2023 - Health, Travel & a gift

December 2022

My HbA1c was 5.7 when I had my bloodwork done at the end of last year, which put me in the pre-diabetic category. This wasn’t shocking to me because diabetes is in my family.

I knew these statistics weren’t life-threatening, but they were a wake-up call nevertheless, so I refrained from trying to medicate the problem right away.

Per my luck, I happened to be reading The Diabetes Code at the same time, so I was reassured that my diabetes is not genetic but rather a problem with my eating habits that I inherited through lack of knowledge and self-control. Following that, I made a number of pivotal choices that have, in a roundabout way, improved my health.

2023

After a good poker night(noob here) in Hyderabad, I kick-started 2023 with a set of goals for myself(real image).

2023 Goals

Social	Health	Travel	Hobby
Donate food (Burger and Biryani)	Get my weight down to 69 Kgs	Travel 1 or 2 international	Read 12 books

Why these goals?

Social: I believe that as much as I like eating great Biryani or Mutton Nihari, I can share that joy with others for a short while. I chose to start with donating food because I believe it is easily obtained and can benefit a wide range of people.
Health: It is required! I am 30 years old and have been eating packaged, quick-to-serve, sugar-based, processed macronutrient-based cuisine for a long time. I also adore beer (Bengaluru has spoiled me silly).
I used to get scolded for missing food at home when I lived with my parents ten years ago. Now that I am unsupervised, I eat junk food at inconvenient times, such as late at night or very late at night.
Travel: I have only visited one country, and that was in 2019. I enjoy traveling to different locations for the food, culture, and, most importantly, to escape.
I haven’t traveled much, but I’d like to break this spell.
Hobby: My mind is a wanderer, and I dream. Books entice me and transport me to times and circumstances that keep my mind occupied.
Also, I want to start writing, and reading gives me more ideas to work with. For example, reading Think Big has assisted me in analyzing my habits in order to eliminate or establish new ones.

Dipti and I decided that in 2023 we would visit at least one new city every month.

We began this commitment in January by visiting God’s own country - Kerala. I’d heard excellent things about Kerala, but I was skeptical about its beaches. I’m anchored by the shacks on Goa’s beaches, and I hunt for comparable eateries anytime I visit a beach. But I must admit that My Expectations were Exceeded in Kerala. We went to Alleppey and Varkala, and I still want to go back to eat Kerala food in Alleppey’s backwaters. The Jumbo Prawns and Fish were fantastic. To top it all off, everything in Kerala was inexpensive, including scooter rentals, hotels, beer (if you could get it), intracity transportation in an auto, and, most importantly, food.

By the end of January, I was well into the process of altering my eating habits and scheduling. I became more conscious of the GI index of food products and began identifying high GI foods that I was consuming. I began substituting daily commodities such as wheat, cooking oil, and breakfast meal items, and I began eating my final meal of the day before sunset.

While I was at it, I added juices to my daily diet without realizing the consequences. Dipti and I would order veggies and fruits, create a very fine liquid from them, and then discard all of the pulp from our new juicer. I had a confirmation bias + youtube inspiration concerning juices because we were instructed as children that drinking juices is OK! 🤯

This has led to a spike in my HbA1c in the coming months.

I LETS

Something unplanned happened in February, and we decided to take the IELTS exam to move to Canada with a PR. One of my Canadian friends confirmed that general life quality and career opportunities are significantly higher in Canada. He advised that I at the very least file my application. To be honest, I was nervous about taking the IELTS exam since I had acquired a dread of failing it. I didn’t do much planning and instead, just read the guidebook that came with the exam confirmation. Fortunately, I did extremely well. I overcame one of my worries by not failing the IELTS.

Now I am 30+, I don’t have a Master’s degree, I don’t have a Canadian education, and I don’t have any international (or Canadian) work experience. Apart from age (Dipti is three years younger than me), our circumstance was identical. This is where my luck runs out! Nonetheless, we proceeded to file the application and complete the documentation. The documentation and education verification are both too expensive 💰.

As of now, We are in the pool since March 2023 but have little chance of being chosen.

Birthday weeks

February concludes with Dipti’s birthday, and because these dates are so near, she continues to party until my birthday. We two celebrated her birthday in her fashion, and I invited a few of my friends to mine. We went out for my birthday, and that’s when I noticed I couldn’t digest as much alcohol as I used to.¹

Mumbai and March combine, and as is customary, we traveled to Mumbai to see my cousin’s new home. My most recent visit was in 2019 for my nephew’s birthday. I had a good time with my cousin’s boys, and they got to unwrap the PS4 console that I had sent them, but they couldn’t play it right away because they had examinations.

I recall having exams around my birthday and wishing for one precisely on my birthday so that I could wear casual clothes and celebrate it after the exam on the same day, but this rarely happened.

Waist size

My waist size has shrunk significantly by this time of year, or in just three months. I didn’t see it in my daily routine and just realized it when I had to go out and none of my clothes fit.

Bored

At work, I began to feel a mismatch between my work and the value it provided to the organization, so I began exploring for a team switch. It is not as simple as it used to be in 2022, as the options for relocating within Amazon have narrowed. Our leadership was visiting us in India from the United States, and one thing that struck me was the length of time these people had spent at Amazon. I was giving a presentation to the V.P. of my organization, and the difference in our tenure was 18 years. 💥

Friends of Friends were brewing a small out-of-city road trip and we went to Chikmanglur in April. It was a short and eventful road trip. The place is beautiful but we went there at the wrong time and yet it was expensive for the quality of our stay.

Back in time

One of my favorite days of this year was the same day when Dipti had an IELTS written exam. I accomplished two things that I enjoy doing: 1. I donated blood 2. I was idling in Cubbon Park. For a brief period, I laid down on the bare grass and closed my eyes. I’m not sure what came to mind, but when I’m in this zen condition, I tend to feel grateful to the Universe!

My grandfather used to take me to the Baradari garden when I visited him in Patiala. It was our routine to get my favorite Kachori, go to the park and eat it there under the trees.

Ho shuru har din aise! (Every morning like this!)

In Bengaluru, mornings like these make my day. This place has given me everything I’ve ever wanted in life: a career, friends, a lifetime of learning, and coffee. Dipti and I have a morning coffee ritual, and we’ve tried a variety of different coffee techniques. One of these involves the use of a French press. To be honest, I respect the baristas who prepare wonderful tasty coffees, and I enjoy/desire them. On my own, however, all I want to do is heat the water, add a spoon of instant coffee, and enjoy the morning. I’ll go as far as I can to heat the milk, then froth my coffee and add milk to it. 🫰🏼

Heavenly

Another highlight of the year occurred in May when we traveled to Leh. I had traveled to Leh before I got my first job in 2014, but I was still excited to return with Dipti. We had previously decided to visit Khardung La this time because I had missed it the previous time.

We walked for long distances, going up the 600 steps to Shanti Stupa and then strolling up the hill to get a cup of herbal tea. We got up early every day and strolled around to explore the city’s less busy edges. When we were tired, we went back to the market to try yet another great cafe in the city. I’ve had the best green tea in Leh so far today. Someone told me to go to Hanle, which I will do next time. I love Leh a lot, and I will try to go there more often.

Pulse Check on goals

I was doing well with two things: keeping my weight steady and reading books. That’s right, I found my circadian schedule. My body did great with the changes. I kept moving, drank a lot of water, and watched how much food I ate. I’m glad I could do it even while I was traveling. My HbA1c was 5.1 at the start of April.

The Gift

I went back to Chandigarh soon after the trip to get the best gift of my life: my vision was corrected. It only took five minutes, and I was better in just one day. I could picture the world without my glasses after having them for almost 20 years. My mind took a while to get used to this change, so every morning for the next few days I would reach for my glasses. Wow, what freedom. I should have put it first from the start of my career. Not to go overboard, but my life has changed, and I’m more sure of myself in the gym and while driving.

Blood work

My vitals were all the same as the March report but my HbA1c had spiked to 5.8, which is the same as the December 2022 report.

This was largely due to two main reasons

Drinking Juice, which discards the fiber in the form of pulp.
I crave to eat something sweet after my meal, and specifically after my lunch. To satisfy it, I used to eat a spoonful of Sugar-Free Ice Cream.

I quickly realized it and controlled it by eliminating them.

It is easy to understand why and what causes glucose spike, but it is hard to control their consumption in the urban world.

Rant on Diabetes

Diabetes is slowly turning out to be an epidemic due to eating disorders. Any food items that are processed or refined cause this disorder if they are consumed for a long time.

India, post its independence, was struggling with the quantity of food grains to feed a large undernourished population.

The shift from the consumption of millet to rice/wheat has slowly introduced dietary imbalance in future generations of free India.

New Team

Just after completing 1 year here, I switched teams within Amazon. All the folks from the previous team were surprised as I was moving from a profitable org to a non-profitable org but to me, these figures did not matter much. Throughout my career, I have heard these narratives and found them futile. What impressed me about this team was that the leadership was humble enough to talk to me, which in the last team never happened.

Goa Hmmm…

We went to Goa, with F-o-F. It taught me a lot, kind of like Big Boss, where you stay in one house with a bunch of people you know and keep track of how many more days you have to stay there. A little over the top, but we both didn’t like it.

I feel like I don’t always appreciate the good things in my life.

After Goa, We went on a very special trip to a not-so-great place. Dipti got dengue, so we had to go to the hospital as a safety measure. While I was sitting on the top floor of the building, I felt grateful that I could afford to go to a private hospital for care.

Gagan, Anuj and Yogita supported us in all forms they could, from bringing papaya’s medicines, and its leaves which helped in increasing the blood platelets count. Our house aid, brought us fruits when we came back home. But the real fun in all this was in convincing Dipti to drink goat’s milk(Procured by another house aid). I won’t forget that moment. 👻

Oh my Toby!

Here I am talking about 1.5 years Beagle whom I babysit just for one day. Damn! That dog was arrogant and spoilt. He just wanted to run away, spoil the house and bite. I have never run out of patience this quickly, but this time I asked his keeper to take him away. In honesty, dogs imitate their keepers, and keepers are the ones that form their habits. You should assess

Whether the dog I am about to keep can be trained?
And importantly, Do I have the willingness to train the dog?

The intent matters, the size of the dog does not. It’s not the dog’s mistake 99% of the time, It’s the keeper’s!

Mysore

Finally, After 8 years in Bengaluru, I went to Mysore and also to Chamundi Hills. And, who else would be a better guide than Anuj? He showed me around the city and reminisced the memories of his college days.

Serai Resort, Bandipur National Park, Sep' 23

The interview

Now, what happened in September, October, and November changed how we did things. No, we did not get the Canada PR. In fact, things got worse between our country and theirs. At the beginning of September, Dipti did an interview for a German company that had been her customer when she had her first job. Amazingly, she was chosen after just one interview, and they invited her and her family to move to Germany. Since her first job, she has wanted to go to Europe.

We chose to take things one step at a time because she was both excited and stressed out. After the verbal approval, we had to wait two weeks for the contract to be signed before we could start the visa process.

Once we had the contract with her right name on it(A big deal for this employer), we rescheduled our trip home for Diwali, which was originally scheduled in November, to the middle of October. We could now go to both the visa interview in Delhi and my cousin’s engagement because of this change in plans.

I wanted to stay in Delhi and eat food from the area. This ended up being the primary justification for our first trip to the visa office, as we didn’t have all of our paperwork together. We had a 250-page contract (printed twice) with us, which surprised the visa officer😂. We found out later that the company had not given us the full set of papers, even though Dipti had asked for them by looking at the list. No matter what, seeing the visa officer read the 250-page contract was funny. Plus, we were both dressed up for the event. Dipti was wearing heels 😂. We were out of the visa office in thirty minutes, around 9:30 AM. We had to carry the formals throughout the day because our bags were at the hotel near the train station, and our train home was late that night. Damn!

While I’m used to failures like that because I never get my work done the first time, Dipti wasn’t so prepared for it. She was a little angry that her employer hadn’t given her the document checklist for the Germany visa, even though she had carefully looked through it.

There were many places in Connaught Place where we could get tea and food. These were some of the best restaurants in Delhi. There was a long line outside of Qutub Minar, so we took the same auto-rickshaw to Select City-Walk Mall instead.

I had a great time in Delhi. I got to party hard with Dipti’s sister and brother-in-law, take a long walk on Kartavya Path, which goes from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan, and eat delicious Delhi street food that has been around for a long time.

Home

We were back at home and Dipti started multi-tasking. She had to get her documents for the visa which involved writing cover letters, getting Germany approved employment letter, and her study validation which was quite a bit of clerical work. She also had to get her dresses stitched for the wedding which is an elaborate task for the women in India as they need clothes for many different occasions in one wedding.

It was a pretty engagement, and my brother got down on one knee while they were swapping rings. Everyone told me how fit I looked, which scared me because I get nervous when people say nice things about me. Later that night, something strange happened, Forget it.

Life at home is simple but engaging. We have a full house and everyone is just so excited to see us there with them.

As an avid World Cup fan, I couldn’t have been happier that this year’s tournament was held in India. I think India should at least win their match versus Pakistan. For me, this one match is paramount. Despite not losing a single match, India lost in the final match of the tournament💔.

Kachori

My office started talking to me about moving to Germany, and they helped me out by giving me three months of work-from-home(There is a catch here). Now that this was taken care of, Dipti got all the necessary printouts (LOL) and put them to match the list. After making sure everything was ready, we went back to the Visa office to finish the process. This time, I even ate the Kachori I forgot to eat the first time. It took a week to get the visa approved. If everything is set up right, the process is pretty simple.

2nd Milestone

We completed 2 years of marriage and went out for lunch with family and drinks with Lovish in the evening.

Dipti’s decision

Soon it was our time to head back to Bengaluru after 1.5 months of stay at home. Up until now, only close friends and family knew that we were likely to move to Germany. I have asked Dipti to think about the decision only when we are back in Bengaluru and when she has her space. At home, I feel my decisions are biased by my surroundings but here in Bengaluru, I can think straight.

I let Dipti make the choice, but I was already thinking about what we would need to do if we moved, like making a list of things to sell, move, and give away. We even made room at home for our things to come from Bengaluru.

I started researching about the immediate process that we have to do once we arrive in Germany.

As luck would have it

Dipti has chosen not to move to Germany. I know I’m thinking too much, but I think my fate is grounded in India, and this might be a sign that I shouldn’t move to Canada after all.

While we were in all of this, I got the news that my last team was laid off🫂, So here I am at least having to work on things that I love 🫥. These turns of events make me thankful that someone is watching out for me. It’s possible that I will only get what I need instead of what I want.

Summary

The way I used to live my life has changed this year. I was more aware of my surroundings, watched what I ate and drank, paid more attention to my habits, and spent a lot more time on my mental health.

Reading is helping me.

I was able to figure out what I could control and what I couldn’t by reading The Daily Stoic. Think Big has helped me realize how I am anchoring myself to the cause and the effect. WHY CALORIES DON’T COUNT guided me to add more fibre to my food and I understood the currency of energy in our body. Thinking, Fast & Slow introduced me to System 1 and System 2 of my brain.

Good

I control only myself - Realising that having a good time or being promoted at work is not under my control, but having peace of mind irrespective of circumstances is under my control.
Staying happy in the present - I can’t control whether I go to Canada or not, but I can control how happy I am where I am. What difference will it make if I move there? Earning in Dollars definitely, but will I be happy? No amount of searching will bring me happiness if I am unhappy with my present situation.
Healthy body, health life - The only thing I can have only once in my whole life is my body. I’m trying to be more aware of how I eat and change my habits. I’ve cut down on how much I drink, even when I’m in my close circle.
Affirmation, Reflection, and Gratitude - I start and end my day with positive affirmations, maintain a journal feel gratitude and reflect on myself.
Stay together - Germany’s visa process and that period confirmed in my mind that irrespective of the country that we move to, We have to stay together.
Body Confidence - I am much more confident in the gym and able to strength train myself.
Snduges - Self nudges, I’ve set up a way for myself to remind me of things. They help me remember to take multivitamins every other day, drink water every two hours, order veggies for the week every Sunday morning, and read affirmations every morning and in the evening.

Need improvements

Anchoring/Tunnel vision - My wife has been much more supportive, especially in helping me to stop dwelling on the fact that I have not been promoted at work and start focusing on the things that are truly important to me. I keep going around in circles, even though I’m attempting to intervene and shift my focus to more good things.
Temper - Even though I’m trying to be patient, I lose my temper after two or three tries and give up on the conversation or task at hand.
Setup Moral, Natural, and Rational - Being aware is not enough, I should improve my decision-making skills. I was seeking Dipti’s advice on whether she wanted to go to the hospital during Dengue, even though I was aware that going to the hospital was the right choice.
Take control - No cruise controlling.
First time in my Career - There has not been a year since I started working when I did not get a pay raise, outside offer or a promotion. This year was a complete draught.
Screen time - There is slight improvement in how much I use my phone, but I spend more than enough time on my iPad before I sleep.

Goals

Social	Health	Travel	Hobby
❌ Donate food (Burger and Biryani)	✅ 62 Kgs	❌ Travel 1 or 2 international	✅ Read 12 books

Prelude

I’ve begun to work on my plans for the coming year. This time, instead of putting them into broad categories like “Social,” “Hobby,” “Travel,” and “Health” I’ll put them into smaller groups. This year was the start of living a more aware life instead of just coasting through it.

Happy New Year 2024 🌈✌🏽