Continue to Live!
Just received an email from the social club at my work place and this triggered my over active mind into a thought process of its own. Republic Day is around the corner and they want people to dress up in white, orange and saffron and be creative in the way they mix and match the tricolours. The idea is to have some fun in addition to generally celebrating and remembering all that the day signifies (well, the email says that!). While I found myself neutral to the latter part of the idea, the former did manage to incite some excitement in me .But I think, that is simply because I am a girl and like most of the girls, the thought of anything and everything to do with clothes excite some part of my heart ! Also, I get to shop if I decide to play along in this. I don’t think my work wardrobe is stocked up in colours of orange and saffron.
However, despite this shopping bait and despite the excitement shown by some of my colleagues, I find myself being indifferent to all celebrations of these kinds which require me to get out of my comfort zone and go that extra mile to be a part of the revelry going around me . What is more difficult to understand is that while I am usually the first one to demand a party when there is a reason or even when there is none , I often find myself saying no to a lot of other opportunities to enjoy and have fun. I will happily accept a lunch or dinner invite that comes along my way but will shy away from most of the late night partying. I will tag along happily with my friends, who are parents ,to their kid’s school parties or just go to a park to entertain their babies but I would be found looking for excuses to refuse an invite to a friend’s or relative’s wedding ceremony .
If I look back, I used to be always and I mean, ALWAYS, excited by any prospect of fun, laughter and generally, out of routine activities. However, with passage of time ( to put it euphemistically…actually it’s the growing age ! ) , I think I am becoming very rigid in terms of what I call “ partying” or “ having a good time “.For example, while I was never one to enjoy the company of very loud people, I would ,earlier, still manage to enjoy a dance party or a “who cares about the neighbours “ sort of a party . However, these days, I get irritated even if someone around me is playing loud music and getting his or her share of fun out of it. I would immediately judge that person as someone unsympathetic to the surroundings .Yes, I know that is a little too harsh to label someone with but then, that is how I have become. And I do not really like this aspect of mine but then, I am not too sure if I dislike it either! I have become much more sensitive and judgemental in some ways than before though I find myself getting more and more liberation of mind in some other ways.
Life has been through lots of ups and downs in the last few years but I have tried very hard to not let my spirit die and maintain a positive outlook. However, it seems, every “big” experience in life, be it good or bad, has left its impact on me and has changed me in one way or the other. Sometimes, the change is very visible and sometimes, it is so subtle that I would often refuse to acknowledge it even if the signs are all there. Also, I believe, it has been a great learning experience and I am thankful for certain ways in which I think I have grown as a person from what I was few years back. However, one thing that I never wanted to lose and still strive hard to retain is the ability to enjoy life and celebrate whenever it offers a chance to do so and also to be able to continue dreaming of bigger and better future .In short, continue to live and not just drag my existence around me!
So, will I do something special to join the fun tomorrow? Yes, I think so! I may not be 100% alive but am not fully dead yet.:-))
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Soup, Salad, Walk and Exercise!
Today, I want to write here about one of the many “beauty enhancing” resolutions that I took at the beginning of this year.Technically; this is not a New Year resolution as I find myself committing to and dishonouring this one every few days. However, the first month of a new year was just another occasion to bring to fore all that I need to do and must do as per my wishlist for this year.
To spell it out, I had, in all earnestness, promised myself that I’d shed a few kilos from what I consider extra flab attached to my body. My goal was pretty realistic and I was pretty sure that I would be able to achieve it in a month or two’s time. And just so that I am more convinced to do this, I had made myself believe that it is not just external beauty that I am bothered about but this has also to do with testing my determination, removing clutter (be it in whatever form), being more disciplined in my eating habits and exercising rituals and generally, be more beautiful-inside out!!
In order to achieve this seemingly easy goal, I had carved out a very simple and doable action plan that I hoped to enjoy as well. I decided to use a combination of healthy eating and trendy exercising. So, off I went to the nearest mall and got myself a fancy “soup & salad” recipe booklet and also invested a couple of thousands in some smart sportswear and cool walking shoes. I had vowed to have soups & salads for dinner at least thrice a week and let go of the post dinner sweet indulgence. In addition to that, I had set myself a schedule of 5 rounds of evening brisk walk around my apartment complex , whenever I found time to do so ,followed by few minutes of “tummy tucking” exercises to the tune of matching music . It is a different thing that I am yet to find out what does “matching music” means in context of exercising!
So that was the action plan. Now for the results .Well, I must admit to myself that I was more tenacious than ever in sticking to my resolution. For the first few evenings of the year, I dressed up ,as is worthy of a fitness freak, and went for my walks regularly , despite the chilling winds and killer weather that threatened to parch and tear my face and pierce my soul! I even managed to drag myself out of bed early enough to squeeze in 15 minutes of exercises in my otherwise lazy routine .On the food front, I managed two soup recipes and two exotic salads on two different days (note: the emphasis here is on cooking and not dieting) and had them for dinner…only to be followed by late night snacking on sweets as I felt deprived of food and found myself unable to sleep in that pitiable situation.
As days passed by and we entered the second week of the year, I found my defences succumbing , my laziness calling and my taste buds craving for all that they were used to.
This triggered a process of analytical thinking and introspection and I thought to myself that there is no point to all this dieting and exercising if I am not happy about it from inside the depths of my heart. Of course, this was a very comforting realisation and I happily decided to get back to “ I don’t give a damn “ attitude to diets and figure and beauty et al .So the second week saw me making up for what I thought I had lost on in the first week of the year. I happily slept in till late, had “bed teas” and “bed breakfasts (that’s a creative term I think)” and binged on foods of the likes of cakes and chocolates and mithais and fries.
Come the third week of the year and I found myself restarting my blog in the form of a resolution. And I think Someone Up There Likes Me and wanted me to get back on track and re-resolve for the year. Thus, I got reminded of the “beauty enhancing “resolution and am glad to record here that yesterday, I had a healthy dinner and today I had my 15 mins of exercise and also …holding my own breath…managed to say No to a piece of some amazingly yummy looking chocolate cake .Small though this beginning is, I hope it leads to bigger things as I mentioned somewhere earlier in this blog. Also, I pray that never again should I be made to refuse chocolate in this life!!
P.S : Edited to Add : A friend just read this post and reminded me of something else that is umbilical to this beauty resolution. And so committed I was to that , that I forgot about it even in a blog post !! Well, I am referring to " Drinking minimum 6-8 glasses of water per day " . My current average is 3-4.
Today, I want to write here about one of the many “beauty enhancing” resolutions that I took at the beginning of this year.Technically; this is not a New Year resolution as I find myself committing to and dishonouring this one every few days. However, the first month of a new year was just another occasion to bring to fore all that I need to do and must do as per my wishlist for this year.
To spell it out, I had, in all earnestness, promised myself that I’d shed a few kilos from what I consider extra flab attached to my body. My goal was pretty realistic and I was pretty sure that I would be able to achieve it in a month or two’s time. And just so that I am more convinced to do this, I had made myself believe that it is not just external beauty that I am bothered about but this has also to do with testing my determination, removing clutter (be it in whatever form), being more disciplined in my eating habits and exercising rituals and generally, be more beautiful-inside out!!
In order to achieve this seemingly easy goal, I had carved out a very simple and doable action plan that I hoped to enjoy as well. I decided to use a combination of healthy eating and trendy exercising. So, off I went to the nearest mall and got myself a fancy “soup & salad” recipe booklet and also invested a couple of thousands in some smart sportswear and cool walking shoes. I had vowed to have soups & salads for dinner at least thrice a week and let go of the post dinner sweet indulgence. In addition to that, I had set myself a schedule of 5 rounds of evening brisk walk around my apartment complex , whenever I found time to do so ,followed by few minutes of “tummy tucking” exercises to the tune of matching music . It is a different thing that I am yet to find out what does “matching music” means in context of exercising!
So that was the action plan. Now for the results .Well, I must admit to myself that I was more tenacious than ever in sticking to my resolution. For the first few evenings of the year, I dressed up ,as is worthy of a fitness freak, and went for my walks regularly , despite the chilling winds and killer weather that threatened to parch and tear my face and pierce my soul! I even managed to drag myself out of bed early enough to squeeze in 15 minutes of exercises in my otherwise lazy routine .On the food front, I managed two soup recipes and two exotic salads on two different days (note: the emphasis here is on cooking and not dieting) and had them for dinner…only to be followed by late night snacking on sweets as I felt deprived of food and found myself unable to sleep in that pitiable situation.
As days passed by and we entered the second week of the year, I found my defences succumbing , my laziness calling and my taste buds craving for all that they were used to.
This triggered a process of analytical thinking and introspection and I thought to myself that there is no point to all this dieting and exercising if I am not happy about it from inside the depths of my heart. Of course, this was a very comforting realisation and I happily decided to get back to “ I don’t give a damn “ attitude to diets and figure and beauty et al .So the second week saw me making up for what I thought I had lost on in the first week of the year. I happily slept in till late, had “bed teas” and “bed breakfasts (that’s a creative term I think)” and binged on foods of the likes of cakes and chocolates and mithais and fries.
Come the third week of the year and I found myself restarting my blog in the form of a resolution. And I think Someone Up There Likes Me and wanted me to get back on track and re-resolve for the year. Thus, I got reminded of the “beauty enhancing “resolution and am glad to record here that yesterday, I had a healthy dinner and today I had my 15 mins of exercise and also …holding my own breath…managed to say No to a piece of some amazingly yummy looking chocolate cake .Small though this beginning is, I hope it leads to bigger things as I mentioned somewhere earlier in this blog. Also, I pray that never again should I be made to refuse chocolate in this life!!
P.S : Edited to Add : A friend just read this post and reminded me of something else that is umbilical to this beauty resolution. And so committed I was to that , that I forgot about it even in a blog post !! Well, I am referring to " Drinking minimum 6-8 glasses of water per day " . My current average is 3-4.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Drive or not ?
I drive myself to office every day and it takes me around 30-35 minutes to cover a stretch of 15 kms. There are two routes that I can take – one, the old city road and two, the swanky highway. Every morning, before I start, I make my choice depending upon the traffic prediction, the weather condition and my mood in general.
Irrespective of the route that I take, I love this daily routine and sometimes it seems like the most enjoyable part of my otherwise mundane days. The thrill of driving, the feeling of being in control, the variety of music available thanks to the umpteen radio channels and the constant nonsensical chatting of the RJs , all add up to create that magical feeling that makes me look forward to getting up and getting ready for the work day ahead. I look up to the drive so much so that quite often I find myself thinking in my mind as to what songs I would play in the car the next day.Add to that , the freedom from daily saga of fighting (or coordinating as they say) with the sometimes extra-helpful and sometimes extra- irritating cabmates , really make me thankful for having the luxury of driving myself to work.
However, all is not as rosy as I just made it sound .There is a horrific side of this driving rigmarole and despite the above pleasures, I would actually be a fool to try selling driving on NCR roads to any sane minded person J.And in case you are wondering, I am referring to the mind-boggling, nerve- wracking, eye-popping NCR traffic and related human behaviour! Anyone who has ever driven on these roads would tell you that you have to have a really strong heart and a really cool head to brave through this traffic without swearing to leave the country and flee to Jupiter at the end of your trip. My boss does that every second day and reinforces my belief in the fact that I am perhaps, stronger and cooler than him J .And yes, if you are the type who has so far managed a expletive-free existence, be assured you would do well to by-heart the choicest ones in Hindi and Punjabi!The errant drivers(including yourself) and the innocent(not) pedestrians coupled with the potholed roads, all conjure up well to put a huge dent in what could otherwise be called a heavenly experience as I described above .
I don’t know how long I will be able to put the negatives behind and enjoy my early morning drive to office but I am sure the day I decide to chuck my car and take the office cab , my days would feel incomplete and I would be looking for getting that zing back in my life !
I drive myself to office every day and it takes me around 30-35 minutes to cover a stretch of 15 kms. There are two routes that I can take – one, the old city road and two, the swanky highway. Every morning, before I start, I make my choice depending upon the traffic prediction, the weather condition and my mood in general.
Irrespective of the route that I take, I love this daily routine and sometimes it seems like the most enjoyable part of my otherwise mundane days. The thrill of driving, the feeling of being in control, the variety of music available thanks to the umpteen radio channels and the constant nonsensical chatting of the RJs , all add up to create that magical feeling that makes me look forward to getting up and getting ready for the work day ahead. I look up to the drive so much so that quite often I find myself thinking in my mind as to what songs I would play in the car the next day.Add to that , the freedom from daily saga of fighting (or coordinating as they say) with the sometimes extra-helpful and sometimes extra- irritating cabmates , really make me thankful for having the luxury of driving myself to work.
However, all is not as rosy as I just made it sound .There is a horrific side of this driving rigmarole and despite the above pleasures, I would actually be a fool to try selling driving on NCR roads to any sane minded person J.And in case you are wondering, I am referring to the mind-boggling, nerve- wracking, eye-popping NCR traffic and related human behaviour! Anyone who has ever driven on these roads would tell you that you have to have a really strong heart and a really cool head to brave through this traffic without swearing to leave the country and flee to Jupiter at the end of your trip. My boss does that every second day and reinforces my belief in the fact that I am perhaps, stronger and cooler than him J .And yes, if you are the type who has so far managed a expletive-free existence, be assured you would do well to by-heart the choicest ones in Hindi and Punjabi!The errant drivers(including yourself) and the innocent(not) pedestrians coupled with the potholed roads, all conjure up well to put a huge dent in what could otherwise be called a heavenly experience as I described above .
I don’t know how long I will be able to put the negatives behind and enjoy my early morning drive to office but I am sure the day I decide to chuck my car and take the office cab , my days would feel incomplete and I would be looking for getting that zing back in my life !
Monday, January 16, 2012
True Blogger!
Someone has rightly said “Inspiration lies in the smallest of things “. Today again, something like a very casual statement made its mark and inspired me to do something that was lying somewhere in the deepest recesses of my mind. The India head of the company that I work for, writes a blog and his entry for the day mentioned something like “A true blogger is one who never lets the blog die! “. Believe it or not, this was it! It rung a bell somewhere and I found myself resolving to revive my blog which, till date, has two entries to boast of and which was started in the year of 2007!
Starting to blog seriously is not just as simple as it sounds. And I am not even referring to the technicalities of being a good writer. For me, it is so much more than just putting words to paper. And how, dear reader, is that? Well, to put it plainly, I believe, I am a dreamer and a procrastinator, all at the same time. So, while I can spend endless hours imagining myself to be doing something or achieving something or being something, I would actually do very little to do just that. I would sit and brood on it for so long that it would rot my mind and make further action unachievable!
Of late, this particular aspect of my personality has hit me hard like never before and I have been thinking a lot as to how I can change this perception that I have of myself. Add to that, a lot of free time at my hands due to a relaxed work situation and a constant realisation to have that one hobby that I don’t just write about in the “Hobbies “ section of “ Who am I “ but that I actually indulge in and get a pleasure from !
Now while I crave for and dream of dancing like the Terpsichore herself, I do realise that I was born with two left feet .So, I will be realistic and do the other things that I really like and am able to do and reading and writing are two of those things. I have been a fairly good reader but I have never put my mind and energy into writing. I don’t know if I am good at it or not and frankly, I don’t care either. I have realised that I really enjoy playing with words and putting them to paper and hence, this is what I am going to nurture further.
Last but not the least, I think it will be a manifestation of the outcome of endless self analysis sessions that usually go on in my head and a reinforcement of belief in myself that I think I have lost somewhere as life unfolded itself to me.
P.S : Just realised I am so late & new on the scene , I have probably got zero readership but then, I have friends and what are they for if not forceful reading of my blogs !!
Someone has rightly said “Inspiration lies in the smallest of things “. Today again, something like a very casual statement made its mark and inspired me to do something that was lying somewhere in the deepest recesses of my mind. The India head of the company that I work for, writes a blog and his entry for the day mentioned something like “A true blogger is one who never lets the blog die! “. Believe it or not, this was it! It rung a bell somewhere and I found myself resolving to revive my blog which, till date, has two entries to boast of and which was started in the year of 2007!
Starting to blog seriously is not just as simple as it sounds. And I am not even referring to the technicalities of being a good writer. For me, it is so much more than just putting words to paper. And how, dear reader, is that? Well, to put it plainly, I believe, I am a dreamer and a procrastinator, all at the same time. So, while I can spend endless hours imagining myself to be doing something or achieving something or being something, I would actually do very little to do just that. I would sit and brood on it for so long that it would rot my mind and make further action unachievable!
Of late, this particular aspect of my personality has hit me hard like never before and I have been thinking a lot as to how I can change this perception that I have of myself. Add to that, a lot of free time at my hands due to a relaxed work situation and a constant realisation to have that one hobby that I don’t just write about in the “Hobbies “ section of “ Who am I “ but that I actually indulge in and get a pleasure from !
Now while I crave for and dream of dancing like the Terpsichore herself, I do realise that I was born with two left feet .So, I will be realistic and do the other things that I really like and am able to do and reading and writing are two of those things. I have been a fairly good reader but I have never put my mind and energy into writing. I don’t know if I am good at it or not and frankly, I don’t care either. I have realised that I really enjoy playing with words and putting them to paper and hence, this is what I am going to nurture further.
Last but not the least, I think it will be a manifestation of the outcome of endless self analysis sessions that usually go on in my head and a reinforcement of belief in myself that I think I have lost somewhere as life unfolded itself to me.
P.S : Just realised I am so late & new on the scene , I have probably got zero readership but then, I have friends and what are they for if not forceful reading of my blogs !!
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