MMV - 'The Year of Dabs'

Thought of posting all the things that happened to me in this eventful year :-). First of all, this year went past in a blink and was a very interesting one to say the least. There were many ups and downs. I got to learn a lot of new stuff and also face many challenges. Overall, I could call this an 'Year of Dabs'. Just to make the reader aware, this is going to be a long post, hopefully not boring.

The year started off with my dab at vedic astrology. I had some interest in astrology before, especially chart reading and got to pursue it further. The pursuit was catalyzed by the fact that I found a book in the library written by a western author (Andrew Bloomfield) on how to read charts. Some new things I learnt were the influences of planets in the opposite house, the significant influence of Mars, Saturn and Jupiter on your chart and some basic stuff about Khuja Dosha and Kalasarpa yoga.

March was when I decided to start blogging and this dab of mine turned out to be more than just a dab. I am happy that I blog on a regular basis and that this habit has gotten into a few of my friends too. As many people have felt, most of my blogs are not opiniated enough and I look forward in improving on this aspect in the years to come.

Study zone volunteering is one thing I continued to do from last year. This involves tutoring kids and providing homework help to them at a designated place in the public library. It was great fun and challenging too, to teach kids stuff in English grammar and American History (Ahem! How much of it do I know?) other than the usual Math and Science. But unfortunately, I was not able to keep up the commitment for the 05-06 school year (starting Sep'05), because of pressures on the workfront.

Late summer was when the intern I was mentoring introduced me to Irish music and gifted me with a tin whistle. As I had some experience playing the flute as a kid, it was easy to play a few notes/songs I knew. But to take it to the next level needs some work and I wish to take it up some day. I also borrowed a DVD of a Corrs show from my intern and the tracks from it were instant hits amongst my friends and me. The agility and speed with which this family band plays music is simply amazing! Staying with music, "Raghuvamsha Sudha" happens to be the song of the year as I've tried collecting and listening to various versions of the song. Also, I happened to get the full version of the Sanskrit song "Vande Vandyam", which I used to like as a kid (Thanks to a friend of mine).

Philosophical discussions during Racquet ball game breaks :-) inspired me to come up with a poem. The poem reflects the desire of an individual to break free and have goals outside the mundane responsibilities he/she is bound to do. My latest dab in the year was pencil sketching. Invested 6 bucks in getting the required pencils and a clean eraser. I want to keep improving on this and if time permits take a course or two in pencil sketching.

Travel is something I didn't do much this year. The most significant trips were a trip to the Silicon Valley (San Jose, CA) and a trip to Crater Lake in Oregon. There were trips to the Olympic National forest, but nothing to go ga-ga about. Food-wise, I got to try Korean and Mongolian cuisine for the first time and discovered my favorite chocolate drink (Chantico) this year.

Some significant events this year were that I changed jobs and roles within the same company (learnt new stuff like OLAP), only to become more busy (no regrets though). The year began with a change of residence and apartment mates (Previous one got married :-)). Mid-year saw my current apartment mate getting engaged too, only to be teased by friends that people should be moving in with me if they've got to get hooked up ;-). We had a small reunion of my undergrad friends in July. I got to mentor an intern this summer and it was great fun and good experience. Old friendships grew stronger, friends grew closer and there were plenty of new friends and acquaintances too.

Some disappointments this year were health at home, my failure to concentrate and complete books that I start reading and my failure to bring closure to a 5-year vision statement that I promised to envision by mid-year. Keeping these in mind, I wish to make some resolutions for the coming year. It would be to start completing books/tasks I take up and also bring a closure on the vision statement. Passion levels at work would also need to be increased in the coming year.

Phew! It has been a long posting about the dreadful and immodest 'ME'. In the end, hoping to have an exciting and healthy year to come and wishing the same to all the folks out there.

Until Next time....

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