Month: November 2019

No Carb Thursdays

Latest life tweak is ‘No Carb Thursdays’.

Why ‘No carbs’? Because I love carbs but they also make me feel bloated and lazy. And avoiding them all, all the time, unnecessarily taxes my will power. I have reduced the usual intake, but it still spikes occasionally (actually more frequently than I admit).

Also because I’ve gained nearly 1.5Kg in last week—76.6 last Thursday, 77.9 today. And I hadn’t run in four days. And I’m not happy—about a few things in particular, but also that low-intensity background unhappiness in general.

So I decided to try a new thing.

Why ‘Thursdays’? Because today is Thursday, and I didn’t want to put this off till tomorrow.

Continue reading No Carb Thursdays

I need a break

The last vacation was in late summer 2017—two glorious weeks in France, mostly Corsica.

The last time I spent a night outside Guildford was in Nov 2017—visited India because dad was sick.

I’m gonna disappear some day soon.

Dream diary

SS, my first proper crush, appeared in a dream last night.

In the dream, I was travelling to Bombay and we ended up standing next to each other at the baggage belts1. We both faintly recognised each other, started talking, and then remembered fully. She didn’t like me much, for good reason, by the time we lost touch last time. So she was surprised to still be talking to me after she remembered who I was. I met her husband and her kids too. I think there were 2 or 3 kids, all nearly S’ age2. That was all there was… just a brief, friendly meeting at the airport. Yet, it was really, really nice to have met her after more than two decades3. I’ve been quite happy since :)

I tried looking her up on Google, but she doesn’t seem to have a public searchable profile. So, there’s no chance of actually reaching out to her and saying hello.

Continue reading Dream diary

My dogs’ clock

The dogs have a weird sense of time.

I leave them and go for 10 mins. When I return, they howl and cry and jump and lick as if I’m returning after an year on the moon.

Yet, they are better than any alarm clock at reminding me when it’s 6AM (breakfast time), 11:30 AM (walk/run time), 12:30 PM (lunch time), 6:30 PM (evening play time) or 7:30 PM (dinner time). They never miss those appointed hours for anything, even when we’re travelling.

How is the clock in their heads so perfect in some ways and so screwed up in others? :)

NP: With or without you

I spent my early 20s, those 3 years in Delhi, listening to this song (with the rest of Joshua Tree album) day in and out. Just the hint of sound from this song takes me back to those days.

I think this was also my first album purchase. It lived and died in my first (and only) portable music player :)

Phoenix rises in autumn

I hadn’t seen anyone from my old triathlon club—Pheonix Triathlon—in over six months. In the last week, I ran into three of them! The cooler weather and beautiful autumn colours must have drawn the Phoenixes out of hibernation (aka the gym :) )

Chewie and I met Kate Fargus last Sunday at the far end of Sandy lane. I didn’t recognise her, but she called out to say hello to Chewie. It took me a few minutes (after I left her) to remember her first name. I only remembered her last name after Koldo helped me out later in the week.

Saw Graham French on Wednesday as he flew down the hill while we were running uphill on the trail home from Sandy lane. He lives in my part of town, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to see him running our trails.

We met Koldo Loidi, one of the friendliest Phoenixers, on our backyard gravel path during Friday’s run. It was about 5°C and he was running in a thin tee and shorts; I was clad in my new full-sleeve running jacket. He admired Chewie, and suggested catching up in town sometime. It was his 50th birthday that day, and he seemed to be enjoying it out on the beautiful trails.

Hope to catch some more of the friendlier Phoenixers out on the trails as I increase the miles over winter.