2009 : New Year Resolutions

Hello everybody.Happy New Year 2009.

Did somebody just said "Wake up dude. Its already Feb and here you are, talking about new year resolutions. Whats wrong?".

Well, I have my reasons. When the whole world was celebrating new year, I was busy packing my bags (Read: Talking on phone for 16 hrs everyday, telling everybody that I am going back to India and expressing deep concern regarding my packing).So the point is – I was damn busy and so decided to start new year a bit late – that is, after I got settled in India. Time has come for me to make new year's resolutions and I have decided to share this 'why-he-is-telling-me-this' information with you.
Here it comes.

1.Healthy Body –
FLASHBACK – 3 yrs back : We all roomies decided to follow the motto – health is wealth. The other day, when everybody was sleepy after dinner, we innocently decided to go for jogging starting NEXT Monday.
So far so good!
On that fateful Monday morning, this is what happened –
"Woooo-hoooo, Monday morning. Let's go for jogging" Of Course Me. Ok…I was not that enthusiastic but it feels good now thinking that way.
Kedar (opening his eyes slowly) : "Monday? Jogging? You mean today? Are you sure? "
Well, I was sure few mins back but now…...
Shardul (Because of size of his eyes , I am not sure now if it was open or close, but he said confidently) – "I think its raining."
For the beginners, this conversation happened in Pune in month of Jan – NOT IN Cherapunji!
Anuj –who was sleeping near window, immediately got up – I was expecting some affirmative words and action from this guy .He looked out of window on the road below. As the fate would have it, a lonely PMT bus was roaring down the road at the same time. In his most convincing and matter-of-factly voice Anuj declared – "We are late. Heavy traffic on the road. Can't go today".
Well, what happened next is nobrainer. We all went back to sleep.

Fast forward to today - With that experience on back of my mind, this year I have decided to go for jogging alone and I am going to do it starting NEXT Monday. (Fact is I am trying to motivate my roomies with this "Ekla chalo re" stuff…and believe me its working.)
So, if you are in Pune and see some handsome, smart dude running in the morning, its me!

2.Healthy Mind – Last year I suffered because of Procrastination. To be more precise, I suffered because of the guilt that comes with procrastination. Finally, I have decided to change. Yes, Change – we can all believe in!
So my two step plan for this Change –
STEP 1 - This year I am not going to entertain any guilt feeling. I am going to get rid of this nasty 'guilt' attitude. So even if I procrastinate this year – I am not going to let myself feel guilty about it.
STEP 2 - As a second & final step - I am going to handle the actual problem of Procrastination sometime next year 2010. Sure! Pakka!

3.Knowledge and Learning – Read lot of books. I love reading – but last year was different. Last year I read a lot of good books like –Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts , Charles Adams cartoons collection (very good dark humour) , Far side gallery (again very interesting cartoon series and book) – and NewYorker's collection of cartoons. After going through all these picture books, I am loosing my confidence of words ,so this year, and here comes my resolution, I am going to read some mature serious books. I have already started with that but any suggestions are most welcomed!

4.Family - After being away for last 3 yrs – I am planning to devote more time to my family. Adwait, my sister's son recently broke my record by becoming the youngest member of our family to ride the Bicycle.hmmm…a difficult record to break I must say.Being a good-sport, I have handled this "record-breaking stuff" quite maturely (tried to hide his cycle for 1 day) and now, I have decided to coach him to break some other records of mine (Yeah..there are lot).This will help in restoring my respect in the family.

5.Friends – What this slowing economy needs is more people like my friends who will spend lot of their money this year ON ME. Guys, we have to make this "Economy" thing work. With a sense of urgency and responsibility, let's start planning for some party, picnics etc …so who is next?

With all these resolutions, I know the year 2009 will be a more fulfilling and rewarding experience for me. I understand there will moments of doubt and sometimes moments of frustration on this long road, but the men of strong will and determination have always passed every test of time. So with this heavy, senti and philosophical note, I am closing this post. Wish me luck with resolutions! See you soon.

(Blog post closing with a smart,handsome dude walking towards rising sun. "Sapnose bhare naina…" playing in background)

:)

PS - Prasad, in ref to your comments on last post and my recurring use of words like 'smart,handsome' here, I am giving you a chance to use some words like – "self-appreciating-but-true-honest-facts-of-life" etc :)