This is becoming a bit of a trend with me (putting them out late), but I enjoyed writing this last year, so I figure I might as well do it again. 2013 was a more eventful year than 2012, but in some ways was also a bit of a disappointment. Here’re the highlights:
Move home
I decided to move back to Bangalore. This was a big change for me. I was afraid of failing by not trying anything new. Fortunately, I can put that fear to rest for a little while since I’ve tried something big this year.
Moving home has been great so far. I’ve been spending a lot more time with my family and dog. I’ve adjusted well into my life here and I’m happy with it. I love not having to do my own laundry, clean my bathroom, and so on. Although I do cook breakfast for myself quite often, it sure is nice to have someone else make me the majority of my meals without having to eat out all the time.
There have really only been a few downsides to living in India. First, there’s just so much food that’s so easily available here that I’m eating way too much food. I have definitely been eating healthier in terms of quality, but the quantity of food I consume has gone up quite a bit. I wasn’t expecting this to be the case, but oh well. I think it’s time I get some willpower and resist the food that’s constantly surrounding me. Second, I left most of my friends behind in the US, so I don’t have too many down here in Bangalore. I’ve never been a particularly social person (which is why this hasn’t really bothered me here), but the bay area made me be a lot more social than I’ve ever been. I’ve got to find a way to go back to being a bit more social here. Third, living in India makes you question a few things about life at a macro level. I’ve always been a pretty selfish person and don’t really care too much about the world. However, some things are so bad here that I may have to change my view about this and stop being so selfish.
Weight loss and exercise
This was the most disappointing thing about 2013. I got nowhere near my goal of getting down to 160 lbs (72.5 kg). I finished the year at 173 lbs (78.4 kg). I started the year of well, maintained my weight for a few months, and then during my move to India picked up quite a bit of weight. Fortunately, I didn’t slack off towards the end of the year, which had me on a downward trend.
I started the year off strongly on my bike. The winter didn’t keep me off my bike for too long. I added two more people to my small list of biking friends. Unfortunately, when I decied to move back to India, my biking activity took a nose dive. However, I started going to a gym regularly. This has been my saving grace. I would have added another 3-4 kilograms over the last couple of months had I not been busting my ass at the gym. This has resulted in me getting a lot stronger, and I can now run longer than I have been able to in a long, long time.
Photography
I decided to take photography more seriously this year by starting a photo a day blog. It’s been really fun doing this. I haven’t quite done a photo a day, but I’ve kept up for the most part. I’m happy to say that I’ve gotten pretty good at creating background blur with my f/1.8 50mm prime. I’ve also gotten pretty decent at night photography.
2014
The biggest goal I have for 2014 is to be able to hit 72.5 kg (160lbs). I also want to be able to run 10 km at a stretch. I’d like to start playing some more golf now that Eagleton has become more accessible to me. I want to get out a bit and travel. I haven’t really traveled in a while and I want to change that. I will keep my photo a day blog going for at least a year from when I started it. Hopefully I get all the things I want to do done :)
Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!