2013 has whizzed past...
As compared to the same time last year, some things have changed ...
- I am a few pounds lighter(it's a different thing that I still have 20 more pounds to shed to reach my target weight). Baby steps perhaps, but steps nevertheless :)
- 'D' is a few pounds healthier and blames it all on all the delicious food I feed him (LOL...btw, complete pun intended here , for the benefit of all those who don't know me well enough!!)
- Our parents have found a few more reasons to worry about now, with a growing grand child in the fold...is Raya eating well...is Raya sleeping well...is Raya playing well...does Raya remember us...you get the gist!:)
- My younger, commitment phobic, brother seems to be closer to leading a commitment phobia free life !
- I seem to be steps closer to reviving my reading habits. Managed to read 8 out of the 12 books, I had challenged myself to read at the beginning of the year! Have been able to pick writing back up as well. Personally for me,
that's an achievement with having to run around an active toddler in the household, taking priority over everything else.
- Our list of places to travel to/cuisines to try before we die is shorter by a few entries.
- I am a few steps closer to mastering the professional skills I had set out to build.
- We have made some progress in achieving our goal of giving back to the community in kind. In 2014, I will hopefully be able to spend more time and physical effort on such ventures, more specifically related to education of the girl child and poverty stricken/abused children.
- My little girl is growing up faster than we would like her to:(...And these days, much like Joey (from 'FRIENDS') , she asks,"Hey...What u doing , mamma?" .
Her favorite phrases these days are "Hey guys!"..."Know that?"..."What u doing?"
Her favorite books are "Brown bear" by Eric Carle and "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein
Her favorite TV shows are "Dora the Explorer" and "Minnie Mouse Bowtique".
Her favorite songs are,"I like to move it" and "Hokey Pokey".
Her favorite activities are making tea and coffee in her kitchen and serving everyone, building blocks with lego and letting her hair down and 'jump dancing' in the rain and snow :).
- On a more serious note, our families have had to learn to live without two important people of our lives, 'D's atama(maternal grandmom) and my jethpeha(my maternal uncle). The only consolation is that both of them led lives that were personally and professionally fulfilling. And they leave behind a legacy that would need a lot of hard work to sustain.
As compared to the same time last year, here are some things that haven't changed...
- My eternal optimism...
- Our marital status... (Jokes apart , this seems be something we need to keep track of now, given the rate at which relationships are failing and marriages crumbling, more so, to stop getting complacent and to keep the spark alive:))
- My piano and guitar strumming skills... ( I think I'll just have to join Raya in her classes)
As for resolutions for the new year, like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, on the personal front, I never really make objective/measurable resolutions for myself...My resolutions are always hazy, more in the likes of read more, sleep less, write more, weigh less, dump the piano, pick up the guitar, work hard, party harder...You get the gist! None of my personal resolutions are such that I can look back at the year gone by and objectively declare their fruition/failure. It’s great that I, at least, have ‘SMART’ (in managerial lingo, 'Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timebound') professional objectives for 2014...that will keep my life balanced as far as resolutions are concerned, for sure. A complete dearth of objectives for a new year could potentially deem life directionless whereas too many ‘SMART’ personal and professional resolutions can make a year of life end up becoming one helluva marathon with no finish line in sight !
We ended 2013 with a road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway of the United States, driving from Los Angeles to Santa Clara, with pit stops at the Terranea Resort , Palos Verdes...Santa Monica...Santa Barbara...Pismo Beach...San Louis Obispo...Morro Bay...Big Sur...Carmel...Monterey. Managed to squeeze in a side trip to the Napa valley as well.
The best part of the trip was, though, catching up and spending some quality time with 'D' and my college buddies. Having almost grown up together through the ups and downs of the four years of undergrad hostel life, it reinforced our belief that these are the only friendships that probably never go stale...over a period of time, most friends and acquaintances come and go...but with school/college buddies, you can always pick up from where you left off...relive memories, drink, eat, argue, debate about random/controversial topics, speak your heart out without being judged and still maintain the pristinity of the relationship, no matter what!
What better way to start a new year than with the reinforcement of this belief!
Happy New Year folks!
As compared to the same time last year, some things have changed ...
- I am a few pounds lighter(it's a different thing that I still have 20 more pounds to shed to reach my target weight). Baby steps perhaps, but steps nevertheless :)
- 'D' is a few pounds healthier and blames it all on all the delicious food I feed him (LOL...btw, complete pun intended here , for the benefit of all those who don't know me well enough!!)
- Our parents have found a few more reasons to worry about now, with a growing grand child in the fold...is Raya eating well...is Raya sleeping well...is Raya playing well...does Raya remember us...you get the gist!:)
- My younger, commitment phobic, brother seems to be closer to leading a commitment phobia free life !
- I seem to be steps closer to reviving my reading habits. Managed to read 8 out of the 12 books, I had challenged myself to read at the beginning of the year! Have been able to pick writing back up as well. Personally for me,
that's an achievement with having to run around an active toddler in the household, taking priority over everything else.
- Our list of places to travel to/cuisines to try before we die is shorter by a few entries.
- I am a few steps closer to mastering the professional skills I had set out to build.
- We have made some progress in achieving our goal of giving back to the community in kind. In 2014, I will hopefully be able to spend more time and physical effort on such ventures, more specifically related to education of the girl child and poverty stricken/abused children.
- My little girl is growing up faster than we would like her to:(...And these days, much like Joey (from 'FRIENDS') , she asks,"Hey...What u doing , mamma?" .
Her favorite phrases these days are "Hey guys!"..."Know that?"..."What u doing?"
Her favorite books are "Brown bear" by Eric Carle and "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein
Her favorite TV shows are "Dora the Explorer" and "Minnie Mouse Bowtique".
Her favorite songs are,"I like to move it" and "Hokey Pokey".
Her favorite activities are making tea and coffee in her kitchen and serving everyone, building blocks with lego and letting her hair down and 'jump dancing' in the rain and snow :).
- On a more serious note, our families have had to learn to live without two important people of our lives, 'D's atama(maternal grandmom) and my jethpeha(my maternal uncle). The only consolation is that both of them led lives that were personally and professionally fulfilling. And they leave behind a legacy that would need a lot of hard work to sustain.
As compared to the same time last year, here are some things that haven't changed...
- My eternal optimism...
- Our marital status... (Jokes apart , this seems be something we need to keep track of now, given the rate at which relationships are failing and marriages crumbling, more so, to stop getting complacent and to keep the spark alive:))
- My piano and guitar strumming skills... ( I think I'll just have to join Raya in her classes)
As for resolutions for the new year, like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, on the personal front, I never really make objective/measurable resolutions for myself...My resolutions are always hazy, more in the likes of read more, sleep less, write more, weigh less, dump the piano, pick up the guitar, work hard, party harder...You get the gist! None of my personal resolutions are such that I can look back at the year gone by and objectively declare their fruition/failure. It’s great that I, at least, have ‘SMART’ (in managerial lingo, 'Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timebound') professional objectives for 2014...that will keep my life balanced as far as resolutions are concerned, for sure. A complete dearth of objectives for a new year could potentially deem life directionless whereas too many ‘SMART’ personal and professional resolutions can make a year of life end up becoming one helluva marathon with no finish line in sight !
We ended 2013 with a road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway of the United States, driving from Los Angeles to Santa Clara, with pit stops at the Terranea Resort , Palos Verdes...Santa Monica...Santa Barbara...Pismo Beach...San Louis Obispo...Morro Bay...Big Sur...Carmel...Monterey. Managed to squeeze in a side trip to the Napa valley as well.
The best part of the trip was, though, catching up and spending some quality time with 'D' and my college buddies. Having almost grown up together through the ups and downs of the four years of undergrad hostel life, it reinforced our belief that these are the only friendships that probably never go stale...over a period of time, most friends and acquaintances come and go...but with school/college buddies, you can always pick up from where you left off...relive memories, drink, eat, argue, debate about random/controversial topics, speak your heart out without being judged and still maintain the pristinity of the relationship, no matter what!
What better way to start a new year than with the reinforcement of this belief!
Happy New Year folks!
4 comments:
Sounds like you had a great trip.
I forgot to give you the books I kept aside for Raya. Tell her Giving Tree is my fav too. D and A loved it as well.
So bro is getting married soon? Congratulations.
Recommend some books na? Just finished Orphan Train and Dinner with the Smileys.
Yep Rims. Trip was great! I'll get the books from you some other time. No worries. Raya really loves the Giving Tree and has almost memorized Brown Bear lol. She likes it so much. She is funny.
No no, no marriage on the cards yet for bro, lol!! But just the acceptance that a life long commitment may not be all that bad..ha ha.
Haven't read Orphan Train yet. Goes into my to-read list. I loved Dinner with the Smileys.
For me personally, some of the great reads this past year have been: Beyond the Beautiful Forevers (non-fiction), When the Mountains Echoed and the Book Thief.
Dipanjan Das,
Chaitali Ghosalkar,
Priyanka Khole,
Mayurpankhi Barooah,
Arun Anand,
Khushboo Lotia,
Nitika Nayar Kashyap,
Kalyani Das,
Cindy Leadbetter Miller,
Paparee Bezbaruah,
Prerna Agarwal,
Preetam Rajkhowa,
Sumit Dhingra,
Tapati Sharma,
Shabiha Yasmin,
Roopa Kadiyala,
Vidya Sabesan,
Dehu Rajkhowa,
Siddhartha Narayanan like this
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Siddhartha Narayanan:
Missed meeting you and D in cal! Happy new year to you guys.
January 3 at 2:34pm
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Priyanka Rajkhowa:
A very happy new year to you as well, Sid !! Would have been great to catch up! Hopefully sometime soon, we will
January 3 at 3:49pm
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Cindy Leadbetter Miller:
So we'll said..love these posts
January 4 at 7:47pm
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Priyanka Rajkhowa:
Thanks folks...
January 4 at 11:25pm
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Ankita Deka:
Happy new year Priyanka to all of you!
January 5 at 1:23am
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Priyanka Rajkhowa:
Thanks Ankita.Wish you U guys a very happy new year too! Hope all's well:) how r the little ones doing? U must be a bit more relaxed post tenure !?:)
January 5 at 10:14am
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Ankita Deka:
Thank you Priyanka! Little one is always with something he has the flu now. Otherwise things are good. Hope Raya darling is good. Keep writing, it is a great gift to her. Love to all of you.
January 5 at 5:07pm
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