Friday, December 30, 2022

Toodaloo 2022

 This time of the year comes around so quickly doesn't it? Literally seems like yesterday I was penning this for 2021. And we are about to draw the curtains on 2022. 


I have savoured many things in 2021. Since I am typing this from a hotel room it makes sense to highlight the best thing to happen this year. It was the trip to Iceland. It was to be a trip of dreams..something we could only imagine  given the fact that Iceland is quite an expensive place. But an of the cuff discussion led to prices being checked, with plans being made, with holidays being booked and a trip being made. It was the best place I have been to. It was tiring, rejuvenating, unique and spiritual. I have written many posts about it and I could keep waxing eloquent still. I had not experienced anything like Iceland and I am grateful to God to have brought it to me. The amazing trip came with its dark cloud too. The kids didn't like it as much as we would have wanted them to. :( Especially Pumpki who simply hated it. She is not yet game for the long tours that are a part of covering such exotic places.

We were able to make a trip to the Jersey islands which were another unique place to have been. It was deeply educative to be through the numerous museums and forts. And we managed to ring in Pumpki's birthday with a trip to London's natural history museum. The wannabe paleantologist deserved this as her birthday gift. It was every bit fun for Chiyaa and the adults. 

Talking about trips, the one I hated was those to my work place which had been made mandatory twice a week from March. When lockdown hit in 2020, working  from home became a part of life. Going back to working at actual desks in formal attire seemed like a thing that happened to other people  by late 2021. But 2022 saw the 'opening' up of places and the return of normalcy as defined pre-pandemic. I was not game for returning to office  and had to start looking for places which had a flexible attitude towards it. I was not very keen on carpet  bombing my resume through job sites either because I loved the place where I worked, loved the people I worked with, loved the stuff I worked on and also loved the pay I got for doing the stuff I loved. Looking for another place satisfying all these criteria was going to be hard. So I took the delicate approach of sending my resume across to ex-collleagues who were more or less friends. And one shot clicked and I ended up getting a new job in July! 

Anything new comes with a ton of re-adjustment. On the surface most things were hunky dory. But I had too many good stuff  happening at my previous work place. It would have been impossible for any new job to match up to it all. At the moment, I am quite dissatisfied with a lot of things and harbour a keen desire to move on. But the work from home is too luscious a carrot to forsake, so for the near future I am sticking with that as incentive. 

Talking of incentives, K and I bought a pair of adjustable dumbbells as an incentive to workout. And somehow they have been the best thing ever! We have encouraged each other to carry on stenght training. But I must confess we have neglected the cardio aspect of fitness. The new year we both plan on coming back to running and improving on stats there. New year comes with many more plans too. There are plans for the house. There are plans for a few more trips. There are plans with family. There are plans with friends. 2022 had taught me, not everything every time goes to plan. But hoping for the best and mentally preparing for any consequence helps. Here is hoping to anyone passing by this post that 2023 brings to fruition all the pleasant plans. And if some plans don't work out, may it just be a pleasant learning exercise. Happy New Year! 

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