Skip to main content

Posts

The Joy of Doing

Have you ever felt happy when you have been extremely busy both at home and work and that feeling when you plop on the bed at the end of the night is unbeatable ! I have realized that as much as I enjoy the mindless scrolling or binge watching, I love a good day's work. Now I have split it into micro tasks over multiple days to accomplish something without feeling burnt out ! Two birds in one stone.   Satisfaction over completion of a task and satisfaction of a clean home, organized shelves, completed chores. The other fact that i have observed it is that by merely listing out all the tasks at hand, I have been able to accomplish a lot more than I could have ever imagined. I love making lists, but the mundane chores never made it to my elite lists sheets. Earlier this year, I got into the habit of writing down to-dos on a diary and keeping that sheet visible to all. My better half and I are diligent in ticking stuff off and even more diligent in adding some of thos...
Recent posts

Routine gives confidence

When I started driving last year, I started off confidently, lost it after a small damage, or maybe a couple of scratches and mistakes both mine as well as that of others. But then I set out to hit a small goal of 1000 km this year. Started strong on Jan 1st and then right then a bike skid and fell under my car, which I had thankfully stopped on time. And then March and April went away in hospital visits and crazy days. May, I tried to get my mojo back. Every WFH day ended up becoming an opportunity to drive 10 km to pick up my son and return. The same route, same routine, same time helped me get more muscle memory. I still get scared at certain points but I am able to handle a majority of the challenges  so far. Repetition helps. Repetition makes the difficulty seem not so difficult. Repetition makes me better than I was yesterday and that's the only version I intend to compete with.  Every day makes me a bit more stronger and braver. Every time I am able to start...

Recipe experiments with AI

So yesterday I posted this photo of an uttapam with two types of chutney which immediately prompted someone to ask me for the recipe.  Usually I'd be too lazy to type it out but hey I am an enthusiastic Claude.ai user. I jumped into it with two types of prompts. One typed and one one voice message and both gave out a nice recipe card. I am in love with it. Maybe I'll put up recipes of everything I cook if it was this simple to share the details. No hassle of typing it out and at the same time I can give exact instructions of how I made it.  Simple steps that make our lives easier and help me document an online repository of things I make. Maybe I'll turn this into a series or it may become a spin off from this blog.. Samayal chupke chupke...my secret recipes...  Happy cooking and happy reading !!!  Prompt: this was typed Help me write a nice recipe for peanut tomato chutney based on the following instructions. Take one cup of roasted, unsalted peanuts, g...

The Smooth Adventures of SuperH

 Once upon a time in the busy city of Bumpleville, there lived a special superhero named SuperH. Now, SuperH wasn't your ordinary hero. His amazing superpower was making rough things smooth, which might not sound exciting at first, but wait until you hear what happened! In Bumpleville, everything was perfectly fine until one day, a mischievous villain named Dr. Gravel arrived. Dr. Gravel had the terrible power to make everything rough and bumpy. He turned smooth sidewalks into gravel paths, made soft pillows feel like sandpaper, and even made ice cream filled with crunchy bits! "Soon all of Bumpleville will be rough and uncomfortable!" Dr. Gravel cackled. "Everyone will be too irritated to sleep!" Children couldn't sleep on their now-rough beds. Parents couldn't drive on the bumpy roads. Everyone was grumpy from lack of sleep. That's when SuperH swooped into action! With a gentle wave of his hand, he smoothed out the rough sidewalks so people could w...

My Wheels!

  April, this year, my better half took me to a car showroom and we just ended up booking a car for myself on my birthday. Best gift ever! Though I made the transactions, him making the decision on the car and taking me there was very special. I had not pursued driving at all since I received my DL in 2004! Close to 20 years later, I have suddenly found confidence and the enthusiasm to drive. I learned in Chennai and often would take Appa's car, but it was his office car, so was always scared of any potential damage. Then my husband's car. His parents always used to worry about the tiniest damage on the car and that was excuse enough to not gain confidence in driving his car. So, a year back, I had decided I had to buy one for myself to gain confidence. I am now wondering why I didnt do it any sooner!  I am loving my new wheels and I love how I managed to drive 35 kilometers in just a day yesterday! It's a month since I got my new car and my confidence is high! This was als...

The Man

  Last week, this song "The Man" by Taylor Swift, played as I walked into office. It felt like a great way to start my work as I marched into my floor and inside my cabin. Pumped, I start my daily routine at work and as I get through the day, I realize I enjoy my work and that I am good at it. Would I be at a different level if I were a man? Maybe. But I would rather go through my journey my way because we cannot keep regretting what we cannot change. However, I do lend that hand to a younger woman and guide her so she learns from my mistakes too and can work smarter. I make sure I am the person representing my girl-tribe in moments where their skills are sought for.  This also reminds me of Cher's interview where she says that instead of marrying a rich man, she was the Rich Man !  I'm so sick of running as fast as I can Wondering if I'd get there quicker If I was a man And I'm so sick of them coming at me again 'Cause if I was a man Then I'd be the m...

Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.

Some days when you don't want to start on some new show and you don't want to watch something without knowing the ending, you'd go back to shows or movies that you have loved as a child. Yesterday was one such day. I went on to watch Jim Carrey's "The Truman Show". When I watched it as a younger person, I liked it for Jim's acting and the entire storyline seemed outrageous and yet heartbreaking. How can one person's life be in front of camera all the time and how can one be living a lie !  Present age, in 2024, when I watched this, I saw it in a different light. With social media being rampant, with everyone having access to cameras on their phone to instantly capture a video, no one can escape being a "Truman". Any instance of your life can be captured by someone and you could end up being ridiculed or hailed a superstar overnight. The superstardom can fall overnight too, but the ridicule remains long after it subsides too. We also live a li...