Happy New year everyone!
2017 was a tough one for me. There were struggles, falls, anguish, painful endings and hopeful beginnings. With this, I am putting some highlights of the year that went by. I know we are already in 2018, but as the old adage goes (makes absolute sense for a lazy bum like me!) “better late than never”.
Travel
Singapore
It all started as drunk see off at the airport. Vasav and Asmita were going back to Singapore. We were sitting at the Mumbai airport just having a good time and by the end of it, my flight to Singapore was booked and itinerary finalized. So I flew to Singapore and stayed there for good 10 days. It brought in a good break from the routine and a stamp on my otherwise unused passport.
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| Year of the Rooster: Chinese New Year celebrations |
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| Kopi O and Kaya Toast, my staple for every morning |
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| Merlion. The place where people give cliche poses |
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| Something that caught my attention while walking the roads |
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| Singapore Zoo |
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| Gardens By the Bay |
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| We made Dal Baati at home, in Singapore :) |
This trip has far more memories than I have pictures. Staying with Vasav and Asmita was like living in a home away from home and we got to catch up after I don't know how many years.
Another drunken plan. However, this went down the drain when we became sober. Me, Lovejot and Abhimanyu were having one of our after work evenings when we took it a notch above and booked a flight to Venice. While Lovejot did go to Italy on a solo swag trip, I and Abhimanyu burnt a big hole in our barely left pocket.
Malwan
On my birthday this year, I saw the opportunity of an extended weekend and decided to get away from the whole hustle bustle of the city and go to Malwan and spend some time doing the mundane stuff like watching a sunset while sitting on the rocks at a beach or running on the beach in the morning. Happy 32nd to me!
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| Devbagh Sangam |
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| Rock Garden: Sunset Point |
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| Corn on the cob and the sunset |
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| Run on the beach |
Naneghat Trek
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| At Naneghat base, just before starting the trek- (L to R) Punit, Chintan, Me, Kranti and Anup |
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| Rain soaked climb accompanied by heavy winds |
Ah! This is an amazing memory. The usual culprits in me, Punit, Anup, Kranti and latest entrant in Chintan. One fine morning decided to trek Naneghat. See it for yourself what happened there:
Work
Stairway to heaven (Cheesy! I know)
The strong winds made it very difficult to stand, walk or even keep your eyes open
Work
Pizza Cube Café
Holachef forayed into the offline model with a new brand: Pizza Cube Cafe. From one outlet in May, by December we had 4 outlets marking their presence in the busy QSR footprint in Mumbai. This was challenging and whole new learning experience.
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| Goofing around when our first Pizza Cube Cafe was just a site under construction |
Health/ Sporting milestones
Kicked the butt- finally!
What started as a ‘looking cool’ thing during college, soon became a habit. Stopped completely as a new resolution on January 1, 2017. And boy it’s been a full one year. What’s the guarantee that I won’t pick up the habit again? Because I feel a lot better, because the food tastes so much better and because of what follows next.
First Half Marathon: IDBI Federal Life Insurance Mumbai Half Marathon
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| That's me trying to run, breathe and manage my centre of gravity, all at the same time! |
Overweight, out of breath, stress eating and surviving on fast food every day, sitting more than 8 hrs in a day in office and then on the couch; running a half marathon was a distant dream which I had not dreamt yet. But it happened.
I was running 2-3 km few days in a week just to become active. I happened to know about IDBI Federal Life Insurance Half Marathon through friends who I follow on Strava. I registered for the same and started training. This was a struggle I don’t think my body was ready for. But I pushed it. The thought of quitting occurred many times but the resolution was strong and I wanted to do it.
And Finally, I did it. August 20, 2017. I crawled my way to the finish line in 3:00:33. My first half marathon. It was a rain-soaked run and I think I did cry ‘khushi ke aansoo’ at the end of it.
Strava link to this activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/1142237622
Second Half Marathon: Indiabulls Vasai Virar Mayor's Run: Half Marathon
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| Sprinting to the finish line |
I got to know of Vasai Virar Half Marathon and immediately signed up for it. I set my sight on 02:30:00 finish time for half marathon. I ran my heart out in training. So much so that just a week before the race, I pulled my hamstring trying to run too fast. I ran with all my heart on the race day and managed to finish it in 02:33:13. I was elated and hooked up to running.
Strava link to this activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/1308824212
BRM 200: failed once, not again! (Mumbai- Charoti- Mumbai)
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| After battling sun, dehydration and traffic |
I did my first BRM on this route in 2016 and managed to finish it off with just two minutes left on the cut off time.
I did it again and this time failed by reaching 10 mins late. I took a break from BRM’s post that.
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| BRM 200 Medal for the one I completed in 2016 |
I attempted this same route on November 5th and this time finished it in 11 hours and 25 minutes, a good 2 hours improvement over my last time. Mission Accomplished.
Strava link to this activity: 1. https://www.strava.com/activities/1263357224
2. https://www.strava.com/activities/1262158260
Mumbai- Igatpuri- Mumbai
Strava link to this activity: 1. https://www.strava.com/activities/1263357224
2. https://www.strava.com/activities/1262158260
Mumbai- Igatpuri- Mumbai
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| Climbing Kasara Ghat: this was fun! :D |
In November 2017, in the endurance training ride organized by Powai Pedals and Giant Starkenn Mumbai, I climbed Kasara Ghat successfully without putting my foot down even once from the pedals. Coming back from failure, doing this was amazing. This ride also marked my longest ever ride on my cycle clocking 224Kms.
Strava link to this activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/1291555371
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| Indian terrain Seven Island Sportive |
My year on sports as captured by Strava:
The journey to these half marathons and a few 10k’s in between was very lonely. There were several occasions when I questioned myself about why am I doing this. I still did it. Now, when I think about the finish line emotions I went through, I think it was all worth it.
And not to mention, the weight I lost. From 89kgs in June 2017 to 79.6 kgs in December 2017
'नौ सौ चूहे खा के बिल्ली हज को चली' a.k.a Hello Vegetarianism!
Well, I surprised myself here. Did I ever want to do it? NO. DId I enjoy doing it? NO. Was it worth it? Absolutely!
But why did I do it?
1. I couldn't fathom the deferential attitude that some animals make it to your home as pets and some others on your plate as food
2. I watched 'Cowspiracy' on Netflix. The facts here:
I am currently also researching on being vegan. Maybe 2018 will be "Hello Veganism"! But it will be a herculean task to give-up ghee, rabdi, curd and other things that I absolutely love in my food.
The Struggles
Why did I choose not to mention about the struggles I have had in 2017? Has 2017 been a year of no roadblocks? That's not the case. I have had more than my share of problems in 2017 than I have had before. I received setbacks both on personal and professional front. I failed in almost every department of my life multiple times with my friends & family coming to my rescue every time.
I couldn't do it alone and I am glad I had a few people watching my back. If you are reading this, you'll know you are one of them; my straw at the time when I was drowning. I thank you with all my heart and gratitude.
The end of 2017
Om Sai Ram!
Some Boomerang Fun!
Abhimanyu, Lovejot and I decided to spend the New Year eve visiting Shirdi and Shani Shingnapur. Away from all the hustle bustle and the peer pressure of celebrating New Year eve drinking and making merry in the coolest possible way. Once we reached there we realized we are not the only ones who thought this way. Apparently, there were a million others who were visiting Shirdi the same day. Thanks to tech-savvy Saibaba Sansthan Trust, we booked our darshan time-slot online and skipped the major queues to finish darshan in a little over an hour. We went to Shani Shingnapur early in the morning and didn’t find any queue at all.
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| Always saw these windmills from far. Went close this time |
What's a year without a good time with friends and family, eh?
At Barvi Dam with Kranti and Abhimanyu
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| When Krisha was more excited to cut my birthday cake! |
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| Birthday gift from Krisha :D |
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| Lalbaug cha Raja!! |
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| Mittal ki naak kat gayi :P |
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| Diwali, Home and traditional attire: Check! |
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| May the light of the diya guide us all :) |
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| Kidzania: Became a kid again with Krisha and had a lot of fun in the process :D |
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| My sister Chicky a.k.a Kriti got engaged |
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| Ajanta Circus... |
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| Fish thali: I'll miss this the most, now that I am a vegetarian |
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| Getting ready for a mime act... :P |
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| I have earned my cream roll for 2017 |
And so ended 2017.
There is so much that happened in 2017. I survived all the lows, celebrated all the highs, enjoyed with old friends, met some fantastic new people on the way, cried a lot, laughed a lot more. Here’s to a hopeful 2018.
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| Forward-looking footsteps taking me to 2018 |
