The art of waiting

Whenever I schedule to meet somebody most of the time it will be me who would end up waiting for the other person/persons. Through out my undergrad it was me always showing up first at the venue. Of course having personal vehicle always helps to make sure you are not late. But then that is only a small incentive. That incentive would not count if you don’t start from your place at the right time. And nothing irks me more than saying ‘Indian timing’ word. It was you who didn’t start at the right time and then blaming the whole system.

Being late is no problem if it doesn’t exceed 30 mins. Beyond that it doesn’t make any sense for excuses. Once in a while blaming traffic can be taken into consideration. I cannot fathom what makes people say excuses all the time. The only way I get this is either they don’t care the other person or they are least bothered to be on time. Of course apologies do galore all the time. But any kind of apologies cannot nullify my lost time. Time lost is lost. Being late shows how unimportant or unwanted the other person is.

I just loathe the thought of waiting for people for long time. There were times when I lost my cool thereby effecting relationships. I am yet to learn the art of waiting. And when you are short of time (my recent India trip) these kinds of things really get worse. Meeting time was scheduled at 9 but people turn up at lunch time. As usual some story comes up. You wouldn’t do this for any exam right? Then why should this be any different from that. Because you don’t give a damn. Period.

Incredible India 2011

Super busy. Two words in which I can describe my India trip. It may seem long considering I was there for almost 3 weeks and most guys would say it is more than enough. Well a trip to India is never long. You always end up feeling less satisfied and having some tasks unaccomplished. There is always some emptiness that envelopes you after the trip and the feeling of back to normalcy (boredom, routine whatever). You keep telling yourselves that everything is ok and this is how it is supposed to be. You are glad that everything is back in place now. But in the end you know your lying and cheating yourselves. Finally you feel you won but you find yourself standing at the loosing side. Well something’s don’t change.

Most of my days were spent with my family and relatives. We visited record number of holy places. This is the first time I visited so many places at a go. Shirdi, Kanipakam,Sripuram, Tirupathi, Alivelu Mangapuram and Kalahasti in that order. Normally I would have been bowled over by this time but thank fully the company was good enough to survive. Sripuram deserves a special mention. It not about the gold plating but about the way the temple is managed. The surroundings were impeccable to say the least. I didn't occur to me that a holy place can be as clean as a resort. Shirdi and Tirupathi are far behind in comparison with this temple. Shirdi in particular is facing the effects of commercialization.

Each time I visit my relatives I feel I still don’t know a lot about them. Every time I spend time with them I end up knowing something new. These relations sometimes get thorny but in the end I am left will loads of memories to cherish. It would have been more enjoyable had all my relatives been there. Sure enough next time all of them will (must) be there but I doubt there will be enough time for all these. But that would altogether be a new experience. One thing is for sure. I started appreciating these relationships.

Hyderabad is changing a lot. Plenty of new malls (includes S. India’s biggest mall) and lots of new places to hang out. Ambiance of some restaurants kept me wondering where I am in. Met most of my friends back in Hyderabad. Some are busy, some are trying to be busy and some are pretending to be not busy. Also priorities change over time and one should only expect the least. All is well.

Happy New Year 2011!!

Happy New Year and Happy New Decade. Hope this New Year brings all the happiness, peace, good health, and prosperity. Leave the negativity and embrace 2011 with optimism coupled with greater courage to face the new challenges ahead. God bless!

Singapore Marathon 2010

The much awaited half marathon is finally over and with a disappointing result. Finished the race in 2hr 20 min approx. But it was a hard fought finish that I didn't expect to happen in the first place.

Unlike for last year, this year I didn't train much. My weekend long runs are the only ones I did. Those runs gave the enough confidence to face this year’s marathon. But that proved to be little. My target this year was the same as last year; to finish the race below 2hrs. And the weekend long runs consistently proved that 2hrs is within my reach. And except for a few minor injuries I felt relatively fit.

Started the marathon at about 6.30 am and the climate is already too humid. My knee started to show signs of trouble when it started paining after 2km but the pain was not too intimidating. I reached the 11k mark after 1 hr 3 min which is satisfying I thought. So the 2hrs target is still on. After sometime legs didn't hurt but the stomach started growling. I was sapped of my energy and the hunger coupled with the thirst made me feel dizzy. My energy levels almost dropped to near zero.

And then the final blow came @ around the 18k mark. My calf muscle became so stiff that I couldn't even lift my leg and place it down. It was swollen and drove me nuts .Both the calf muscles started to hurt and I applied the pain relief and started my stride again when suddenly the pain became excruciating. I never had this condition before and I didn't know how to get rid of this. So I tried to relax my muscle little by folding my leg. Someone just hit a nail on my head or I felt so. The pain was unbearable and thus effectively ended my 2 hrs target. I started telling myself to just finish the race. I stretched the leg little and began to walk, limping. Tried to cheat my leg by running after sometime but then it didn't fall for it. Pain was consistent. So kept walking the last 3km and to save my dignity started running the last 200 mts thus ending a gruesome fight with my leg.

One thing I didn't like this year is the water station positions. They were well 5 km apart and the sun is blazing to say the least. Also the promised banana station was missing at the 13.8km mark. Overall the race was kind of a lesson on what not to do and what I should have done in those circumstances. I should have had better running shoes. And next time I better know exact water station locations. Hopefully can register for a full marathon next time. Lots of training should be done for that. And I shall overcome.

2 years!!

Today marks the second year of completion at my company. Yeaaah. Much has changed since this. More importantly time just flew by filled with both joyful and doleful moments. Working @ my company has been great and I definitely learnt more (albeit a more customized) than what my schools taught.

I have become a better professional (considering how bad I was when I started working). If I were asked a question 2 years back about where would you see yourself in 2 yrs my answer would have nearly matched my current status. I say nearly but not exactly. Well mostly because the naive in me could have listed some unreasonable things.

Getting a 2 year work ex is a big milestone to me considering my future ambitions. Overall it’s good to be here and will try to be a better professional. All iz well