New Year's Resolutions

Worried about the rather infrequent rate at which I blog, I went to dig something I wrote last year. Thankfully, it's a very relevant piece especially at this time of the year. Nah, in fact it's relevant any day. I've kept my promise of prosting something about New Year's Resolutions.

**

Resolve to perform what you ought,
Perform without fail what you resolve.
-Benjamin Franklin

I'm sure when Mr. Franklin said the above he did not count mortals like
me. He would have never been able to understand the extremely short lifecycle of the resolutions I make. Or may be he was simply not talking about New Year resolutions.

The stupendous track record of my resolutions would go well with the quote:
Resolve to perform what you thought,
Shame to you if you perform what you resolve!

Like the whole world I eagerly await the New Year, albeit with a brand new diary.
The last page is filled with the resolutions I desperately want to stick to. In fact, with very few exceptions, my resolution-list has looked the same over the years. In the mean time, I have managed to finish school, graduated from college, earned masters, started working but...but maintained a curious consistency in my R-list.

Now, I know every bullet point in my beloved list by heart.

The first thing has always been my grand ambition to get up early in the morning and exercise for an hour daily. This is there since I was in high school. I scratch my head to try to remember when was it that I followed this regime for at least a week... No luck.

In addition to getting up early I also religiously resolve to cut my daily sleep, learn 5 new words everyday, write a diary, learn a language, spend some time in solitude, pursue a hobby, read etc.

Hmm...Needless to say I get up when everyone around me has given up the hope of politely waking me up. I still need to sleep a solid 11-12 hours a day. Who cares if you don’t find time to even say "Hi" to the people who you think live in the house same as yours?
Daily exercise?? The thought itself is enough to burn the calories and send me on those guilt trips.
Learning 5 new words everyday is a distant dream now...why do we have dictionary.com if we could cram all those words invented?
Well, I've actually tried to maintain a diary. I enthusiastically buy a diary, I enthusiastically write 2-3 pages of it everyday for a week. Then suddenly my life becomes very boring and dull and I simply write a line “A normal day” or “Another hectic day”, etc for about a fortnight. Then my diary finds home at the bottom of my cupboard with older members of its community.
I still know only those languages I learnt about 15 years ago, which my mother taught. I think I can communicate alright.

So, the bottom-line is, almost all my resolutions have met untimely end and I did not even come to know of it till it was time to make a fresh list of resolutions.

Then why do I bother to even make these silly “I resolve to...” announcements every year? I do it because this simple activity brings so much hope!! It gives me a feeling that I've a chance to make a brand new beginning, all the mistakes and all the follies and all the falls are a thing of the past. Tomorrow is a new day and my slate is clean! My New Year resolutions have the power to make me believe that if I resolve I can be as super fit as a Wimbledon champ. I can sleep less and thus live longer. I can become a living-encyclopedia with all the reading I would do. I can become a writer and publish an autobiography with all my diaries. And the hope to live a more successful, richer and happier life stays alive!

Still, fortunately you don’t need to make resolutions for things which really count...like smiling more, staying in touch with friends, enjoying the beauty of 'this' moment, being kind to others, working sincerely...

Do we even need to wait for the New Year to make our resolutions?
Every day is a New Day of the Year, friends!!!

(By the way, I've reached the height of consistency this year, I just photocopied my last year's R-list.)

**

**!!Happy New Year!!**

It's the last working day of 2005! The office is very quiet as most of them are off.
I'm still not sure how I'd bring in the New Year. I'd prefer a quiet, relaxed celebration with A, at home.

And how does the year 2006 look? Full of promise! Because I've realized (Oh sooo late) that I'm already leading my dream life! There are no worries (except those perennial pimple-bad-hair day problems), nothing that I can't handle, and love of my loved ones. I no longer need to look up to tomorrow, as today is already mine.

My only public resolution is to count my blessings each day. Consciously. From the bottom of my heart. I'm really thankful to God for all that I've.

There are tons of old resolutions which I'll renew once again on this New Year, more out of habit. Will come back with a post on my New Years' Resolutions.

Till then, wish you all a very happy New Year!

"Then sing, young hearts that are full of cheer,
With never a thought of sorrow;
The old goes out, but the glad young year
Comes merrily in tomorrow."
(By Emily Miller)

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

In one of my previous posts I talked about my engineering college, remember folks?!
It's that place where I've made some of the most wonderful friends...

Now while I'm at it, let me take you all with me in flashback.

A group of 9, 5 girls and 4 guys. A crazy mix of personalities, attitudes, philosophies, interests, likes, dislikes, etc. I'm surprised how they all came together in first place. But once they came together, there was no looking back.
The ties grew stronger over dabba-parties in the parking lots, canteen, lab assignments, "general" time pass and fooling around in the campus.
They were all in what I call the "butterfly" years of their life, when no worry is bigger than that of an impending examination or a lab assignment, when nothing seems to be impossible if seen through the dreamy eyes, when friends influence young minds.

The last year in college flew past almost as fast as the flicking of pages of a slam book. The friends tried to hold onto these sweet memories with their cameras, they were seen everywhere with cameras in their hands, clicking away to glory!

With tearful goodbyes, promises to write, email, call each other regularly, and prayers, they parted.

It was not the end; it was just the beginning of a new season of their friendship. They started a new life, went on to study new things, earned higher degrees, and joined big companies...

The flashback's over. Cut to the present.
Today they are all settled in different places, busy in their lives. Some are married, some are engaged, and a few are looking for those "special-ones" to tie the knot.
All are happy, successful, blessed and still the same old friends.
And they are extra-happy today because their friendship will soon turn a generation old.

This one's for you Uttara.

Why all these why's?

The year 2005 is slipping by and we can almost hear 2006 knocking at our door.

It's just another day of the year, 31st of December, then why all the fuss?

Why do we believe that something life changing will happen with one new sunrise?
Why do we feel like life has given us a new, clean slate to start doodling around?
Why do we feel that all the mistakes we did, all the blunders we committed, all the work we procrastinated doing till forever, all the lies we shamelessly told,all the guilt-trips we took, all the beautiful moments -true blessings of life we missed, all the heartaches we caused to our loved ones and all those we suffered because of our loved ones, all the promises we broke, all the dried tears we ensured nobody ever saw, all the long nights spent without batting an eyelid, all the friends we lost touch with and all the if's and but's, and all the million things we would want to sweep out of our life but which continue to gnaw us...why do we feel all these are things of the past?

And again, why do most of us stay awake to see the special new year TV programs(which are "specially" getting worse) to celebrate the new year?

Well, I dont have the answers. I'm just in that year-end thinking mode again.

The Mau Returns

Blog: Why such a long hiatus Mau?
Mau: I'm sorry Blog, but there were so many things on my mind that I just don't know how days zoomed past.
Blog: The same old excuse, "I'm-so-busy-I dont-have-time". It's not fashionable anymore.
Mau: Hey, but I'm back and have loads of stories to tell!
Blog: Are they all about you?
Mau: Of course! They have to be about "I,Me,Myself", otherwise why would they be here?
Blog: You are such a typical, self-loving cat!
Mau: Meow.