I meant to post this sometime in the last few days of 2015. But one thing led to another. Minutes ticked and time slipped by. Cold days and colder nights came and went and before I realized, it is 2016.
I haven't done an annual review here before. Given that my lifestyle doesn't routinely provide high adrenaline content, a year-review would be regurgitating mundane minutiae of our going through the grind. But there is always a first time. And if nothing else, it is an occasion to come here and throw a few hundred words at the readers. All two of them. And that includes me.
I haven't done an annual review here before. Given that my lifestyle doesn't routinely provide high adrenaline content, a year-review would be regurgitating mundane minutiae of our going through the grind. But there is always a first time. And if nothing else, it is an occasion to come here and throw a few hundred words at the readers. All two of them. And that includes me.
I have this sense that time is accelerating with passing, ahem, time. I shared my observation with my father and he also seemed to agree. So I'm not alone. I remember slogging through the 80s going through the school grind. And I'm sure you'll agree that the 90s were definitely faster. Right? If the 90s were fast, the 2000s were a blur. And here I am, already half way through the 'teens. Anyone else out there that shares the same view?
So 2015 appears to have disappeared faster than the years before. It was a year with the usual highs and lows. There were good days. There were definitely bad days. I was trying to settle into the new job - getting to know new people, a new work culture, new technologies. There is always something exciting about a new job. Even though this one requires me to wake up early to attend calls and meetings.
The Israeli Spring
Then came the two-month-plus trip to Israel. With family. Life in Tel Aviv was interesting, providing us with a rare opportunity to immerse ourselves and experience life in a new land and its language, culture and food with our 4-year-old in tow. 2500 kms driven. Many pictures. Many stories. Many memories. Easily the fastest two months in an already fast year.
Summer of Slowelectron
Then came the longest trip till date to India since I left her shores. One that is better measured in weeks than days. Father's surgery and the convalescence. A handful of functions - all of them arranged and hosted by us. Then getting a house renovated and repaired. All the while navigating tricky family politics. And plenty of it. With toppings of difference in opinions, misunderstanding and clashing ideas. An exhausting trip both physically and mentally. One that I was secretly happy when it was coming to an end. But spending a precious few days with my niece was totally worth it.
Free fall
The quakes. There were hundreds of them over a one-month period. The experts called it earth quake swarms. They were given less threatening labels: minor, mini, nano. But the house developed a few cracks, a few doors got jammed and a few floor boards started creaking. Minor, mini, nano and scary.
I tried becoming a coffee person but that hasn't taken off quite as my wife imagined it would. Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my cup of coffee here and there. I come from a family overflowing with addicts and aficionados after all. But I simply have not been able to make a habit out of it. While on the topic of beverages, I enjoyed a bit of wine this year. I even picked out a favorite and finished three bottles responsibly.
And finally a wet winter
Watching the Malayalam movie Premam was easily the best movie experience for me. A simple story told so beautifully. An inexperienced cast that moved me so completely. A director that wove me into the fabric of his movie. I have watched the movie twice so far, been listening to the songs on loop for nearly a month now and have a crush on the Malar character - my wife knows this. If I'm sad that the movie is being remade in other languages, I'm outraged that Shruti Hassan is playing Malar in the Telugu version.
Late last year I realized that I have something common with Sachin Tendulkar besides cricketing skills and sponsorship deals: tennis elbow. It was an awkward conversation when the doctor ruled out possible causes one by one: tennis, cricket, weights at the gym, garden work. Atrophy would have been a more suitable ailment given my lifestyle. I'm deflated by the thought that the cause is likely a bad posture while working on the laptop and nothing remotely glamorous.
So 2015 appears to have disappeared faster than the years before. It was a year with the usual highs and lows. There were good days. There were definitely bad days. I was trying to settle into the new job - getting to know new people, a new work culture, new technologies. There is always something exciting about a new job. Even though this one requires me to wake up early to attend calls and meetings.
The Israeli Spring
Then came the two-month-plus trip to Israel. With family. Life in Tel Aviv was interesting, providing us with a rare opportunity to immerse ourselves and experience life in a new land and its language, culture and food with our 4-year-old in tow. 2500 kms driven. Many pictures. Many stories. Many memories. Easily the fastest two months in an already fast year.
Summer of Slowelectron
Then came the longest trip till date to India since I left her shores. One that is better measured in weeks than days. Father's surgery and the convalescence. A handful of functions - all of them arranged and hosted by us. Then getting a house renovated and repaired. All the while navigating tricky family politics. And plenty of it. With toppings of difference in opinions, misunderstanding and clashing ideas. An exhausting trip both physically and mentally. One that I was secretly happy when it was coming to an end. But spending a precious few days with my niece was totally worth it.
Free fall
The quakes. There were hundreds of them over a one-month period. The experts called it earth quake swarms. They were given less threatening labels: minor, mini, nano. But the house developed a few cracks, a few doors got jammed and a few floor boards started creaking. Minor, mini, nano and scary.
I tried becoming a coffee person but that hasn't taken off quite as my wife imagined it would. Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my cup of coffee here and there. I come from a family overflowing with addicts and aficionados after all. But I simply have not been able to make a habit out of it. While on the topic of beverages, I enjoyed a bit of wine this year. I even picked out a favorite and finished three bottles responsibly.
And finally a wet winter
Watching the Malayalam movie Premam was easily the best movie experience for me. A simple story told so beautifully. An inexperienced cast that moved me so completely. A director that wove me into the fabric of his movie. I have watched the movie twice so far, been listening to the songs on loop for nearly a month now and have a crush on the Malar character - my wife knows this. If I'm sad that the movie is being remade in other languages, I'm outraged that Shruti Hassan is playing Malar in the Telugu version.
Late last year I realized that I have something common with Sachin Tendulkar besides cricketing skills and sponsorship deals: tennis elbow. It was an awkward conversation when the doctor ruled out possible causes one by one: tennis, cricket, weights at the gym, garden work. Atrophy would have been a more suitable ailment given my lifestyle. I'm deflated by the thought that the cause is likely a bad posture while working on the laptop and nothing remotely glamorous.
But that didn't stop us from going on a three-city road trip touching Carlsbad (Legoland), Phoenix, AZ and LA. We tested our son on some kid-friendly rides at Legoland, visited a much modified ASU campus and a very different Tempe and camped at my friend's place in LA on the way back. Happy to say that the son is not scared by the three rides that he went on: like mother, like son. (Disclosure: Despite my son pleading with me, I refused to go on any of the rides.), my wife and kid finally got to meet a very special person in Phoenix and my son brought out a hidden "dad" side in my yet-to-be-a-father friend. I rented a car from Payless and the lesson: pay more to avoid Payless. A tired car and tiresome service make for a tiring trip.
On balance, a typical year with its usual highs and lows. I'll take typical and uneventful over unforgettable and scary - the two options in the game of lucky dip that life often is.
I have been a bit active in blogging compared to the previous years: 24 posts and 1 comment. I wish I had read more also. Other than that, I have been the same person that I was in 2014- irresponsible, immature and a tad overweight.
On balance, a typical year with its usual highs and lows. I'll take typical and uneventful over unforgettable and scary - the two options in the game of lucky dip that life often is.
I have been a bit active in blogging compared to the previous years: 24 posts and 1 comment. I wish I had read more also. Other than that, I have been the same person that I was in 2014- irresponsible, immature and a tad overweight.
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