2011 - A Year to Remember, A Year to Forget

"It was the best of times, It was the worst of times, It was the age of wisdom, It was the age of foolishness,
It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
It was the season of Light, It was the season of Darkness,
It was the Spring of Hope, It was the Winter of Despair,
I had Everything before Me, I had Nothing before Me"

- A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

Nothing could be as apt to sum up my year.

I moved Cities, I moved Homes, I moved jobs... I moved, moved, moved... and achieved some semblence of normalcy in my life.

I experienced the joys of having Time on my hands, a precious commodity for someone who did everything by the clock for two years...
I experienced the downfalls of having too much time to think, unfortunate for someone who got time to think after a long time.

I returned to baking like a long lost lover... It has been my help and support system throughout the year... I could not have had a complete year without all that butter, flour & sugar in my kitchen... not to mention all the other exotic stuff that kept popping up.

I took to smartphone like a fish to water... I always thought I was a technophobe... I love my Samsung S2 and I love love taking pictures with it too. The DSLR can wait till I have more saved up.

I enjoyed work... But I refused to bring it home with me... I had a year where I dint get stressed about work after I got back home... (Touch Wood.... hope things dont change from tomorrow)

I lost too many people this year... in relationships and to life after... All of them really painful...

I did not shop too much this year... Figured I could survive on the clothes I had...

My crockery collection grows bigger... all of them different pieces and nothing in a set. I hope to be an adult soon and start getting full sets.

I went without TV for 3 months of 2011... I loved it! Actually, still loving it... with no plans to get a TV soon... It gave me time to cook, read and only watch the shows I really liked on my comp. And of course, lots of time to think and work out stuff!

I survived two family weddings this year :-) a little fun, a little difficult, but then whats life without either of them.

I miss Bombay and life back there. But I can't turn back time, and I am quite ok with Now.

I met new people, made new friends, forgot some old people and kept in touch with ones who really mattered.

I visit home a lot more,  I've learnt to have long conversations on phone with my Mum.

I still dont talk much, I've become more of a recluse, my extended family is mostly scared of me.

I wake up everyday not feeling scared, not feeling worried, not feeling tensed, not feeling stressed. Not too much else a person can ask for.

I did a lot of soul searching, called up astrologers, went to church on Thursdays, but still have a mental block on going to church on Sundays.

I believe astrology is math & science.... but you really need some divine intervention to figure out such complicated math :-) not too many people out there have gotten it right.

I felt on top of the world when I got my Macarons right... I almost cried after the third attempt when i thought I'd gotten it right and the feet dint come out at all... But I whipped up the courage to try it out again and used my senses instead of just sticking to a recipe and instructions and voila! it turned out all right.

I've come to trust my taste buds a lot more... a lot lot more...

I'm getting closer and closer to figuring out what I want to do in life... afterall i've had 31 years to think it out...

I've realised that rather that retiring at 40, why not do something I enjoy my whole life?

I found me this year... From all the despair, struggle, soul searching, there seems to be a ray of light, a streak of hope... what more could I have asked of 2011?

Now the only thing to do is - "Wait & Hope" - My favourite quote from my favourite book.. ( Doesn't matter the book is all about revenge... it remains my favourite from the time I turned 10)

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PS: I also hope to be less abrasive in 2012, eat a lot healthier and make the most of my time whatever I do.