365 days of Googling.

Today I complete a year of working in an organization that needs no introduction or warrant more fan-worship than you already see ( justifiably ) splashed all over , including/mainly on your facebook wall ( if you have Googler friends or are one ). I , like most of my colleagues ,love my workplace, love the fact that it's pampered me more than i expected, overwhelmed me with the good things. A year in which I got my first job, started a home ( or three in my case!) from scratch, paid for my rather expensive, existence on earth all by myself, and was given an identity that many could and do envy. A year in which I faced small failures , but even more small achievements, had reasons to crib, reasons to exult, and at times, too many luxuries, little comfort. But this day is significant to me in more ways than one. This past year has been a crazy, bitter-sweet ride, of learning, unlearning, knowing new people, losing some, being away from family, making a new family, travelling,experiencing, loving, being loved, being hurt, growing up, growing- that can hardly be summed up in a post.

BUT this also has been a year of some crazy, whacky, and interesting events and some firsts that make for fun reads and hence warrant a bulleted list. Note that hardly any of these have to do with work ( But then, for someone that believes in keeping work and post-work life separate , this is hardly surprising ).

Here goes:


* Living in 3 houses in a year! Each one, more awesome than ( and also pricier) than the last. This includes being kicked out of one house for throwing a "house-warming" party !!

* Going on a bike trip to Leh while also covering Amritsar, Manali, Delhi en route. Travelling with 20almost strangers , transversing through some of the world's most exhilarating yet dangerous routes ( I wouldnt call them roads!) on bullets and visiting the famous Leh and going on the "highest motorable road on earth- at Khardungla ( will definitely qualify for a trip of a lifetime! Add to this the serendipity-the freak chance of us returning barely a week before the tragic flashflood tragedy hit the exact place.

* Completing 26 train ,5 bus ( I'm on one as i write this), 3 air Hyd-Blr-Hyd Journeys in a year till date ! So much so that I've suggested the Indian Railways to start having railway miles ! One of which involved boarding the wrong bus and almost reaching Nagpur instead of Bangalore and a train trip where I did not get a confirmed ticket and shared a berth with a total stranger !

* Listening to possibly every genre of music LIVE, that included, an acapella concert, a german band at the Oktoberfest ( Yes hyd does have one!), a jazz quartet from the Americas, to a local jazz group, old favourite rock bands from Bangalore, to your colleagues croaking away at the weekly karoake nights, a classical, fusion night at the Chowmahalla palace to almost a psy rave - all in the city that's deemed to be musically lacking as compared to its more rocking neighbors like Bangalore n Chennai and falling in love with Hyderabad, one good experience at a time.

* For the first time in life, trying out err, pot among other things. All I'd say is, now I know what Bob Marley meant when he said , " When you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself."

*Having a phone stolen from right under my nose at a party thrown by me in my own house!( house 1). ( so clearly, throwing parties is not exactly the most fortuituous thing for me )

* Discovering that my new flatmate, that I knew little from college, was actually an old neighbour that I've played with in my fresh teens days ! ( I hope you're reading this M. Trust me this little 'coincidence' is curious enough for me to include it in here)

*Being proposed to by a guy, on top of a hill at 3 am ( and no we never dated !)

*With no prior experience or zero knowledge of it , painting my own room with a borrowed paintbrush and the cheapest quality paint ever available with the help of a friend that I was meeting for the 2nd time in life and giving it a complete , incredible makeover ! ( make sure to ask me for before/after pics )

*Finally meeting my first and best online friend of 8 years in person and hitting it off like I'd known him forever !! ( I know you're reading it JKR ;)


So those are all the points I remember off the top of my head and/or I' willing to divulge in public :P

All in all, 2010 has been a year of full of things it has given me and things it has taken away from me...
2011, should be interesting, even if I wish for it to be a little redeeming...
Time for new beginnings, new endings and hopefully resolutions that will meet their ends :-)
On that note, Happy New Year to you alll....

In comments, do share interesting tidbits from your past year and resolutions...