This year is seriously pulsating with new promises and new goals. I have been so busy, so swamped with work that it is ironically, getting addictive. I juggle my work commitments with my house work; one of the reasons why I freelance. It feels as if all the years of neglecting the house following Ana kutti's birth, has caught up with me now. There is so much to do. Repairing broken cupboard doors and hinges, cleaning and organizing cupboards one room at a time (oh how many things we accumulate!), cleaning and cleaning and cleaning the grease and dirt out of the kitchen (that never seems to be over) and of course constantly cleaning up after Ana kutti. Somehow as I whizz about doing these things, I actually like it. Looks like my Virgo trait for cleanliness and tidying up is bubbling out only now.
I also feel compelled to try some new things this year. This I attribute to having felt energized and happy when I had tried a few new things last year. Last year I had tried trampoline jumping as part of darling PeeBo's birthday treat. I loved the adrenaline rush, the sweat that poured out of the pores of my body, an awareness of how compelling thirst could be - I wanted to down entire bottles of water down my parched throat. For Rs. 330/- for 45 mins at
Airborne, Chennai (INR 250 for half an hour and INR 390 for one hour), it was a good deal for a quick calorie burn. Remember anti-skid socks are a must and have to be either taken on rent or bought over the counter.
 |
| Hair flying, feet up, almost falling...at Airborne, Chennai |
 |
| Oooh I'm airborne. At Airborne, Chennai |
And then my birthday chill out at Radisson Blu's Temple Bay in Mamallapuram was something we tried after a long time. I have usually found resorts and five star hotels a waste of time and resources. And birthday gifts tended to be more practical ones combined with eating out. In places we visited, we looked to take in much of the culture and experiences, so we generally keep our stay expenses to a minimum. Comfortable but not luxury. So this resort stay was like a breath of fresh air. I loved it. It was nice to stay in a really posh place sometimes...even if it were for a couple of days.
 |
| The Beautiful Bathroom - Radisson Blu Temple Bay |
 |
| S lounges in the comfortable chair with a fantastic view of the sea in front |
 |
| A cozy diwan |
 |
| Clean, beautiful place - Radisson Blu Temple Bay |
 |
| The shimmering sea - Radisson Blu Temple Bay |
Then I did something towards the end of the year, that I wouldn't have dreamt doing a couple of decades ago, even though that would have been a fitter, younger version of me. I walked a good 5 kms...only this was from work, a trip I would never associate with walking.
While trying to book a ride from a client's venue to my mother's house which was a mere 3 kms away, I found to my utter consternation that not one mode of transport was available. DLF Porur is an IT hub that should be responsible for a 200 percent increase in the traffic at the end of business hours. The place experiences a hold up within its premises as an exodus of employees find their way to the massive front entrance from 5pm onwards. After no success on booking a cab from the client's office, I decided to walk to the main entrance and then cross the road to increase my chances of getting a transport to mum's house. But that was not to be. The autos were not stopping, the drivers were staring stonily ahead as if my body was giving signals that this passenger was not going the route they wanted. The taxis were all stuck in the heavy traffic and the one that got booked showed an ETA of 15 mins. 15 mins!! I could easily have walked to mum's house in that time, I thought sulkily. Once that thought got in, I couldn't ignore it any longer. I simply started walking in the direction of mum's house, thinking I could always flag down an auto if I couldn't cut it. Luckily, I had a lighter bag, unlike my
darling tote and I had on sensible trainer worthy sandals...in other words, fate had already ordained that I was going to walk somewhere that day.
The reason a younger version of me would have balked at the very idea of walking to a place this far even, was because I was direction challenged. I could navigate known routes very well, but pluck me from my comfort zone and place me in a new place and it would be a miracle if I came back home in the first try. I was notorious to always take a turn that was to go away from the direction I was supposed to be going. I was a right-brain girl through and through. But not this time. Not in 2018. I had Google Maps at my disposal, lit up proudly in my mobile, giving precise directions for a walker to get to his/her destination. And that was the reason I stayed off the main road... a thought that would be anathema a few years ago. Because though the inner roads led a straight path to my destination, I was not familiar with it at all. And the main road would have been a longer walk and also not the best of places for a pedestrian. So I took to the gullies and lanes of the area and after a couple of slightly worrying detours - one almost led me to a dark, narrow, hardly-there lane and I had to enlist the help of a man to get back to a more safer looking lane.
The rush of adrenaline was welcome and so was the spring in my legs. I felt as if I had achieved the unthinkable by merely walking the 3 km, which is a good walking distance if I were to have tackled that on a morning walk. 2019 was going to be more of a walking year for me I promise myself.
I know this post terribly sounds like a resolution, but I would like to call it an intention. Let me take it from there. Do you have an intention you mean to keep this year? Please share :)
Comments