It’s been a long time, or short
depending on who counts the days. A lot has happened in the interim period. Major news: I’m married now.
But, this post is not about that.
As 2017 drew to a close, I thought I’d do set myself two goals in 2018. And, I
decided I’d put it down here, if not as a reminder, at least as a mirror to
guilt trip me the next time I look at it. These are vague goals that I want to achieve over the next year, to help me be sane and happy.
1. Reduce
online presence*:
Yes, this is a blogpost. I have addressed the irony
first up. Let me build it up some more.
I made a decision last ‘novemberish’ to quit twitter.
I just decided one fine day, that I will not log in. I deleted the app on my
phone and logged off my desktop browser. I just needed to stay put for 3 months
to ensure my profile was removed. That was ‘novemberish’ and strangely I
haven’t tried logging back yet. I have no idea if my profile exists, now.
Facebook, another demon that I conquered long time back
(I’m not sure if you can ever kill these demons off) exists as a mere address
book for me these days. I’m extremely proud of this.
Why?
I’m a fickle
person with so many likes and wants. I like to live a certain way, adopt a
certain lifestyle and follow certain rules. Social media (facebook and the
likes) has a way of throwing up “better” things that are amazing at that
instant but fizzle away in importance in a matter of days. All that remains is
the empty ‘I don’t have it’ ness about a lot of things, that neither have
definition nor meaning. I found the Facebook decision remove a lot of mental
distress from my life.
With twitter,
the reasons are different. I found twitter to be a great companion, sending in
PJ’s, random factoids and one liners on current affairs during my bachelor days
(one month and I have started using “bachelor days”). Today’s twitter is
strident, like a pig being branded, painful, loud and irritating all at the
same time. You can’t do anything to help the pig, you can’t help but hear its
cries, and you carry on with your life after the cries die down. I’ve decided to
relocate from the pig sty. I learnt a lot, I learnt ‘liberal’ without being
explained or taught and it was fun while it lasted.
Twitter,
Snapchat, Instagram, etc. (whatsapp too these days) are built for instant
gratification and immediate response (thoughts/ feelings). I don’t want to
decide on things so quickly, I want to take my time. I don’t want to express
things because I can. I want to blog. Put things in longer form, ruminate.
*conditions apply (now you know
why : D)
2. Improve
physical stamina:
This is again born of personal experiences and
suffering. I managed to get out of the grips of bean counting and buy a bicycle
a few months back. It was the stupidest decision I made in some time. I also spent
2.5k shipping it back home over and above the purchase price. During the 3
months it was with me in Gurgaon (temporary posting), the weather was extremely
cold, the air was polluted and there was near 0 visibility because of Fog/smog.
But the few times I rode it (on the occasional clear nights or mornings), I
loved it. Hoping to start again here and make cycling a regular activity.
Why?
The good doctors are getting old or dying away. The
new ones charge a bomb which blasts squarely on our sad faces. I was diagnosed
with typhoid recently because I vomited thrice. I shelled out 4k for this
diagnosis. I went to a familiar GP for a second opinion and he promptly
rubbished the said diagnosis. The strange thing about the whole ordeal is that
this GP was located 30 Km away from the ‘developed’ part of the city.
Apparently in developed parts, healthcare is very costly, in villages,
healthcare is not accessible and in medium sized towns you really don’t know if
you are being treated or tricked. Ayurveda and naturopathy today are probably
only as effective as the last random leaf you ate. The only source of proof of
efficacy being the friendly assurances of holy sages who did other magical
things 20000 years ago. And, the less said about homeopathy, the better.
I realized that the least I could do about this is, build
some stamina and reduce the frequency of falling sick.
Doable? I’ll have to wait and
see… I still have “contentment” and “living life on my own terms” waiting on
the sidelines.
