  Like I believed that the advert which said 'plants come to my home to die' was made just for me, beginning to believe I can change that. 

So...basically I am trying to collect Life's little moments and making it count. 4 days of leave now and for the first time again, I have plans...new ones, weird ones and it's all going to make this 'MeTime' completely worth it....Fingers Crossed.