Rain, sweat, rain, sweat.....

Take this from someone who has worn out several pairs of running shoes...owning the shoes...even wearing the shoes...does not prepare you to run in the shoes!!! So all my enthusiasm to go running was only in talk....when I actually stepped out and started running I honestly was just waiting to find an excuse to stop...though I really wanted to run!!! Strange...

The run started off quite well....but most of the way up a never ending hill somewhere in the middle of Marketyard, I simply stopped and was like nope, not going any further....Srikanth would just not give up...on the run and on me either....so thanks to him...I ran up and down several more hilly roads in Marketyard and was thoroughly soaked by the end of it! Not to mention that there were a few more stops in between as well...and with pushing and prodding I finished running...

Slight fears creeping in about running a whole half marathon in a couple of months time...but I think fitness can be built up quite quickly and a little regularity and a little pushing will see me ready for my first half marathon :)

As I was walking up the stairs, I wondered what an oxymoron life was....to think that the things that put you through the most pain are the things that we derive so much pleasure from....was so happy that I went for that run this morning...besides the fact that it was unsuccessful on many counts...other than probably for the fact that it was the first time after I got to Pune that I got out and ran :) :) hopefully the first of many more runs in Pune....and a lot more running in the future....

Early morning encounter with my ergometer in Pune

This morning was like a god send.....set the alarm for 4 AM and weirdly enough was up at around 3:40....went to bed pretty early for starters....but then again, its not everyday your body clock is screwed up enough to wake up at the unearthly hour of 3:40 AM....for those who know me, no, not even mine is....

Woke up with the idea of cooking and getting some work done...tho I wasn't quite sure what this work was....put the cooker on the stove and sat down to check my email and go through a few things....halfway through I did a few calculations with time and decided that I had time to exercise....

My ergometer had just got to Pune 2 days before and I was itching to row on it....firstly because my workout regimen had gone out the window after moving to Pune...and also because it had been so long...and now he machine was right there, right in front of me...waiting to kill me...as always!!!! Who would have known eight years ago when my parents gave it to me as a birthday present that it would become such an integral part of my life and that we would develop such a deep love-hate relationship....that is still to last many years to come!!!

Halfway through stirring the sambar, I ran to change and put on my running shoes....a few minutes later, I was sitting on the ergometer....pulling away happily...listening to the rhythmic sound of the chain spinning in the flywheel....just before this I was wondering what I had gotten myself into when I signed myself up for the half marathon in Jan....I really wasn't going to be fit enough to run that...or would I??? Could I possibly do it??? Apparently I could....as usual, others had more faith in my abilities and potential than I did....:)

I decided on a 20 for starters....and amazing how your body responds when you push it....it was the most amazing feeling....transported back to all the times in the last eight years that the machine has been my sole companion and a source of inspiration and motivation to never give up....and to push myself just a little harder...just when I think I'm doing well....just when I think I might not be able to go any further...

This is only the start of many more such encounters with my ergometer....and many more wonderful days in Pune....for now I figured out that integral to happiness and excellence is balance....and sometimes, just sometimes...taking a step back and figuring things out is not bad....conversely...probably better....

I also realized that its OK to take time out for myself and that it wouldn't kill me...would only make me stronger...so here I am, doing all the things that I love....and living the life that I never imagined!!!

Lesson from the past few days....don't wait for the right time to do anything....because the right time is now....so stop waiting and follow your heart!!! Life is too short to wait and there's just too much to do to spend your time waiting!!! :) :)

My illusional Tamil world

I never realized my love for Madras (not Chennai :p) until I came to Pune. It has barely been two months but something about that city keeps calling me back. I have tried extremely hard to pinpoint what exactly it is that I miss...is it the people? the heat? the traffic? college? the familiarity? After much debate, I just missed the city...the smell....the feel....everything!!!!

Sitting here in Pune...everyday is a further quest to satisfy the Madras void in my life....listening to heaps and heaps of Tamil music....watching all kinds of Tamil stuff on YouTube....speaking in Tamil with whoever whenever possible....eating South Indian food all the time....and, of course, trying to keep up with all the things happening in the wonderful city of Madras, which is still home :)

I think Sathyam cinemas is probably my most missed places....and my car one of my most missed things!!!! After these follow everything else...like knowing where to eat out...knowing what it is on the menu that I would like to order...where to go buy something...and where I could and couldn't park!

I think in some ways I enjoy the uncertainty of not knowing exactly what it is that I miss....including my family, home cooked food, my sister constantly yapping in the background and just the people everywhere speaking in a familiar language.....sometimes I feel maybe it is even better this way....cuz with every good thing comes some bad as well...though for Madras the good always outweighs the bad....avoidance proves easier than confrontation....every day I try and hold on to anything, however insignificant or small, that is Madras-like!!! For a Madras land I have created....and a Madras life I lead!!!

The last two months at Teach For India has really made the most amazing memories for a lifetime...it has also brought back many many memories, both good and bad, from the extremely eventful past 21 years.

Five weeks at Institute really got me thinking about things that I had just pushed to the back of my mind and chose not to deal with or think about. The same thoughts kept popping up time and again. I still haven't found in me the courage to face these things but I think I am one step closer to being at peace with myself, at least about certain things.

Maybe this was another reason for starting this blog! Just a thought....for life has changed so much in the last two months...almost as much as it has every other year of my life. Though college seemed quite the same from the first year to the last, it changed quite a bit every year, with people coming and going and emotions...

It is that which makes us all so human and vulnerable...EMOTIONS!!!! I think when you are put under extreme pressure and are pushed to the breaking point, that is when the things that you deem the most important in your life come to the forefront. It is then that you realize how valuable certain things are, what your values actually are, what your faults and weaknesses actually are....and how there is a whole world out there! Many a time I think we all get so wrapped up in our emotions and are caught in this bubble that we fail to see that there is so much more to life...but then that just makes life all the more complicated....more choices, more options, more opinions!

Given the multitude of things that are happening I find myself unable to deal with any of the issues that I am battling in my head. But then again, wasn't that always why I kept myself so busy? I know that very soon things are about to start making sense.

Until then, this blog is an attempt to create some normalcy in all this mayhem! Perhaps it is only adding to it...

Why blog? Why now?

As most things in my life so far, some craziness came over me and I decided it was time to start blogging...and I have this gut feeling that this is not going to be one of those short lived passions of mine. Most things are not...I think that's why it becomes so hard cuz I just keep adding things to my life but nothing is really left behind...so add to the list BLOGGING!!!

Probably the craziness of turning 21! Now that I am an adult...officially...let's formulate some opinions, express them and they're hopefully worth listening to.

So from those who know me, they know I just can't stop talking. I think I had this irresistible urge to start a blog as I don't seem to have enough time to do anything anymore! Seemingly paradoxical I know. But true nonetheless!

I figured that there was so much that was running through my head...all the time...I've started writing many times and not pursued it further...but have really wanted to...so now I've decided to just start.

This blog is going to be random! Of course :) and only time will tell what it will comprise of....

So welcome to my blog! :) :) happy reading....TAKE THE PLUNGE!