30 things before 30 -Part II

The reason it took me so much time to write about the next 15 is, no prizes for guessing, I haven't accomplished much here. The ones I really would have liked to. The ones that would have given me some satisfaction in an otherwise soulless life I lead.

To read the goal list, please go here. 
And to read Part I, click here


16. Yes. I got this one done. I am PMP certified now. Like every said, it was one monkey off my back. I was preparing for this one from pre-historic ages. And the only thing that kept me motivated and driven was this 30-before-30 goals I proclaimed to the world. There is nothing that could beat the feeling of striking off an item from a list.

I remember a particular lunch-table conversation where this question was asked - "If you had a chance to change something about your childhood, what would it be?" And I remember answering "The way I learnt things. The way I learnt the subjects in school". Saying things is so easy, no? I studied for this PMP in exactly the same way I used to before. More for passing the exam and less for understanding and real life implementation. Sigh.

17. Don't even get me started on this. Technology is accelerating at break neck speed and I am like the snail lost in a hurricane. I have a hundred options to choose from and there is a high chance that by the time I learn it, there would be another in the market that surpasses it. In today's world, anything, anything is possible and I don't like it. This is not the world I thought I knew.

18. I haven't figured this one out yet. A lot of introspection, retrospection went in. I kind of know what drives me, what makes me better. But in all this process, what I found out is I miss being in touch with my heart. I lost how it feels to be really touched. To feel something move inside me. To be humane once again.

I would really like to have this back. More on this in a different post.

19.  Nah. Didn't happen. No complaints. I had the opportunity to visit other beautiful places. I got to see the fall colors in full bloom. The bright red and the burning orange and the stunning yellow colors took the breath out of me and transported me to a mesmerizing world..

20. Not once, but twice!  The second time was when the temperatures were 42-45 F ( or 1-2 deg C). We had pulled over jeans over jeans, sweaters over sweaters, and sat by the camp fire until the last twig burnt out. That was quite an experience.

21. I started doing it, and for a good period of time. And then I realized I was doing it for the smell of incense sticks and the sight of the tiny deepam. I was doing it to have an answer when dad asks about it. And then I stopped doing it.

22. Yes I got one back. I think. That day, when we talked for almost two hours on phone, it made me happy that we have so much in common. That even if we didn't talk everyday or even every month, we can light a conversation on fire. That how we share the same opinion on a lot of things and how the same topics interest us. I haven't found anybody like you in so many years and I would never want to lose you.

And the other one, I am working on building it. I know we could be great friends and like everything that grows, this needs some watering. I hope I do whatever it takes.

23. Last time I was in LA, I went into a Mac store on impulse, got a compact power, a face sponge and an eye liner. I even got a hair straightener from a local store. Now I look more like an IT professional than like the cleaning lady on the premises.

I almost hear Sush yelling "Everything you do needs a heavy investment first." *wink* *wink*

24. That I do. Just that I don't remember much of what I read :( Any tips on how you do it? If it is just memory power, then keep it to yourself!

25. That I do.  Just that I don't remember much of what I read :( If it is just memory power, then keep it to yourself!

26. I guess I have to take a course of data mining and data analytics to understand the data about ME and figure out what that actually means! Why is it so tough?

Atleast I have data.

As for the society, there are so many things we can do. Doing good and spreading goodness is one. Remember the ad where a person does good to a dog, somebody sees it and does his part somewhere else, and how the good comes back to the first person? We 'think' a lot of things. We seldom act. We care about so many things and so many people, but we rarely do anything besides caring in our hearts.

One thing I learnt from Sush is, if you care about something or somebody so much, then DO something about it.

So you might see a lot of ACTION from me in the future ;)

27. I couldn't say I did. Not even one perhaps.

28. Well, if talking about it or writing a blogpost about it counts, then yeah *Sheepish look*. I will keep trying and even if I can change one person, I would consider it done.

29. I still judge people! I just cant help it. But I don't let that affect my relationship with them. Every person is different, everyone has their own learning curve, everyone has different exposure and different backgrounds. So its unfair to shoot them down for who they are.

And I think everyone judges. You observe. And derive conclusions. Its basic human nature. Its almost like breathing. And there is no harm in it unless you put a label on a person with a glue that sticks so hard that you cannot pull it off without tearing some of it.

30. I don't have anything to show for it. But I see myself thinking less about failure and more about trying it out.


There, I said it all. This was a great journey. The most productive of all of my existence :D

I turned 30 ... and I was serious about 30 things before 30 - Part I

I turned 30 this month....aaAAAAND I M BACK with an extremely long post.

                                                              ~~~~~

I am internally freaking out that my prime youth is virtually over. Don't give me that age is just a number, its all about how you feel, yada yada yada. Because while it is true, it is NOT entirely true.

What is true is, every birthday after this will be a reminder that I am growing old. That very soon, I will be inching closer to forties (time flies, if you didn't notice). That 30 years appeared to be such a loong loong time but it IS now over. That I am done living the bestest part of life.

Sigh. Before I pass on the melancholic mood and send you reeling back your happy world, lets move on to what I actually intended to write about.

Remember the 30 before 30 post I wrote last year ? Turned out I was serious about it after all . Lets see where I stand, shall we?

Please read that post before you continue. Its important you understand what I am talking about.

1. I did join swimming classes! After being able to float on my back on a lucky day, I was gloating with pride, felt swimming was 'my' thing and got myself enrolled into one.

2. Paintings - duh! Not even one. One - if you call a charcoal sketch of a woman who looked like a man with hair that resembled the scanty burnt hair of the hound in Game of thrones, a qualified sketch, then well yeah, one.

3. The Jimbledon Tennis tournament! Luckily for me, I got two chances in a year. I lost the first one very badly. But I won the doubles junior championship the second time! This was my first biggest achievement if I can call it that. The third set was 6-0. Can you believe it? I couldn't!

The trophy

There is a small story I would want to remember. Phoung, my tennis partner was holding the racket for the first time in preparation for the tournament, but he looked very promising. He was very agile, and a quick learner. As for me, I had played tennis before and thought of myself to be a decent player from a juniors standpoint. So I was kind of okay with the partnership thinking that if Phoung was able to support me just enough, we will stand a chance. By the end of the tournament, it turned out that I was playing the supporting role and Phoung was all out, leading and charging and smashing the opponents!

I was never so much embarrassed with my vanity.

This being one of my big achievements this year, there is one guy who stood by my side, cheering, coaching, and supporting all the time. There were times when I didnt cook for many days in a row, and times when we came home late, tired after a game and cooked together because we missed a good warm home cooked meal. He never complained, never expected me to stay home and cook, but actually dragged me to the tennis court with him. And when I won that night, he didn't lose a moment to order Biryanis for everyone who came to cheer, and have a mini celebration.

Thank you Sush.

Now since this is turning out to be a pain-painstakingly elaborate post (not for me), I have just now decided to break it into two parts, 15 goals in each. So please tie yourself to that chair a little while longer.

4. Books. By blogger standards, I wouldn't even qualify as a 'reader', but I was able to catch up on reading this year. I read The Ice twins, 15 Invaluable laws of growth, The Palace of illusions,The creation of Eve, To Kill a MockingBird and Lean In. Barely met my target.

5. Organize a cultural event - Nah.

6. Writing - Yes, I am pretty satisfied with my effort. I didnt think I could, but I managed to successfully complete the A-Z challenge the first time, and have been writing fairly regularly. Pat on my back! Yay. No. Don't roll your eyes.

7. Trying to gyrate to Nagada sang dhol made me realize I am no Deepika Padukone. I have immense respect for her now. I was just lucky I didnt break my back trying to mimic her.

8. Butterfly wall decor DIY ! Yay! How does it look?

9. Ahem. This one I thought I nailed it. But then I had to keep explaining to people that no, its not my eye liner that got smudged but its called the smokey eye makeup. People can be so ignorant sometimes.

10. Curling hair at home. This needs extreme talent. All you genius people out there, take a bow. I gave this one up after attempting to curl my hair one evening, entangling them so much so that the curl brush refused to budge even one bit. I had to take Sush's help to detangle my hair and after one painful hour, ended up cutting the bristles of the brush one by one. I never dared to try it again.

11. Ish bin hungrish. Guten Tag. Gute Nacht. Guten Morgan. This is all I knew one year ago. And this is all I know now.

12. 10 new items ! What was I thinking? :O Mmmm, let me see. Vegetable bean


soup, Sweet corn soup, Roasted garlic brussel sprouts, multi grain dosa, instant oats dosa, sweet pongal, kesari, Mexican Quesadilla, Telangana pachi pulusu,  Beetroot rice. What were you thinking? I didn't know even these before, okay? I was a pathetic cook. I still am.

13. This one, I was fairly committed. I either biked or played tennis or went for a walk. I even went to Zumba twice a week with a gang of friends.

14. 10:30. 11:00. Sometimes 12:00. Earlier, it was always 12:00. Progress right?

15. Well, this was like a Sine curve. Few days I put Ram Dev Baba to shame. Some days I put a sloth to shame. But its still on. Haven't given up on it yet. People, take your body seriously. It feels so good when you can bend it the way you want to.


To Be Continued....

A - Aging with grace

I don't remember when I started being okay to being called an 'Aunty'. In my country, anybody you don't know and is older than you, is an Aunty. And it is somehow not a good thing, because it meant you are old. Until a few years ago, I used to scream when someone introduced me as an aunty to their kid. The transition was so smooth, I did not even realize when I had become one.

Have I used the word Aunty enough to put you off now? If not yet, please read on.

I am wondering now what exactly happened. Do I really feel older? Or did I just give up ? I am bordering 30 now, but still feel young. Feel is the catch word, not look. So stop rolling your eyes. So as I was saying, I have the same zest for life like I had 10 years ago. So what changed?

Is it because I am no longer that care-free person with few things on mind and fewer things to worry about ? I am suddenly responsible for so many things in life, like that month-end deliverable, weekend laundry, daily breakfast-lunch-dinner routine, keeping my blog alive, managing my hundreds of interests, that I am feeling all grown-up? And like an icing on the cake of worries, this nagging feeling of 'what-am-I-doing-with-my-life!'  as if I am going to die soon. Is it because I am acting more and more out of maturity and obligation and less and less out of how I actually feel? Has it to do with the fact that I do something because its the right thing to do and not because I want to do? I learn to let go because holding on is not an option sometimes? Winning is no more the fire that keeps me burning, but keeping peace is ?

Yeah, I think that's when it all changed.

I grew up. Everybody does, I guess. I am freaking out from inside that I am aging slowly.. touching 30 this year, but more than the number, its the feeling of growing old that is pushing buttons in my mind.

 I gotto worry less. Worry. Will I ever stop doing that ?

This reminds me of a question I saw on Facebook. What would you do if you woke up and realized that all these years you lived was just a dream. I would immediately go back to sleep, I answered in my mind. I didn't want to re-do these 29 years. Why did I feel like that, I wonder.

What would you do ?

And how are you handling aging ?

The answer is definitely this :