Again!!

Calendar check.. It's a new year again. Stretching skin, blobbing body, dark circles, stability, responsibility, maturity, interest in things which once were seemingly uninteresting - all signs of the grand finale of a wonderful teenage. Yes, I will turn 24 this year. Year 2009 was a crucial year for me which I did not realize until it was finally close to an end. I have changed quiet a bit in terms of personality, speech, outlook and knowledge. I guess I can call the year a 'transformation terminal' which mostly turned out to be fairly well for me. The interesting part of all this was how I developed certain interests and hobbies.

I look at all the married woman and I swear to myself not to let myself appear that way almost every second of my day. This leads to my obsession with healthy food and exercise although I haven't started anything concrete yet because of my random schedule away from home in recent dates. I am trying to stay away from anything unnatural as much as possible. Breakfast bars, processed food, fast food etc. The good news is I don't have to force myself to do so, I just like living in an archaic way. I can still not keep myself away from chocolates and aloo fry. Yoga and cardio are top priority for the new year for me. I was able to reduce drinking to a great extent this year and I am learning to keep myself away from a cup of coffee I have everyday at work. This in a way has become a hobby - being healthy!

I have started developing a lot of interest in home design, so unlike the shopping malls where I find myself out of place, I can spend hours in Ikea or crate n barrel. It is kind of ironic as in this year I did not spend much time at my apartment. 70% of my time is either at work or travelling or at some plush hotel or at someone else's place. I believe its because of the yearning for coziness and 'feel home' feeling. Also, I can spend hours thinking of that perfect home that matches my grandparents house. That's worth another blog. Let's say that I like being in the older simpler times.

I have somehow acquired a great obsession with the colors green and red this year. Why red? I cannot think why. Fresh green takes me into a trance. When I was a kid my father always used to drag me out of the bed in the mornings and made me stare at the vegetation in our small kitchen garden. It did make me feel fresh, I still do. So, when my boss asked me what do I want to do once I retire, I impulsively said I want to farm. So I have decided that I will start with gardening and give it a shot in my 900sq ft apartment. Gardening it is!!

I feel at loss when people make conversations about their childhood readings and comics. I stuck with chacha choudary, tinkle, champak and readers digest as a child. I like stories and fiction and reading so it should't be hard for me to finish the classics. I am very much looking forward to it. My first adventure would be all the series of Asterix followed by Tin Tin. I am somehow not inclined to Nancy Drew (I did read a few when I was in college :P). Suggestions are hugely appreciated. Chip in!!. I am also gonna hold myself not to buy any books until I finish the books that I bought last year. Books Aye!

That pretty much sums up most of my targeted hobbies/interests/goals for this year.

Some good things about the year: I am finally getting used to living an independent single life. I can go to a restaurant alone and eat alone without feeling overtly conscious of the fact that I am the lone warrior holding the fort. Strengthened bonds with my family virtually, I feel much more closer to home than ever even though I am miles apart. I have developed a thought process mostly based on reasoning and aftereffects and it seems to be working great for me. I have strengthened my beliefs on the non-existence of the super power, fate, destiny and other such non quantifiable words in the dictionary. I seemed to be motivated by great people in the likes of Nandita Das, Barkha Dutt, Annie besant, Amartya Sen, Yonus Khan, Salman Rushdie and Darwin to name a few. Although I can still not generate/participate in discussions -intellectual readings, books on history and magical realism is something I have discovered as one of my interests this year.

I may have lost the most rosy things of teenage but on a brighter side I am a much more confident woman now. I strongly believe I will never be able to change the basic person I am although I might develop a new perspective every once in a while. I am inherently the same People! but officially deemed to be a woman - you can throw the girl term away :)