A picture of poignant beauty
a woman of stolid strength;
music her forte is,
art her choice of words.
A shy Rapunzel
a haven that once was;
suave her subtle ways
charm her weapon in guise.
A deep sensibility
a seldom cracking smile;
amidst dark days of life
effervescent her warm light.
A cosy nest of lilies
a love and life in bloom;
curious minds she potted
to set their wings loose.
An unwritten hero
a strength in my life;
this day was born
my mother I now recognize.
Happy Birthday MOM!!! As much as I never listen to you, I still love you :-) :)
15th Dec, 2008 IST
Travel Days 7 & 8 - What have I been up to in Rio de Jainero?
Day 7 - Landed @ 11 am. Thanfully used ankle twist (during last 3 miles out of Grand Canyon) to get a wheel chair and breeze out of the airport...Took 1.5 hours to get to Ipanema beach and Mango Tree hotel...traffic is miserable in Rio! After getting settled and showered, went for a leisure stroll down Ipanema beach and took millions of scenic sunset pics :)
Day 8 -
*Left hostel early at 9 to get to Corcovado....The whole trip took 1.5 hours each way including the mini-train up the hill (Trem de Corcovado), spent 45 mins looking at the Christ Redeemer statue and views of Rio and then back to the hostel....
*Then went for a hang gliding trip...again the flight time was 8-12 minutes but getting to Pedro Bonita peak in Tijuca National Park, setting up and packing up gear took hours and hours! Hang Gliding in Rio was pretty with views over Tijuca National Park, freeways, Rio's biggest favela (name?) and Sao Conrado, Leblon, Ipanema beaches :)Start point: Pedro Bonita, Tijuca National Park. Elevation: 500 m above sea level.
End point: Sao Conrado Beach
Video:
Note: Ride was very smooth, felt no adrenalin rush at all!
Cost: 230 Reals for gliding, 150 Real for pictures + video
*Evening stroll down Ipanema streets ended up being an eat/drink session with no idea what I was eating.....Had a mate and 3 tres pao de queijo for 2 real @ supermate. After the fact google search revealed this about mate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage)
Also had a picanha beach sandwich for reals 4.6 at beach surfs!
*Late night Samba street party at Lapa! and then some more Samba dancing at a club.....my feet are really tired!
Sad facts of the day:
1. Lost 1 earring somewhere, it was in my purse for safekeeping!!! I was better off wearing it :-)
2. 1 USD=2.05 Reals as of Oct 3, ouch I exchanged at 1.8 on oct 2 :(
All Photos: To Be posted soon...
Travel Day 6 - Worst day of the trip so far!
getting out of phoenix airport was a nightmare...details to come
Travel Days 3, 4, 5 - In & Out of the Grand Canyons
Day 2 Sep 28: Met the team at 6:45 am @ GCFI, started hiking the South Kaibab trail at 7:30 am, reached Bright Angel campground at 2:30 pm. Some rest, a cool lemonade, a ranger talk on California condors and some chilling in the Bright Angel creek water (right next to the campground) followed....
Miles hiked 7, elevation start?, dropped 5000 ft?
Day 3 Sep 29: Did the North Kaibab trail few miles from Bright Angel campground and then a rendezvous to the Phanton Creek trail. Followed by lounging at the Boat beach (Colorado river), geology talk, ranger talk and beer at the Phantom ranch bar!
Day 4 Sep 30: Came out of the camp via Bright Angel trail
Miles hiked 10, elevation gained
Start 7:15 am end 4:35 pm
To be updated with quirky details and fotos: mormom tea, ruins,
Miles hiked 7, elevation start?, dropped 5000 ft?
Day 3 Sep 29: Did the North Kaibab trail few miles from Bright Angel campground and then a rendezvous to the Phanton Creek trail. Followed by lounging at the Boat beach (Colorado river), geology talk, ranger talk and beer at the Phantom ranch bar!
Day 4 Sep 30: Came out of the camp via Bright Angel trail
Miles hiked 10, elevation gained
Start 7:15 am end 4:35 pm
To be updated with quirky details and fotos: mormom tea, ruins,
Travel Day 1 and 2 - Getting to the Grand Canyon National Park
Day 0 (Sep 26, 2008) was massively chaotic just-in-time processing; the important thing is everything got done!
My flight from San Jose, CA to Phoenix, AZ was on Sep 26th at 1 in the afternoon. Before I could board the flight a million last minute things had to be done. One such stressful thing to do was shipping my stuff from US to India. I had arranged for the shippers to do a pickup from my apartment on Sep 25 afternoon, alas my packing was nowhere close to done by then :(. The only option left was to drop all the items at San Francisco. It is important to point that I had been packing by myself on Wed and Thu and was not lazing around :-) From speed packing on the last night, to printing shipping labels to driving my goods to the shipping dock - all required friends, that I thankfully have :-)
Coming back from SF at 10:30 am, throwing all the garbage, giving away things, adding more stuff to travel bags, taking a shower and heading to the airport - are all a bit hazy in my mind....Why you may ask? I didn't sleep even a minute on Thursday night. Just sorting, trashing and organizing all my papers took 3 hours or such....
Back at the SJC airport, things went smoothly....I reached the airport 30 minutes to fly and bags check-in, security, food purchase, all was done in 15 mins :) Slept throughout the flight to Phoenix....Boy was I really really tired! When the bags arrived - my roller bag arrived but the new backpack was missing, ouch :( :( I was told to wait from 2:30 pm to 5:30 for the next Southwest flight from SJC to arrive. I used the time well - ate some more, dozed some more and then did what I had not had the time to do at all - booked myself a nice and cheap hotel for the night in Phoenix and a rental car for my Grand Canyon rendezvous all courtesy Orbitz.com. At that moment I had an economic policy revelation - my apartment for the last 1 year cost me $45/day; so long as I could find a place to stay for <=$45/night throughout my travel I would not be spending any additional $$ on lodging than my usual. I was running out of energy and the next SJ flight was 30 minutes late so I took the shuttle to the rental company and got myself a car....This took >30 minutes although I was the only customer Payless car rental had in the hour...In fact, the small rental companies had 1 booth/cube right next to each other - Fox, Payless, EZ...And all these agents did was gossip...My Product hat was curious when Payless told me they had no record of my reservation...Their systems only get a daily transfer of transactions from Orbitz :) They still gave me the car at the rate I quoted as having received online, just great!
Time was passing slowly, sleep was getting a hold fast of my eyes, drove back to the terminal only to wait 15 more minutes in agony for my backpack to eventually show up - it was literally the last bag to come on the belt :)
I finally made it to the hotel by 7 pm - pretty good room and decor for all of $58 that I paid for the 11 hours I stayed there!
More fun stuff happenned during the day but it will need to wait for another time....Including a quick hike on Bright Angel trail with the team... TO BE UPDATED
Very sleepy after a hot hot shower at the Mather campground showers ($2 for 8 minutes) and good pasta at the Yuvapai Lodge cafe....Need to get up at 5:30 am tomorrow so I can pack the tent, get ready, have breakfast and reach the GCFI building by 6:45 am...
My flight from San Jose, CA to Phoenix, AZ was on Sep 26th at 1 in the afternoon. Before I could board the flight a million last minute things had to be done. One such stressful thing to do was shipping my stuff from US to India. I had arranged for the shippers to do a pickup from my apartment on Sep 25 afternoon, alas my packing was nowhere close to done by then :(. The only option left was to drop all the items at San Francisco. It is important to point that I had been packing by myself on Wed and Thu and was not lazing around :-) From speed packing on the last night, to printing shipping labels to driving my goods to the shipping dock - all required friends, that I thankfully have :-)
Coming back from SF at 10:30 am, throwing all the garbage, giving away things, adding more stuff to travel bags, taking a shower and heading to the airport - are all a bit hazy in my mind....Why you may ask? I didn't sleep even a minute on Thursday night. Just sorting, trashing and organizing all my papers took 3 hours or such....
Back at the SJC airport, things went smoothly....I reached the airport 30 minutes to fly and bags check-in, security, food purchase, all was done in 15 mins :) Slept throughout the flight to Phoenix....Boy was I really really tired! When the bags arrived - my roller bag arrived but the new backpack was missing, ouch :( :( I was told to wait from 2:30 pm to 5:30 for the next Southwest flight from SJC to arrive. I used the time well - ate some more, dozed some more and then did what I had not had the time to do at all - booked myself a nice and cheap hotel for the night in Phoenix and a rental car for my Grand Canyon rendezvous all courtesy Orbitz.com. At that moment I had an economic policy revelation - my apartment for the last 1 year cost me $45/day; so long as I could find a place to stay for <=$45/night throughout my travel I would not be spending any additional $$ on lodging than my usual. I was running out of energy and the next SJ flight was 30 minutes late so I took the shuttle to the rental company and got myself a car....This took >30 minutes although I was the only customer Payless car rental had in the hour...In fact, the small rental companies had 1 booth/cube right next to each other - Fox, Payless, EZ...And all these agents did was gossip...My Product hat was curious when Payless told me they had no record of my reservation...Their systems only get a daily transfer of transactions from Orbitz :) They still gave me the car at the rate I quoted as having received online, just great!
Time was passing slowly, sleep was getting a hold fast of my eyes, drove back to the terminal only to wait 15 more minutes in agony for my backpack to eventually show up - it was literally the last bag to come on the belt :)
I finally made it to the hotel by 7 pm - pretty good room and decor for all of $58 that I paid for the 11 hours I stayed there!
More fun stuff happenned during the day but it will need to wait for another time....Including a quick hike on Bright Angel trail with the team... TO BE UPDATED
Very sleepy after a hot hot shower at the Mather campground showers ($2 for 8 minutes) and good pasta at the Yuvapai Lodge cafe....Need to get up at 5:30 am tomorrow so I can pack the tent, get ready, have breakfast and reach the GCFI building by 6:45 am...
Uhhhhhhhhhhh controlling people!!!!!!!
My sister has the most annoying way of being helpful....Just when she knows I am busy with a million things to finish under a deadline she wants to have a philosophical discussion on just about anything.....
Tonight it was about being connected while traveling, especially since I was traveling alone :( :( Excuse me I didnt know I needed permission from someone to travel alone :-)
Yes some people like being connected with a cell phone to their hip all the time...I have a friend who always carries it to the bathroom also...I don't have any such passion for being connected...In fact I love being disconnected from the world, people and all the tensions that daily life brings us ....Isn't that why people love going to national parks and explore nature? All of us have done it - being unreachable while traveling...Heck we are disconnected while we fly :) Why then must I endure a conversation on how no one can reach me should something happen to someone in the family or vice versa....
When it comes to medical emergencies at home or abroad, the only person who can save you instantaneously is the paramedic or doctor....Everyone else is just moral support, no real help!
Anyway, our entire conversation lasted 9 minutes, we hopped from one tangent to another - anything the sis could use to make her point; my stress level went up 200% and in the end I was so upset I wasted another 15 minutes fuming and then writing this down...Why? because the next time this happens which will be soon may be tomorrow morning, instead of fuming I can read this post and laugh at the recurring and predictable phone conversations with my sister :-)
Controlling other people is something that comes naturally to most women, older siblings, parents and bossy people.... Never mind that the other person has his/her own brain, heart and all other body parts....Its just amazing how blind sighted one can be out of habit...I know it because I can be controlling too on occasion :p....At least I know when I am trying to control...And it takes a friend about 2 nudges for me to get the idea that what I say is not going to work on them.....High time some people in my family realized that what they want or how they do things is different from how I want to do things....Or this is a lifelong infinite loop as they say in programming lingo :)
Tonight it was about being connected while traveling, especially since I was traveling alone :( :( Excuse me I didnt know I needed permission from someone to travel alone :-)
Yes some people like being connected with a cell phone to their hip all the time...I have a friend who always carries it to the bathroom also...I don't have any such passion for being connected...In fact I love being disconnected from the world, people and all the tensions that daily life brings us ....Isn't that why people love going to national parks and explore nature? All of us have done it - being unreachable while traveling...Heck we are disconnected while we fly :) Why then must I endure a conversation on how no one can reach me should something happen to someone in the family or vice versa....
When it comes to medical emergencies at home or abroad, the only person who can save you instantaneously is the paramedic or doctor....Everyone else is just moral support, no real help!
Anyway, our entire conversation lasted 9 minutes, we hopped from one tangent to another - anything the sis could use to make her point; my stress level went up 200% and in the end I was so upset I wasted another 15 minutes fuming and then writing this down...Why? because the next time this happens which will be soon may be tomorrow morning, instead of fuming I can read this post and laugh at the recurring and predictable phone conversations with my sister :-)
Controlling other people is something that comes naturally to most women, older siblings, parents and bossy people.... Never mind that the other person has his/her own brain, heart and all other body parts....Its just amazing how blind sighted one can be out of habit...I know it because I can be controlling too on occasion :p....At least I know when I am trying to control...And it takes a friend about 2 nudges for me to get the idea that what I say is not going to work on them.....High time some people in my family realized that what they want or how they do things is different from how I want to do things....Or this is a lifelong infinite loop as they say in programming lingo :)
Opasna's report on The Triathlon at Pacific Grove, 14 Sep, 2008!
Hello All!
Firstly many thanks to all the people contributed to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on my request in 2007 and 2008. All the money you contributed is officially in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's bank to be used for cutting edge research and patient support. Fill up your company's gift match form if you haven't already!
My Story.....
The cancellation of the Treasure Island triathlon in Nov 2007 due to an oil spill in the Pacific ocean was not fun. I had been training for 3+ months with my teammates from Team in Training by then and we had nothing to show or achieve at the end. Multiple fits and starts later, I got around to signing up for The Triathlon at Pacific Grove on 14 Sep, 2008 and this time I DID IT!
Many things went wrong the night before - from my bicycle tube's valve pin breaking off to mistakenly riding on broken glass on a road to a restless sleep.... On the day of the race, we biked a pleasant 4 miles from our hotel to the event at 5:30 am in darkness, super cool! The water was cold at 63 degrees at 7:30 am when my race started...The swim waves of participants go by by sex and age...In the water, I was unable to swim at my normal pace with all the people cheering, ambitious participants kicking each other and the adrenalin rush so I kept powering through expending a lot of unnecessary energy..On the bike and while running, I was a crowd delight....As I came close to finishing a lap and the crowd cheered, I gave them drama by overtaking people or just by sprinting and waving and shouting.....
I dont think I took a breath of fresh air normally (at my practiced exercise pace) throughout the race but boy did I have a lot of fun doing the triathlon!!! You can and should do an endurance event once in your life :) :) There are half-marathons and century rides and walks to suit everyone's interest! Next I will aim for an Olympic distance triathlon....Thanks again for all your mental, $$ and emotional support!
The Team's Story....
The Silicon Valley Team in training Triathlon team had major setbacks:
- Jim's lymphoma came back and he is undergoing chemo at Stanford hospital currently
- Doug has a secondary cancer and surgery is scheduled for Sep 22, 2008
- Don participated in the triathlon but had to be pulled out of the race after the swim and taken to the hospital for tests....
But they are all strong, fun and confident survivors...We are all very proud of our team honorees and hope for the best!!!
And whats most important is.....
Team in Training brought ~ 340 amateur triathletes like me to The Triathlon at Pacific Grove from all over the US and together we raised $1.2 Million for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! Go Team! Cheers to more research to save lives!!!
Pictures of my fun ordeal can be found at
Slideshow http://picasaweb.google.com/upasana.taku/TheTriathlonAtPacificGrove#slideshow
Click each photo http://picasaweb.google.com/upasana.taku/TheTriathlonAtPacificGrove#
You can still donate towards Leukemia & Lymphoma research at
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/pactri08/utaku
Firstly many thanks to all the people contributed to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on my request in 2007 and 2008. All the money you contributed is officially in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's bank to be used for cutting edge research and patient support. Fill up your company's gift match form if you haven't already!
My Story.....
The cancellation of the Treasure Island triathlon in Nov 2007 due to an oil spill in the Pacific ocean was not fun. I had been training for 3+ months with my teammates from Team in Training by then and we had nothing to show or achieve at the end. Multiple fits and starts later, I got around to signing up for The Triathlon at Pacific Grove on 14 Sep, 2008 and this time I DID IT!
Many things went wrong the night before - from my bicycle tube's valve pin breaking off to mistakenly riding on broken glass on a road to a restless sleep.... On the day of the race, we biked a pleasant 4 miles from our hotel to the event at 5:30 am in darkness, super cool! The water was cold at 63 degrees at 7:30 am when my race started...The swim waves of participants go by by sex and age...In the water, I was unable to swim at my normal pace with all the people cheering, ambitious participants kicking each other and the adrenalin rush so I kept powering through expending a lot of unnecessary energy..On the bike and while running, I was a crowd delight....As I came close to finishing a lap and the crowd cheered, I gave them drama by overtaking people or just by sprinting and waving and shouting.....
I dont think I took a breath of fresh air normally (at my practiced exercise pace) throughout the race but boy did I have a lot of fun doing the triathlon!!! You can and should do an endurance event once in your life :) :) There are half-marathons and century rides and walks to suit everyone's interest! Next I will aim for an Olympic distance triathlon....Thanks again for all your mental, $$ and emotional support!
The Team's Story....
The Silicon Valley Team in training Triathlon team had major setbacks:
- Jim's lymphoma came back and he is undergoing chemo at Stanford hospital currently
- Doug has a secondary cancer and surgery is scheduled for Sep 22, 2008
- Don participated in the triathlon but had to be pulled out of the race after the swim and taken to the hospital for tests....
But they are all strong, fun and confident survivors...We are all very proud of our team honorees and hope for the best!!!
And whats most important is.....
Team in Training brought ~ 340 amateur triathletes like me to The Triathlon at Pacific Grove from all over the US and together we raised $1.2 Million for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! Go Team! Cheers to more research to save lives!!!
Pictures of my fun ordeal can be found at
Slideshow http://picasaweb.google.com/
Click each photo http://picasaweb.google.com/
You can still donate towards Leukemia & Lymphoma research at
http://pages.teamintraining.
Something is wrong with me!
Its 6:42 pm here in California, all 4 of the aisles inhabited by my teammates are now empty. Courtesy skype chats, I know some of my developer friends are still coding along on the other side of the building.
Its been a long day - started with a meeting at 8 am. And followed a waterfall of successive meetings and escalations and emails and running around. Since I am recovering from a flu last few days, I am completely energy drained. I have already decided that my heart is no longer in my current job so I must move on...So why am I still working? I have a million things to do - from triathlon training to vacation planning to .......Should have left work at 4 pm...
Something is wrong with me!
Its been a long day - started with a meeting at 8 am. And followed a waterfall of successive meetings and escalations and emails and running around. Since I am recovering from a flu last few days, I am completely energy drained. I have already decided that my heart is no longer in my current job so I must move on...So why am I still working? I have a million things to do - from triathlon training to vacation planning to .......Should have left work at 4 pm...
Something is wrong with me!
Its time to change again!
It took some cyclical iterations of denial leading to a random lapse of health for me to finally realize that stress was catching on to me. Added to the physical exhaustion aspect was the preceding emotional meltdown - a directly correlated event where all my pent up frustrations and anger erupted like a volcano. Holding on to things is not a trait of mine, or is it? When it comes to daily life no one can stop me from speaking my mind. Direct communication while not appreciated by some is good for the mind and soul because one feels best when what you think is what you say :) Unfortunately, to my surprise I do not apply this style well when it comes to human relationships. Family, friends and coworkers with whom I have an emotional connection I let things pile on for weeks and months until its almost too late. This in return catches by surprise the affected other person who then makes efforts to revive - often too little too late!
Leaving aside others for a minute, I think I have not even taken the time to understand myself for a few months. Back in April, I had an internal debate and then again in May but procrastination and half-hearted efforts in areas of interest resulted in meager if any results. Escaping seemed to be the easier route which is what I did through June-July by traveling and making merry while enduring an onslaught of work. The laziness and escapism is evident even as I look at my blogger dashboard - there are some dozens of drafts that were never completed, ideas or feelings that were never synthesized.
While procrastinating my personal thinking and thereby postponing decisions for my future has been my modus operandi so far; its time now for making some long due changes!!!
First, where did it all begin. Yesterday was a glorious Friday morning - there were no 7:30/8 am calls with international offices so I took my time to get ready. Munched on some cereal while reading the news, took a long shower and then decided to ride my motorcycle to work after a long hiatus. Of course this required some preparation, finding the gear (helmet, gloves and jacket) and going to a gas station to fill gas and inflate the tires. This is where it all hit me! The malfunctioning air pump machine meant it took me about 10-15 mins trying to inflate tires. As soon as I was finally done, and ready to take my long due (last year daily, now monthly/quarterly) ride I felt the world spinning and I had to just keep sitting on the bike with my head down on the fuel tank. Removing the gloves and helmet and opening the jacket made me realize how hot I was. After a couple minutes of stillness I felt capable enough to ride back home. Once home I ripped off all the layers to realize my shirt and jeans were completely drenched with my sweat. Some glasses of cold water and sitting in front of the fan finally made me feel calm. Few minutes later I drove to work in my car completely cold with high air conditioning and went on with life. But the single instance of a random heat-stroke or severe dehydration finally made me think hard.
Later in the day, I went to see my doctor who after making all the checks (blood pressure, sugar, hemoglobin, thyroid, EKG) declared I was in good health and should not worry :) What I learnt while waiting through the different tests was even more relevant. I ended up reading this article called The Rewards of Relaxation: Why Slowing Down Is Healthy in one of the magazines. It reinforced the idea that wasting time or doing nothing is good - it helps recharge the mind and body. It also explained why relaxing can sometimes be especially difficult for women who are efficient practitioners of multi-tasking, to-do-lists and getting things done. The final point of the article was that a task focused mind is not free enough to think creatively - "When we're engaged in "mindless" activities -- taking a stroll, listening to music, soaking our feet -- our minds are free to sort through the accumulated information stored there, making connections and finding answers that a focused, directed mind is too busy to make."
This Friday was the first time in 7-8 months that I left work early at 4:15 pm to go see the doctor but it was a step in defining boundaries between work and life. Ultimately, its left to every person in the work environment to look out for him/herself and protect oneself from a continued unfair onslaught of work. Its apparently never been a priority on normal (exceptions always exist in small %s) managers radars to monitor and protect hard-working people from being burnt out. After all taking for granted is a phenomenon in every aspect of life!
As if on cue, I took this entire weekend to relax, sleep, read, watch TV and do no chores; for once a messy home rocks if I am totally de-stressed! I also took the first steps to focus and think about life and my real aspirations not those artificially accelerated due to tags of $$$s associated with them. Fulfilling a fortune cookie message from many months ago that still adorns my bedside table I committed to "Stay close to your inner self. You will benefit in many ways.".
No major changes have been made yet the seeds have been sown :) I have ensured I eat proper meals and sleep for the sake of sleeping not out of sheer exhaustion. In August 2007, I made a lot of changes and all the decisions worked out in my favor so I am hoping my annual 2008 retreat and the subsequent changes will all help me grow in the right directions towards a more fulfilling life!
Leaving aside others for a minute, I think I have not even taken the time to understand myself for a few months. Back in April, I had an internal debate and then again in May but procrastination and half-hearted efforts in areas of interest resulted in meager if any results. Escaping seemed to be the easier route which is what I did through June-July by traveling and making merry while enduring an onslaught of work. The laziness and escapism is evident even as I look at my blogger dashboard - there are some dozens of drafts that were never completed, ideas or feelings that were never synthesized.
While procrastinating my personal thinking and thereby postponing decisions for my future has been my modus operandi so far; its time now for making some long due changes!!!
First, where did it all begin. Yesterday was a glorious Friday morning - there were no 7:30/8 am calls with international offices so I took my time to get ready. Munched on some cereal while reading the news, took a long shower and then decided to ride my motorcycle to work after a long hiatus. Of course this required some preparation, finding the gear (helmet, gloves and jacket) and going to a gas station to fill gas and inflate the tires. This is where it all hit me! The malfunctioning air pump machine meant it took me about 10-15 mins trying to inflate tires. As soon as I was finally done, and ready to take my long due (last year daily, now monthly/quarterly) ride I felt the world spinning and I had to just keep sitting on the bike with my head down on the fuel tank. Removing the gloves and helmet and opening the jacket made me realize how hot I was. After a couple minutes of stillness I felt capable enough to ride back home. Once home I ripped off all the layers to realize my shirt and jeans were completely drenched with my sweat. Some glasses of cold water and sitting in front of the fan finally made me feel calm. Few minutes later I drove to work in my car completely cold with high air conditioning and went on with life. But the single instance of a random heat-stroke or severe dehydration finally made me think hard.
Later in the day, I went to see my doctor who after making all the checks (blood pressure, sugar, hemoglobin, thyroid, EKG) declared I was in good health and should not worry :) What I learnt while waiting through the different tests was even more relevant. I ended up reading this article called The Rewards of Relaxation: Why Slowing Down Is Healthy in one of the magazines. It reinforced the idea that wasting time or doing nothing is good - it helps recharge the mind and body. It also explained why relaxing can sometimes be especially difficult for women who are efficient practitioners of multi-tasking, to-do-lists and getting things done. The final point of the article was that a task focused mind is not free enough to think creatively - "When we're engaged in "mindless" activities -- taking a stroll, listening to music, soaking our feet -- our minds are free to sort through the accumulated information stored there, making connections and finding answers that a focused, directed mind is too busy to make."
This Friday was the first time in 7-8 months that I left work early at 4:15 pm to go see the doctor but it was a step in defining boundaries between work and life. Ultimately, its left to every person in the work environment to look out for him/herself and protect oneself from a continued unfair onslaught of work. Its apparently never been a priority on normal (exceptions always exist in small %s) managers radars to monitor and protect hard-working people from being burnt out. After all taking for granted is a phenomenon in every aspect of life!
As if on cue, I took this entire weekend to relax, sleep, read, watch TV and do no chores; for once a messy home rocks if I am totally de-stressed! I also took the first steps to focus and think about life and my real aspirations not those artificially accelerated due to tags of $$$s associated with them. Fulfilling a fortune cookie message from many months ago that still adorns my bedside table I committed to "Stay close to your inner self. You will benefit in many ways.".
No major changes have been made yet the seeds have been sown :) I have ensured I eat proper meals and sleep for the sake of sleeping not out of sheer exhaustion. In August 2007, I made a lot of changes and all the decisions worked out in my favor so I am hoping my annual 2008 retreat and the subsequent changes will all help me grow in the right directions towards a more fulfilling life!
Who knew Southwest's Spirit magazine had a spirit!
I love Southwest, whenever I can I fly SWA be it work or personal domestic travel; even if the ticket price is comparable to United or American. Reason being - simply faster in/out flights, lowest gate-gate time, most friendly service and yes pretty comfy seats even though the only thing they serve you is peanuts and drinks :)
I must have flown at the minimum 15 flights on Southwest and I never checked out their magazine....This time I had a 3 hour flight, a pretty serious book in my hand that didn't feel like reading at the time and no sleep in my eyes...So lo and behold I checkout Southwest's Spirit magazine!
The first article I stumbled upon was
Next I found Regina Barreca's love letter to her aunts, quite a letter down memory lane.....
I must have flown at the minimum 15 flights on Southwest and I never checked out their magazine....This time I had a 3 hour flight, a pretty serious book in my hand that didn't feel like reading at the time and no sleep in my eyes...So lo and behold I checkout Southwest's Spirit magazine!
The first article I stumbled upon was
Why Travel Solo
Adventure begins with booking a flight for one.
Next I found Regina Barreca's love letter to her aunts, quite a letter down memory lane.....
Then there was Survival of the Fittest
and How to Spin a Basketball....
Now there is one more reason to fly Southwest Airlines....its well spirited in flight magazine!
On surviving life
Ages...Definitely ages since I wrote down anything meaningful, that's discounting the writing I do at my day job!
Life (2007-present) has been what can I say life - a roller coaster ride involving varying use of my brain's power, heart's strength and guts. The one to blame is obviously me! Who in their right mind would constantly keep taking on - new work challenges, new side projects, new hobbies, new people, new residence, and a million other minute responsibilities all at once? While I might have started this "change mission" consciously to discover myself, its only now - a year later that I realize that I am going for the overkill. Although, I have not encountered any major stress or strain during this new life that I have built, I've pulled myself in tens of directions simultaneously. Occasionally, when things have not gone as I would have liked them to, I have felt a momentary lull then moved on to the other [million - 1] things to do.
Off late a lot of things have gone haywire due to environmental or other factors which cannot be controlled. Since I don't believe in God or a supernatural element I have to find a root cause for all the chaos that has ensued in and around me. Using basic deductive logic, I am the least common denominator so I am responsible for the mess! Thereby the conclusion, I cannot do everything; I must not take on too many others' responsibilities; I definitely cannot do all the things I take on to the minutest level of perfection!!!
The funny thing about this new life is that I probably get tired/overwhelmed/anxious that my well orchestrated castle of cards will come crashing down once a month. But people who consider themselves my friends joke/worry that I am so unlucky that things keep going wrong with my plans. At such times, I internally chuckle :) for I consider myself lucky to be able to do a 100 things and bravely face the successes and more importantly the failures. Life is after all about surviving and if u can survive your journey, adapting to it with a happy and an agile attitude then its yours dream adventure.
While my attitude is break-proof, I have to find a way to tackle my various interests or how am I ever going to connect the dots and realize the aim and work of my life! I guess the solution is to find no new interests or new projects till the current ones are completed, close to completion or consolidated in a way that they make sense.....More on this after I mull over it......
Life (2007-present) has been what can I say life - a roller coaster ride involving varying use of my brain's power, heart's strength and guts. The one to blame is obviously me! Who in their right mind would constantly keep taking on - new work challenges, new side projects, new hobbies, new people, new residence, and a million other minute responsibilities all at once? While I might have started this "change mission" consciously to discover myself, its only now - a year later that I realize that I am going for the overkill. Although, I have not encountered any major stress or strain during this new life that I have built, I've pulled myself in tens of directions simultaneously. Occasionally, when things have not gone as I would have liked them to, I have felt a momentary lull then moved on to the other [million - 1] things to do.
Off late a lot of things have gone haywire due to environmental or other factors which cannot be controlled. Since I don't believe in God or a supernatural element I have to find a root cause for all the chaos that has ensued in and around me. Using basic deductive logic, I am the least common denominator so I am responsible for the mess! Thereby the conclusion, I cannot do everything; I must not take on too many others' responsibilities; I definitely cannot do all the things I take on to the minutest level of perfection!!!
The funny thing about this new life is that I probably get tired/overwhelmed/anxious that my well orchestrated castle of cards will come crashing down once a month. But people who consider themselves my friends joke/worry that I am so unlucky that things keep going wrong with my plans. At such times, I internally chuckle :) for I consider myself lucky to be able to do a 100 things and bravely face the successes and more importantly the failures. Life is after all about surviving and if u can survive your journey, adapting to it with a happy and an agile attitude then its yours dream adventure.
While my attitude is break-proof, I have to find a way to tackle my various interests or how am I ever going to connect the dots and realize the aim and work of my life! I guess the solution is to find no new interests or new projects till the current ones are completed, close to completion or consolidated in a way that they make sense.....More on this after I mull over it......
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