It has been AGES since I did this. No, really! And to think, this used to be a regular feature on my blog once upon a time.
January
We shifted houses this month. Moved further away from the city, but closer to the husband’s workplace. Since I wasn’t working full-time it made more sense to do so. Setting up the place took time since the previous tenants hadn’t been stringent about maintenance and the landlord themselves being lax about it since they had been looking to sell the flat initially, only turning to rent it once they didn’t see that working out.
All that maintenance didn’t work well for us budget-wise. We had to get everyone from the plumber to the carpenter to get the house in order. Tiny things really. But all of that adds up to quite a bit.
Attended a cousin’s wedding which took place in different parts of the city (30 kms from each other) since there were two venues given that it was an inter-state wedding! The mad travel but within the city, for two venues on the same fricking day (morning one venue and evening another) was crazy but fun. Kerala (groom) weds Agra (bride). Can’t get more diverse than that!
What I liked about this month? Although the change of home was intially discomforting, we eventually realised this worked out well for us.
What I didn’t like about this month? Me still without a job. And hubby struggling with a terrible boss in his. Not to mention a punishment department transfer. Don’t ask!
February
A better month than the previous one. We slowly started settling into the house. Attended another cousin’s wedding, this time in Kerala. The last wedding of this season from the looks of it.
The month from where things slowly started turning for the better perhaps. Husband got promoted at work. Came quite unexpectedly. The feeling took awhile to sink in. Very well deserved, especially for tolerating that monster-boss of his!
Unexpectedly ran into an old friend after the gap of a decade. Yes the same one mentioned in that linked post (read month of January 😀 ). And realised that sometimes with some people time is just relative. A decade can go in a second, and sometimes a few minutes can feel like forever. In his case, it is definitely the former. Bygones be bygones, promised myself to stay in touch going ahead. Some friendships are not worth losing.
March
Any better reason to smile than the fact that it is my birthday month?
Even better, I got an opportunity to work remotely from home for a startup firm. Came through a friend. The job hunt was still on though.
Best of all, I started on something that had been pending for about 2 decades perhaps. I started learning music! Online that too, so that there is no more excuse of not being able to find a class nearby etc.
April
Enjoyed a beautiful holiday trip to Mahabaleshwar. The weather was perfect and so was the stay. Munched on all the fresh strawberries I could get my hands on!
Also finally made mention on the blog about my new hobby.
May
The sweltering, punishing summer was torture to endure (even though most of my time was indoors). There were two job interviews that gave me hope that one or the other may be fruitful in due course. This is after months of not getting even a single interview call in spite applying to numerous places. However things came as a rude shock to me when neither of them panned out.
The highlight of the month was the Ramzan special feast we attended. I have never tried it before but it was worth every moment. The food was heavenly. We stuffed out guts.
June
Celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. The journey has been long and we have made it this far, going strong. Went out for dinner at night, tried out a new restaurant serving Lebanese cuisine. It was a smack-a-licious. Definitely need to head there again!
Unfortunately the month ended on an unexpectedly terrible and shocking note when we got news of my grandfather passing away. He was 91 and going so strong, we definitely thought he’d hit a century. He leaves behind my grandma who is actually the one we all thought would depart sooner given her fluctuating health. We were scrambling to pull together all the loose ends that came apart following his death.
July
The month passed in a flurry because it involved helping my parents settle down after the departure of my grandfather. Parents had to look at shifting base back to Kerala.
We managed to take a quick getaway (belated anniversary trip) that proved a good distraction from the humdrum of life.
Unexpectedly ended up having to return to my grandparents’ house and stay there to take care of my unwell grandmother while parents had to return to their home to sort things out. That turned out to be an unforgettable 10 days. I was regretful of not having had an opportunity to talk to my grandfather before he passed away. But this gave me a window to be with my grandmother in her last days. And stay in the ancestral home again after a long gap.
August
I returned to my husband once folks reached back. 10 days after my return, I got news that my grandmother passed away. Her suffering finally came to an end so I was relieved. If I had refused that chance to stay with her the previous month, I’d have kicked myself about it for the rest of my goddamn life.
I mellowed down a bit after this. The realisation began to dawn that maybe some things do not work for a reason. If I had a job or a child for that matter, I would not have been free to go and stay with her the way I did. Sometimes you get to see the larger picture only much later. Perhaps something else is in store. Let’s wait and see…
September
That time of the year looming again. I decided to make good use of the fact that we shifted to a housing society that takes its festivals and celebrations quite seriously. Given that Navratri was due, they hired someone to come in and teach us the steps for two weeks! I joined in whole-heartedly with full enthusiasm.
I have new found respect for those who practice this with gusto. The amount of stamina it takes it crazy! But it’s an amazing workout and fun too. It took sometime but I started getting the hang of it. Practised like mad, so much so that by the time the final 3 days of festivities reared up in our society, I joined the group with full gusto and was able to match them step by step.
Yay! Here’s to learning one new thing at a time.
October
Attended two more job interviews. Fingers crossed all over again!
Hubby found a new hobby, which I shall also be partaking in soon. He found a gang of friends for biking trips to nearby places. Was quite relieved to see him take it up. He could definitely use it, given the limited/non-existent friends circle in this city, not to mention insane work timings and work-stress he brings back home! Not only that, I am happy our (sidelined) Enfield finally gets some action. We truly haven’t been able to do justice to it since we bought it, except the very first year we had it which was before purchasing our car. That was the only year we used it like mad. Onward to better things!
Restarted music classes which had been paused due to some technical difficulties. It is a year for self-improvement I think!
Not only that, I also managed to restart going to the gym after a long long time. Fortunately managed to find a decent place near my home. And no, it doesn’t mean lifting weights or hitting the machines, these are simply cardio/ floor exercises/ step aerobics for an hour a day, 5 days a week. I had conveniently ignored how unfit I was. This definitely put things into perspective!
November
It was mostly a disappointing month. It reminded me the year was about to end and nothing major was really achieved. Not to mention, the number of deaths in the family.
However the end of the month brought a ray of hope in the form of an interview. While the commute seemed torturous, the role seemed interesting and I nodded yes to the interview.
December
This was the fifth job of the lot that I was interviewed for in total this year. But this was the only one that moved to the second phase. However after the interview they ghosted me. I hate it when any kind of communication disappears without closure, be it an interview or relationship or whatever. Atleast have the decency to end it directly!
Anyway that apart, went to Kochi on a beautiful trip. Had a wedding and a reception to attend. Managed to spend time with the family as well. Brought in New Year at a beach resort having backwaters on one side and the sea on the other. It was glorious.
There is so much to look forward to. Bring it on, 2020. Hopefully may you be kind to us!
Cheers, folks!
C'est la vie, mon ami! 