For those of you who know me a bit...

...you'll know I'm the sort of guy who enjoys spreading the good things I come across in life. Be it the funniest sitcom or stand-up, a mindblowing movie, intelligent dramas, the corniest thing on tv, playing paintball in the middle of nowhere, homegrown recipes, brilliant articles, addictive lan games, pub quizzes, whatnot... The world is full of mindblowing works of art and experiences and it makes sense to spread the joy. And if you won't share it with your friends, then who will you share it with?

I figured this one out a long time ago... your perspectives on life that define your mood... your mood defines how you react to things that come your way... the same thing will look totally different if you're in a different mood... um, yeah that's the basic gist of it.

We all have what we call our self-preservation techniques... me, I don't let myself stop and think for too long about things I don't/can't have control over. Everything is a choice and I choose to not let myself stop and miss people - if I move or they move, I make sure I move on. Missing people is not a choice I let my mind entertain for too long... I have the best people in the world as my friends and more keep on coming... too many unbelievable people and lifelong memories and I don't see the point in getting depressed about it by missing them... as they say, I figure, I'll probably see them when I see them, so why mope?



I attended one of the most amazing parties last night... a terrace party at a beautiful duplex apartment overlooking the airport with the flights landing and taking off all night long under a cloudy moonlit sky and beautiful Bangalore weather...

And these weren't people I've known for long... some I've met over the last 2 months, many I met last night for the first time... Basically I partied last night with a bunch of strangers... but a bunch of the friendliest kindest funniest nicest strangers you will ever encounter any corner of the world...

...and NEVER in my life have I laughed harder or longer :)

...and if you're reading this, you've probably seen me laugh... tears running down my eyes, literally rotfl... or at times having to walk out the room coz I can't stand to be around the funny... but this was something else.

...And as Jabjit said, "challaan toh katna hi hain"... after all this laughing, there's gotta be a downside...

...and yes, there is.

And as much as I'd hate to admit it, on some level, I find myself wishing all the people in my life I really love and care about had been part of last night... friends from back home, college, b-school, office... quite a few of them are all over the world right now, and I don't know if what I'm wishing for will ever happen, but hey... we're human, we're capable of dreaming, and we should...



P.S. For those who have seen me at my funniest in the last 11 years, you've gotta admit... I am quite good, EVEN if I may say so myself. Over the last 4 years, I've been losing my edge and was worried that I was losing my sense of humour, so allow me to tell you... I've stopped worrying. I get glimpses every once in a while and last night was one of those nights... I ain't fully back, but rest assured, I will be... and when I am, God save y'all! :)

I am not a fan, but...

I am not a fan of societal pressures... they're impersonal, highly irrational, driven by herd mentality and fuelled by gossip.

Although I do notice the fact that we all are social animals (whether we like it or not, or are willing to accept it or not), in the face of societal pressures, I'm amongst the first ones to say "screw 'em. do what you want."

However, I must say, for the first time, I find myself acknowledging the positive impact societal pressures have had on any person, in this case myself...

After numerous (3 to be counting) attempts at gymming, I find myself back in a gym eager to get back into shape. Over the last 4-5 years, slowly but surely, my body has found places to store additional resources which are, to say the least, quite unflattering.

I've been getting ribbed about it for the last many months by my family, friends and colleagues... however, recently even distant relatives did bring it up, albeit politely ("this much weight is okay, just don't gain any more").

I've seen friends go through the whole gymming phase and most have stuck to it, with good effect. All of them have always talked about how working out has become a passion (to a few, an obsession) and how once the changes have started appearing, motivation takes care of itself. Its that very stage I need to reach... visible differences that spur you on... and the only way to reach that is to keep going, no matter what.

A couple of problems I have always faced with gymming -
1, its always been too tiring for me to see the point - I gym, I literally die - I don't gym, I feel normal - you see why its made sense for me to choose to stop gymming?
2, a screwed-up work life balance becomes a convenient reason to support point 1 - where's the time, I've said?

Anyway, its high time... and I'm tired of facing the mirror and finding an unfit overweight guy looking back.

I have a plan too... apart from the cardio and weights, it involves watching what I eat (avoiding rice and sugar) and what I drink (colas or beer). I might go in for protein supplements and/or Herbalife, and as a backup, keep an option for the GM diet ready. And if none of these work, there's always the option of smoking weed day in and day out to lose the weight... haha, I wish I could let myself do that ;)

Anyway, this time round, I'm back in the gym... and 3 days in, I can see visible improvement in my stamina.

And I can't wait to get back to the gym tomorrow...




P.S. Fingers crossed!!!

Over the hill...

I go to office on my birthday and bitch a little about being over the hill. A colleague asks me whether I turned 30 (yeah, I know... sincere questions can sometimes be so cruel). I'm like, no, over the hill as in I'm 26... in the second half of my twenties. She's like, 26? over the hill? what about us? (she's 32... since a few years). I'm like that's not over the hill, that's a whole new hill. My hill is the twenties... and I'm on the other half, on my way down.

I've been the youngest one around for a long long time... and I don't think that will change too much. But for the first time in my life, my age makes me FEEL old. 26! Not your twenties, or even 25... these are the LATE 20s.

Anyway, for those of you who are in your 30s or 40s who are reading this, I know I'm being a bit dramatic about this. But hey, I hardly ever crib about anything... let this pass for once...



P.S. The sucky part is... till I turned 26, at the back of my mind, 25 meant halfway through my twenties (and since so long, I've been thinking halfway = 50% = still another half decade to go). With 26, I suddenly realize that from 50% I've gone to 60% in an instant. Its like losing 1 year in an instant... now only 4 more to go till the next big one.