2020.2.0 Loading! | Report 256

28 Dec 2021 . category: report . Comments
#startup #singapore #bengaluru #bombay #travel #fitness #new year #houseware

Welcome to #257 - the last report for 2021, these statistics make me wonder what these numbers and revolutions mean if not for articial markers designed by humans to make sense of the cosmic hurl through the infinite multiverse.

This blog will start off with a review on the resolutions for the year that was, followed by a very nostalgic photo dump. i’ll then do a rundown on the goals for the coming year and a recap on the last couple weeks. This report has been in the writing as the ideas brewed in my head over the last few days - penning this down in the Bombay residence.

Work: In August/September of this year, i took the decision to move back to India after a solid three year stint in Singapore. Proud of the way i’ve shifted gears, and kept the engine on full throttle throughout. Wrote a few blogs during the transition here and here.

Martial Arts: i started off on my Brazilian JiuJitsu training this January, and continued it religiously till October – falling off the regularity after moving back to Bangalore. Thanks to Coach Vladmir(IRL) and Mr.Rogan(over the internet), i’ve caught the BJJ bug and it’s not leaving anytime soon - it’s a beautiful metaphor that teaches something about life everytime i step on the mats.

Wealth Management: i learnt and diversified my savings across mutual funds, stocks, ETFs, crypto and insurance plans, currently learning the ropes on NFTs. Got around my mental block and finally understood basic financial planning on my own, also budgeted my expenses as i prepared for my move to India.

Balance & relationships: Things didn’t pan out as i would’ve wanted them to, but the silver lining is that i learnt and moved forward without bruises. i’ve realized that these are not goals that we can set and work towards, but self-realizations/feelings that shall guide me.

Information Consumption: i started off the year well with audited social media consumption patterns but fell off the discipline somewhere in the middle of the year. i need Quarter check-ins similar to this year-end blog so as to keep myself regular and accountable.

i spent some time last Friday going through my photos library to prepare for this blog, and smiled endlessly at the good memories i made. These lookbacks cement in my head Casey Neistat’s maxim to prioritize experiences over things. So grateful to be living this life.

First day wearing the Gi - felt so macho!

Snapped this on a sunny afternoon run

Beach Volleyball, next to the National Stadium!

At the temple

Good dinner & vibes at Going Om, Arab Street

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

February’s reading list

Half-marathon on the birthday

Horrible, but deserves its place up there on the experiences

Meals from Nutrition Kitchen

Fitness logs

Pennyboarding around the city

After a long run along the Changi Beach Park

Discovered a quarry on a long run along the Rifle Range Road!

Great times with the gang

Partied on a yacht the entire evening, along the West Coast of Singapore

Got bit by sea urchins on the yacht, got operated on :((

Hot Pot Mala!

Leaving Sam Leong, home for three years

Saw MSD win us the semis in Dubai! One of the best memories of the year :))

Beautiful scenes in Abu Dhabi

Qasr Al Watan, what luxury

Back in Bombay

Houseware’s Hotel office, Bengaluru

Diwali at home

Bye Bye Uber!

Home office, Bengaluru

Weekend Goa getaway, scooting around Vagabond

Battle scars on clay

Phew, that was overwhelming. Onto the next part:

There are a few questions that i shall ask myself on a regular basis to keep myself on the rails.

• Am I spending enough time with the family?
• Am I feeling fulfilled in life?
• Is there anything in life that I need to ask help on from someone?
• Am I contributing enough to the society with my work?
• Am I giving enough time to my hobbies?
• Are things becoming too one-dimensional?

There is an information ingestion framework that i shall follow:

• To stay up-to-date with the industry and the market, i’ve been spending Friday afternoons reading and taking notes. This shall continue as-is, and tuned up even more if possible.
• Personal reading list on weekends: to quench my curiosity. Need some tea, books, sit back, read and think.
• Reading habit: 1 book per month. i was regular on this habit in Singapore, just need to get back on the log now.
• i want to be reading and learning more of physics, history, philosophy and psychology, it gives me joy. Lex Fridman, Veritasium and VSauce are some of my go-to sources right now, this list shall be developed further.
• For my investments, i need to be close to the market and i might have to spend 15-20 minutes everyday to do so. i shall stay up-to-date with web3, even though i might not be able to contribute actively.
• Audit my Instagram and Twitter usage: going off-grid isn’t an option here, but keeping things moderate(20-30 minutes daily) is the goal. To follow Mr.Rogan’s Post & Ghost as much as possible!

i recently learnt of the concept of cognitive empathy being different from emotional empathy. i face a lack of emotional empathy across almost all my relationships and that is both useful and harmful in certain situations. Although emotional empathy is not easy to develop, cognitive empathy seems like something that can be practised like a bicep curl. There’s no definitive quantitative measure to these qualities, and i’ll go with my gut here.

i shall stay close to my hobbies, revisiting my memories shows me how a large percentage of what i remember are first-time experiences. i shall invest in BJJ, skateboarding and making stupid little online movies.

On the fitness front, i will get regular at BJJ(3-4 times a week) from January onwards. i am working on my flexibility with stretching workouts everyday, and i will achieve full front splits by the end of 2022. i currently hover around 14-15% body fat, i will get under 12% and achieve six-pack abs. As part of this, i shall work on meal plans with the help of my cook - make the 12% goal a reality. i aim to continue playing tennis 1-2 times a week and participate in 3-4 AITA tournaments through the year. i shall continue with one-week nofap streaks, they suit me well.

i realized the power of a community during covid, and aim to stay close to friends and family going forward. i have made a list of people i wish to stay close to, and will make a concerted effort to talk to them regularly via meetups/meals/calls. i wish to do a weekend trip and travel to a new location at least once a month, keep the photo library fresh with smiles :))

i am excluding goals for my professional and private life from this blog - as much as i want to make things public, i believe some things are better left for my own eyes only. All existing rituals shall continue as-is, unless there comes up any valid reason to discontinue.

A recap on the last couple weeks:

• Spent a few days working at Wework, exciting couple weeks as we shipped, and planned the ideal technical architecture going forward. Also got my hands dirty with ReactJS as i wrote some frontend code!
• Got a lil deeper into crypto and NFTs with content from GaryVee and Balaji Srinivasan.
• Had a bunch of meetings and calls with old friends and colleagues, felt good to catchup. Talked to a bunch of MBA students at a college about entrepreneurship, good experience giving back to the community.
• Flew to Bombay on Friday, and have been relaxing hard since then. i read somewhere that if you don’t relax hard - then you are neither work hard nor relaxing hard, and that hit home.
• Fitness: Good with the runs, hit a couple 10Ks recently. Regular with the home/gym workouts, but not with BJJ yet. Played tennis last Sunday and bruised my knees as i fell on clay, made Nadal proud.

Keep hammerin’

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