12 things from 16

Einstein was great (duh!) he gave us the time dilation concept. He said if we move very very very fast and get fast enough to compete with the speed of light then time for us slows down. T’=T √(1-V²/C²). Faster we go slower it seems. And at speed zero the time moves the same everywhere. He said therefore time is relative and we have is famous quote.

“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.”

Well I wish I were moving very very fast and slow things down, as the time seems be vanishing rapidly. Agree I have pretty girls at home but I do not sit around them always. Hence it looks as if I was in college only last year, started working last month, got introduced to wify dear last week, to Dotty dear few days back. And it was happy new year 2016 5 minutes ago. Time it is flying.

But.

As I look back I realise what an year that was. When we started off there was lot of optimism lot of promises and as we progressed it started to slip. Yet in final count we managed awright. So what did happen and what did I get out of it ?

Health and fitness:

I think about it, read and yes I do practice too. But I get into the bouts of laziness. I used to run in 2014 and towards mid 2015 niggles and injuries put a hold to it. But then got into cycling and formed a small group to do weekend morning rides. Those went on for a while and then dried out. Again another round of low energy times. I realized consistency and regularity is more important than intensity. It helps to change it so as to sustain it. Earlier running apps used to motivate me but now, not so much. May be there is that group I need to join. To run, to cycle and to get back into being decently fit.

Rides:

I think I learnt a bit as a biker. I grew as a family man and a biker. I figured out the balance of managing work, family and riding. Did few short and long trips, couple of solo runs. Discovered near by places of interests. Understood the charm of self-reflection on a long quite roads. Got much better hang of group rides. And become a better rider on city roads.

Writing:

Another on off, moody stuff. Like health and fitness, writing happens in fits and packets. A burst of creativity and energy and then a lull , letting it go, bad writing and incomplete articles. Not sure how to fix it. Joined the blogging platform, talked to few folks. Thought the frequent personal and work travels will give me chances to write but …. Well may be 2017 will give me a muse or a lesson to write better , more regularly. But learnt that good reading and healthy living motivates one to write more.

Money:

Oh boy, was this a kicker ? All was routine, regular and tedious on money front till Nov 8. Was spending and earning ok. Investing lousily. And them Mr. Modi boomed on the idiot box and turned India upside down. Old High Denomination notes (OHDN) gone, new ones were crawling on their bums. Exchanging the old ones in the house was not a problem, had only a few thousands and had time to exchange and deposit. But having cash on hand … Nah Nah. Then the mWallets, bank accounts came to rescue. I did a bit of old fashioned credit and barter too.

The grocery guy, ironing guy, veggy fella, all of them agreed to run on credit till the amount reached an OHDN or a new one and then take that. Bless those souls. I normally tip our resident plumber, electrical, cab driver (who picks me up from airport on official trips) car cleaner. With no cash, I turned to kind. I had those pouches one gets in flights. I gave them with the contents to them. They were happy, I was relieved. I even gave the so called corporate meal sandwiches to the cabby once. He so profusely thanked me I am thinking of doing that every time from now on.

House:

I was looking for a decent house with a garden. A green-ish construction and a good like-minded community. Found one in Good Earth Malhar. Also I met with few others like me and we started to plan for our own project. Learnt a bit from the one I bought, have lot of ideas of my our own. I found good set of friends in the process. Understood that people do care about clean living and environment. Let’s see how it pans out.

Clash of clans (CoC):

2016 I will remember for understanding the game CoC. Dotty dear was addicted to this clash of clans thingy. I wanted to understand her more so started to play. She got de-addicted and stopped. I got addicted. I made friends from Bhutan by joining their clan. Understood that some one half your age can be your leader and you can respect him for his skills. Listen to him and take his advice.

Technology:

I work in IT and technology keeps us running. So much change is around us and so much promise. Future looks scary and fantastic at the same time. Will all that tech around, will we over consume and kill ourselves ? OR will the artificial intelligence, machine leaning and analytics solve our problems ? Will Driver less cars and mega Ubers remove traffic or will make it worse. Like it or hate it, tech will direct our lives. Understand it, embrace it, use it. To save mother earth.

Clutter:

There is never ending battle with the clutter, at home in the surroundings and in the mind. It takes many hands to sort it out. One needs to de-clutter, reduce in inflow of it and clean up constantly. Otherwise it builds up again. What helped at home is all of us pitching in and cleaning it up slowly constantly. There is still work to do but there is hope. Clutter in the head needs to be sorted out alone. Learn to forgive and forget. May be there is some merit to that watching breadth and meditation thingy.

Team:

Work is not overwhelming if your team is good. If they are also little intelligent and funny even better. Surround yourself with competent people, give them space to grow. I think my team is very good and too independent. It is fun to work with them. Hope to continue with them and next year we come together to do big stuff.

Friends:

Ah, life is life only due to the good friends. I have friend circles. My coffee gang at work has

friends who are honest, brutal, fun and dependable. My class and college friends, they sooth the soul forever. I had lost little touch with them but with internet and social media and reunions we manage to stay in touch. There is the circle of friends from the first project who can do deep or non sense discussions. The biker circle taught me how to be responsible and take care of Bros. How to encourage people and care a lot. Har ek friend is very valuable.

Vacations:

I am under vacation fatigue this year. So not planned any big one. Small nearby places with family or visit to sisters house what all we did. There is that foreign one pending but other than dotty dear wanting to see the world I am not keen. Seen a lot, did some. Now time to go for local and very experience based things. May be a long long trek or pan India road/bike trip to be planned. There is a plan brewing for Leh, Ladhak. So learnt that friends and family make for enjoyment, places and amenities don’t. You can understand this gyan but your kid will still want to go to the Disneyland !

Earth:

Kept for this last and we need to keep thinking about protecting, helping and saving her. Our life styles, spending patterns and selfishness will ruin her. I recently read this article: how to trick yourself into being kind to yourself by will wheaton. This is on what will the future you think of your actions today. I think we should think of impact of our actions today on our own future self 20 years from now and see if “the future self” will thank us or curse us. Do only those that our future selves be thankful of. That is positive selfishness we must cultivate.

This was fun as well as very awakening to list the 12 things I learnt this year or may be over the years. Hope you too will now think and write about it. Thanks to Indiblogger and to Smelika for creating this inspiring topic.