Day 383: Year End Analysis

I had wanted to do this exercise much earlier, on the 365th day of the blog to be precise. But thanks to the trek, its aftermath, the workload at office, film editing etc. I couldn't get to this any sooner.

A year ago, I started on writing this blog with great pomp and show - saying that it will help me live 1000 beautiful days which in turn would make turning 30 a much more tolerable affair. But did it really make a difference? Did I really have 365 beautiful days so far? If yes, what made these days beautiful? Do I have a clue? Surely, I must know these answers to know how to go on from here!

So I decided to spend some time going through the blogs of the last one year and see what strikes me about them. And here is what I have found out about myself and what makes me happy:

a) F.O.O.D - Yeah! Food seems to be a key enabler of my happy life! The number of times I have mentioned all kinda food and beverages on this blog is just mindboggling. My favourite restaurants such as Swadhisht, The Tent, Nalan, Kailas Parbhat, Shahi Maharani etc. have come up time and again and Starbucks Chai Tea Latte is almost a permanent fixture. So yes, I love food and looks like am one of those people who live to eat and not eat to live. Oh well.

Lesson: If nothing else works in a day, I can just go down and get a good meal and feel a lot better. It's an easy fix!

b) Mausams - Needless to say, a HUGE chunk of the blog space is dedicated to the film. Being my first feature film, surely it is important me and looks like I have documented pretty much every step of the way - scripting, casting, make up trial, costume prep, scheduling, location hunting, props hunting, photoshoots, mahurat, film shoot, editing, poster making, website making etc. etc. There seem to have been several instances when I was close to quitting, but thanks to the blog and the requirement to find something good about each day, I seem to have bounced back from the quitting mode soon enough.

Lesson: A big project is required to keep me upbeat about life. Surely it would be a very, very long road full of potholes (Mausams is still not completed and will take another couple of grueling months) but with some effort, looks like my brain can be trained to look only at the bright side.

c) Travels - I am a travel freak and the past year seems to have been filled with them. Ever since I started to write the blog I have been twice to Japan, twice to China, twice to Thailand, once to Switzerland, four times to India and finally once to Nepal as part of the trek. Most of them were on business and the rest were on holiday, and I enjoyed every bit of them!

Lesson - Well, I guess the lesson here is just that the world is one amazing place offering plenty of things to see. So as long as I have the health and some cash (or if the company is paying, but of course), I will continue to go around as much as possible.

d) Physical fitness - A new milestone in any kind of physical activity seems to give me a real high, which is significantly different from before when I used to hate all kinds of physical activity except for dance or an occasional swim. I have talked about yoga extensively, especially when I get one or the other pose right and it gets appreciated by the tutor, I have also time and again mentioned walks, jogs, swims and even kickboxing and step! Completing a 10km run or walk or a 18 lap swim has been well celebrated! So has reaching a 19.9% body fat level for the first time!

Lesson: Yet another quick fix for a crappy day - exercise!

e) People - Ah! This one was very interesting! There seems to be so many wonderful people in my life! There is obviously the family and close friends who appear time and again in my posts (I seem to have spent several posts on the hilarious hubby and mother who both give invaluable entertainment)! But what is more fascinating are nuggets related to long lost friends or relatives and even perfect strangers. The year was full of meeting up with friends from 10 years ago, having opportunities for good conversations and stronger bonding with distant relatives, finding unexpected help from all over for the film and amazing experiences with perfect strangers - those whom I got to know because of this blog, people I met on the travel trips, cabbies of Singapore etc. etc. etc.!

Lesson: I never thought I am a people person. In fact, I still don't think I am...am definitely more of an introvert than an extrovert. But I do appreciate the presence of all these folks in my life. For everyone who has been around, if you are reading this, thank you very much!

f) Being Good - As I read the 365 posts, I have also noticed a bit of personal transformation. Many at times I seem to have made a conscious decision to really look for something to make the day better. That alone has significantly improved the quality of life for sure. It has made me notice and appreciate the smaller things in life. Otherwise if things go wrong, I used to just crib and nag and throw tantrums at the poor hubby. But now I have blogs on just sitting and staring into space and genuinely enjoying it! So I feel like I have actually become a much calmer, more peace loving person.

Lesson: It's all in the head.

So there. That's what the last year has been about. It was tough but productive and seriously, a lot of fun. Now for the next one.

617 more to go.