Bye 2011

I have been lazy in the blogging zone but atleast wanted to keep this post updated every year as a journal of how each year passed by.

Let me take a quick recap of how 2011 was for me.... hmmmm this year seem to be too long... cause when I visualise certain things at the begining of this year.... it looks like it happened so long ago

January

Sat was still pregnant.... and waiting for the last trimester to complete and counting days for the delivery... mean while she was also hearing news from all her preggy buddies about thier deliveries... I just got relocated to Trivandrum, found out a house near by office and settled down. Every week I was travelling back and forth to Coimbatore and Trivandrum

February

The first half of entire month passed away in the anticipation of the baby arrival... the second half of the entire month passed with the joy of having our newest member in our family and getting used to her routines.... I experienced one of the most important time of my life; when I holded my baby in my hands immediately after delivery. I still remember that second when I was holding her and she responded to me as well. Arundhati has come into this world.

March

March marched away so quickly with naming ceremony, punyadhanam, doctor visit, vaccination schedule etc... Baby was so delicate then, I was still learning to hold her in my hands and try to make her sleep when she cries.

I also travelled to Bangalore to attend my brother's new house warming ceremony. Gifted them a beautiful ganesha idol. They were so happy about the gift choice.

April

We took Arundhati to Chennai. My babies first travel in flight. We completed Sat reliveing formalities from BOFA. It was sentimental for her to let go of the day job but she made this decision long time back for the baby. We also thanked our Dr Uma in Chennai and showed her the baby. She was equally happy for us.

May -
Sat used to send some pics of the baby every now and then when I missed her. Continued my neo-bachelor life for 5 days in kazhukuttom and became a new dad on weekends seeing my little one growing, sleeping, yawning and responding to light and sound....

June - July

June and July were busy with Psychology exams for first year. I had to travel to Chennai almost all weekends and was busy in preparing for exams and travelling.

Finalised on the rented house in Trivandrum. Met most of the requirements that I had in mind. A beautiful house, little expensive on the rent but still affordable. These two months were more on settling down with moving things from Chennai to Trivandrum, Getting gas connection, cleaning the house, making the electrical and plumbing changes etc... etc... but all set and done for baby and sat to arrive home. And finally all 3 of us started to live in the new house by Mid of July.

August

I was down with back pain mostly in August. Spent a lot of time and money in getting opinions from ortho, neuro specialists... visited different doctors in trivandrum, coimbatore and chennai as I was shuffling between these places... the pain was scary at times and makes me realize that I need to take good care of my health. The entire back ache aggrevated and I was advised on strict 3 weeks bed rest. Never been on sick leave for so long but with baby around the house... it went just like that...

September

Back to Trivandrum, still managing with back pain. Ayurveda helped a bit. What really worked out was the personal commitment and regular exercises... after some point of time, I was able to manage the pain very well. Had a short visit to Chennai during september and hosted a friends get together. Celebrated Onam in Trivandrum and bought a Samsung LED TV for home. We now have a solid 1 TB harddisk which can be connected to this 40" TV so watching movies has been made really easy. All I had to do is download the movie, copy to hard disk and watch it in the big screen... Felt good after watching Fight club again and again :)

October

Managing with back pain and had to consult with some more doctors and physio. Had to travel back to Chennai for some time, other than that nothing major in October. baby had some severe infection and got admitted in hospital for 2 days. It was tough for both Sat and myself to see her in pain. We have become very cautious in her diet after seeing her lose weight just like that in one week. She has not gained weight after that like she used to after birth.

Got my first year psychology results - Thank god passed on all papers but not very good marks

November -

This month was real settling time for family, we decided not to travel anywhere as this whole year, we have been travelling almost all the time in this year. Celebrated Sat's b'day in Turtle on the beach hotel. Took family to Udayasamudra resort for office get together. Gifted Sat a small idol from One and Only shop in trivandrum. Work wise had too many issues and problems at office. Hopefully things will turn out to be better soon.

December

A whirlwind of the entire year. Started with a small one day outing to Varkala... beautiful beach and calming place. After that planned on small vacation to Madurai and then to relatives place in pudukkotai, trichy and coimbatore. Our stay at Heritage madurai was memorable. Food at Amma mess was excellent. One of the best resorts we ever stayed and worth the money. Got to work from Chennai office in the last 2 weeks of December so was able to catch on things in Chennai as well. My swift touched 50K mark this month. December also had a fair share of visit to temple

Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple on our 4th Wedding Anniversary,

Ulloor Murugan Temple on Karthigai Deepam

Kuladeivam Temple with Baby for first time.

Chakkulathukaavu Bagavathy temple with Baby

Financially - Mananged all the expenses with one salary. To meet the ends was little tight but got cautious on spending, Lost some money in share market but learnt how to do trading. Still learning on the nuances and watching hte market carefully for ups and spikes. Diversified some investemets into FD and working had to maintain the emergency reserve fund. Splurged a little bit during december for vacation and time out with family but thats okay.

Movie of the year:

#1 Aaduklam - Tops the list from the begining... nothing else even comes close. Deiva Thirumagan was good but after seeing the english version, Aadukalam still topped the list. Veppam was a good plot but because of poor casting Veppam didnt even touch the top 3

#2 Mankatta - Kick ass movie and Ajith did a good anti hero role. Liked the nuances in the movie and would watch it once again for them.

#3 Vaagai Soodava - Liked this movie for the setting and originality and presentation.

Song of the year:

Kaatril eeram athai yaar thanthatho... from Veppam

Photo of the year:

SMILE 7th Anniversary - Group Photo

Some moments are always there to cherish..every year we (Smile friends) use to take a group photo and it hold that entire functions summary... here is the photo taken on SMILE 7th anniversary..... at Ethiraj college

House search in Trivandrum

My house search mission began since January by searching all the internet advertisements. I am not aware of the localities in this area hence I frequently use google map to figure out the locality and distance from office. Spent almost 5 months and countless hours negotiating with brokers and house owners.

Some of the areas where I was looking keen to get a house were

Vazhuthacaud, Ulloor Gardern,Kariyamkaad, Venchavode, Kesavadaspuram, Attinkuzhy, Kazhukuttam (This is where my office is), Sreekaryam, Pettah, Pattom, Kanniyapuram, Kariakkam

After seeing almost 30 houses finally zeroed in to this place called Pangapara

Some of my criteria were

• Should be easily accessible from main road



• Should be a 3BHK



• Should have shops near by. Groceries, vegetables, medical shop.



• Should not be very far from office



• Should have easy access to hospitals



• Should have spacious rooms and not a duplex type. (compromised on this one)



• Should be somewhat closer to city. (compromised on this one since it contradicts to being closer to office)



• Should have minimal interference from house owner



• Should be in secured area lot of houses nearby



• Rent less than 10K (Compromised on this one)

The house that I have found is fully furnished so had to compromise on rent and in a way it helps me not to buy unnecessary furnishing stuff and go back to loan mode. It is close 5 km from office and not on the busy traffic zone so I can commute easily in less than 15 minutes. Its a gated community so dont have to worry about security.

Few things I liked the most in this house

• Wall paintings and decorations - Done very nicely



• Inbuilt Oven and Grill in the kitchen - :D Need I say more...



• Nice Bath Tub with Jacuzzi in the first floor bathroom



• Kids room with Jungle theme painting and a small attic play area - Cherry on Ice

I am supposed to move into the new house by 16th of this month and hope to post some pictures soon.

To a child, love is spelled T-I-M-E

In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped, bent his great frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little half-windows. Brushing aside a wisp of cobwebs, he tilted the top box toward the light and began to carefully lift out one old photograph album after another. Eyes once bright but now dim searched longingly for the source that had drawn him here.It began with the fond recollection of the love of his life, long gone, and somewhere in these albums was a photo of her he hoped to rediscover. Silent as a mouse, he patiently opened the long buried treasures and soon was lost in a sea of memories. Although his world had not stopped spinning when his wife left it, the past was more alive in his heart than his present aloneness.

Setting aside one of the dusty albums, he pulled from the box what appeared to be a journal from his grown sons childhood. He could not recall ever having seen it before, or that his son had ever kept a journal. Why did Elizabeth always save the childrens old junk? he wondered, shaking his white head.Opening the yellowed pages, he glanced over a short reading, and his lips curved in an unconscious smile. Even his eyes brightened as he read the words that spoke clear and sweet to his soul. It was the voice of the little boy who had grown up far too fast in this very house, and whose voice had grown fainter and fainter over the years. In the utter silence of the attic, the words of a guileless six-year-old worked their magic and carried the old man back to a time almost totally forgotten.Entry after entry stirred a sentimental hunger in his heart like the longing a gardener feels in the winter for the fragrance of spring flowers. But it was accompanied by the painful memory that his son's simple recollections of those days were far different from his own. But how different?Reminded that he had kept a daily journal of his business activities over the years, he closed his son's journal and turned to leave, having forgotten the cherished photo that originally triggered his search.

Hunched over to keep from bumping his head on the rafters, the old man stepped to the wooden stairway and made his descent, then headed down a carpeted stairway that led to the den.Opening a glass cabinet door, he reached in and pulled out an old business journal. Turning, he sat down at his desk and placed the two journals beside each other. His was leather-bound and engraved neatly with his name in gold, while his sons was tattered and the name Jimmy had been nearly scuffed from its surface. He ran a long skinny finger over the letters, as though he could restore what had been worn away with time and use.As he opened his journal, the old man's eyes fell upon an inscription that stood out because it was so brief in comparison to other days. In his own neat handwriting were these words:

Wasted the whole day fishing with Jimmy. Didn't catch a thing.

With a deep sigh and a shaking hand, he took Jimmy's journal and found the boy's entry for the same day, June 4. Large scrawling letters, pressed deeply into the paper, read:

Went fishing with my Dad. Best day of my life.

(The story you just read is the introduction for To A Child Love is Spelled T-I-M-E. It was written by Lance Wubbles, a best selling author for inspirational books.)

Freedom from Spectacles

I didnt have a inferior complexion or anything for wearing spectacles but there were quite a few disadvantages of wearing them especially for a person like me. Now that I am exicted to go for a lasik surgery... its a freedom from spectacles which I have been wearing for the last 14 years... almost half my life so far :)

Now coming to difficulties of wearing the spectacles
1. Searching for it daily in the morning especially at times when I am in hurry to go out
2. Fear of getting broken or damaged during over night travles because I am lazy to carry the box which can keep it safe
3. Driving Bikes during rainy season... ofcourse cars have wipers but when you are stuck somewhere in middle with bike .. you find it difficult when large drops of rain fall on your specs and hinder your driving
4. When you end up in a street fight.. the first thing that needs to be taken care is the spectacles... otherwise if the opponent hits one slap...your crizal lens and costly frame will go for a toss... (actually i have landed up in many such occassiona and tried to preserve them safely)
5. Constant maintenance and renewal charges... I have worn specs frame starting with the carbon frames of Rs 300 - Rs 5000.... and it will atleast require a change once in 2 years not because they look old but the eye power keeps changing constantly and the old frames go out of fashion... and always you require a backup if the main one gets damaged..
6. This will be appreciated by all those who were eye glassess.. the constant need to wipe the glassess from dirt, finger prints, dust..
7. The inability to wear cool sunglassess during summer... we can customize sunglassess with similar power... but again lazy to carry around two sets of glassess.
8. The difficulty in wearing a helmet... everytime you have to
a. remove your glass and
b. put the helment and then
c. wear the glass again...
and if there is a phone call while driving then
a. remove your glass and
d. remove the helmet and then
e. attend then phone
followed by b& c. A blue tooth or handsfree can avoid this abcde problem to some extent but again it is followed by difficulty of carrying so many gadgets... atleast without glassess it is only

wear the helmet, remove the helment, attend the call, drive the bike :-) simplified...

I have asked the doc for 2 months time to select best possible time to get the surgery done. Once its over... I hope to buy some cool sunglassess something like those ray ban or even better ones... and go for a nice long bike drive...

Bye 2010 - Welcome 2011

Wishing all of you a very happy and prosperous new year.....

Like most fellow bloggers... even I had the thought of summarising last year and also penning down my goals for this year....

2010 has been a great year for me..... probably one of the best years in my life....
Here are some quick recap of memorable events....

1. The most important news of the year :) our junior is coming.....
2. Early 2010, got a chance to visit back to my college alumni function with all my friends and brought out nice memories back to picture.
3. Visited Mythree Farm..which gave me a whole different perspective about life and retirement days... I will probably post a seperate one on this...
4. First time travelled on business class to PA & TX and again got a subsequent travel to FL (naan innum First A/C laye travel panninathu illa)
5. Got a oppurtunity to stay at Leela kempinsiki, Kovalam- I dreamt staying in this hotel in 2000. Ofcourse I would be more happy if it was a personal trip but atleast got a chance to go there on business.
6. Favorite Movie - Vinnaithaandi varuvaya & Inception
7. Girivalam - I got oppurtunity to go three times this year.... and all the time the experience was great...
8. Hyderabad Trip - Maapi Marriage & On the way back sat next to celebrity in flight (Vimala Raman)
9. My desire to do something new out of the routine got fulfilled when I enrolled in Msc Psychology along with Sanjay.
10. Speech at IIT madras about smile, Speech telecast at Gyaanavaani FM Radio about Smile
    Puthiya thalamurai Interview and subsequent article about Smile were all memorable experiences....
11. Finance Goals - I was able to track my expenses every month and bring them down at the end... I was consciously improving my savings methods and have a better emergency fund.
12. Live Life Debt Free - As I dreamt I have closed all the loans. I have freed myself from loans totally. Now its tempting for me to look ahead and purchase new things and get into next phase of loan..but I am evaluating this desire and taking it slowly. I may end up in loans again..and I may come out of them. I may not take loans at all...I do not know :)

But overall its a great year.....

Now lets look at 2011 and how I visualise

1. Well first biggest thing that I see for 2011 is that I will be a "Daddy". We are expecting our junior to come anytime during the first week of February.... so Sat & I (to some extent) will be busy with baby throughout this year...
2. I am relocating to Trivandrum starting Mid January so obviously will take more time in settling down at this new place... it has already become a familiar place by now and ofcourse I will be involved in travelling a lot back and forth...(So a lot of time is going to be spent on Train, ABT Travels & ARC Travels and Kingfisher & Spice Jet)
3. I may take it slow from a career prespective and focus more time with family and early years of our baby so I am hoping not to have any job hops/ career move but you never know.
4. Financially..its going to be one income for entire year but I have already accomplished all the necessary steps in 2010...so we should be fine.... I might have to take a very cautious approach towards my impulse spending and getting back into loans.
5. Travel has taken a back seat last year due to pregnancy and related travel restrictions... so this year.... that might take a few short trips along with baby...
6. Ofcourse...my M.Sc degree will bring back some student life back to scene... so I will be having semesters, exams, hall ticket, question papers, additional sheets :D it is going to be fun...
7. Guiding SMILE from a remote location... need to see how this goes for next year....

so 2011 is going to be equally challenging.... and wonderful with nappies, cerelac, and more and more of baby stuff....