After an amazing 2016, let us dive in what’s in store for 2017.
The first couple months were very quiet. She returned to her place after spending a couple weeks in the US & I got back to my “studies” & life in the Connecticut. During these first two months of 2017. I excelled significantly in my academic year. I did “okay” in my grades, but the more important thing was that I secured two part-time jobs through UConn’s placement cell and I couldn’t be happier with the way things were going. Securing a couple part-time jobs gave me desperate flexibility that I needed to study at UConn without worrying about the monetary burden on my parents back home in India and I became “a little” self-sufficient sooner than I thought. Those were beautiful couple of months for me.
March started off with celebrations. I made so many friends and more importantly, those were friends to vouch for and there was a genuine love and respect among us. Every weekend, we used to spend time together and go out for food and fun!
This weekend, we wanted to check out some Asian food and ended up going to a restaurant (I am not able to recollect the name right now) which was suggested by a couple other friends. We wanted to give it a shot and I, being the newest member of the group kept an open mind before heading to this restaurant.
When we entered the restaurant, I felt so out of place. People were well dressed, they were enjoying their food and having wonderful discussions with each other and most of them were older than us. I walked in with a pair of jeans and a leather jacket, which felt so out of place for a nice restaurant. But, again, I didn’t pay attention and grabbed my seat. This is where I looked up to my friends to order for me. I wasn’t well versed with ordering food for myself in a restaurant as I hadn’t gone out that much due to this thing called “money”. I was so lucky, they not only helped me with the kind of food that I would like but also the quantity. Having spent the last few months together, they knew I would need more food than an average person, so they ordered a “nice” & “wholesome” dish for me which would satiate my hunger.
The presentation and the flavor of the dish was simply amazing. The chef presented it in such a way that it didn’t “feel” that much food, but once I started consuming it, I ended up finishing the whole dish, without leaving much. My friends were both surprised and amused to find out I could finish the entire thing. Looking at that dish, it reminded me of the type of fish we used to eat back home as a family and it resembled with it in terms of presentation. The taste, however, could have been a little better. Nothing to blame to chef as no one can compete with the food cooked my your Mom, right?
The spicy food was followed by a couple desert. Loved it and I think we finished in no more than 2 minutes.
It was a nice evening spent with lovely people around and so many memories.
Week 37 was super awesome for me. I am at 689 miles right now. The target is to complete 706 miles by the end of week 38. Will I get there? Let’s find out.
Day 1 – Sunday, September 20, 2020 – Quarantine Day 188 This was the first weekend in the last 6-7 months that we didn’t do anything. We just relaxed, enjoyed the sun, and had some good food.
Yesterday was spent running a few errands and taking care of a few things. Today, well, we relaxed a lot. Today was the first day I did what I like to do the most – afternoon naps. I was so glad to finally have gotten time to take a nap on a lazy Sunday afternoon. That feeling of getting soaked in the Sun right in your backyard and letting sleep take over your body is amazing. I am a sucker for moments like these. We had a lovely brunch in the backyard, followed by some fruits, and Chai. As soon as we were done chitchatting after all this, I just laid down a little bit and before I knew it, I was drooling – always a sign of a good nap (for me)! It was an amazing feeling.
After I woke up, I made myself a cup of Joe & then played Cricket and Soccer with the kids before dozing off at around 9PM. Well deserved relaxing Sunday!
Day 2 – Monday, September 21, 2020 – Quarantine Day 189 The first day of the workweek and it couldn’t be better.
During lunchtime, I was looking at my bike “Jinx” and noticed it was leaking some air from the front tire. I had to take it to the bike shop who helped me fixed the issue. Once Jinx was fixed, I took it for a spin and completed some short loops of 2-3 miles. It was an awesome feeling to see it fine-tuned one more time during this week of extremely good Michigan weather.
Apart from these short bike rides, it was time for a quick 5K around the neighborhood to take the first step in completing my weekly running distance. The afternoon was busy with a flurry of meetings and work.
The evening was spent at the NHS. There were all sorts of games and practices going on. Kids were playing soccer, lawn tennis, football. Other kids were marching with their bands and whatnot. We could finish a quick 5K before calling it a day. The interesting thing about this 5K was that this was my 3rd quickest 5K and one of those rare miles which I finished under 8 minutes. This was the 2nd mile of the 5K run and couldn’t be happier with the efforts.
I am just 4 miles short of the 700 miles distance. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the day!
Day 3 – Tuesday, September 22, 2020 – Quarantine Day 190 Today was a complete rest day for me. Yesterday’s biking and running were just a little bit too much and both my knees were crying for help, so I listened to my body and took the rest day.
The feat of accomplishing 700 miles for the year is delayed by a day!!
Day 4 – Wednesday, September 23, 2020– Quarantine Day 191 One Rest Day followed by the second. My left knee was still in a little bit of pain, so I wanted to take things slowly and give enough rest to my knees before I go out and run again.
The feeling of doing nothing was great and my knees really needed that.
Day 5 – Thursday, September 24, 2020– Quarantine Day 192 I went out for a run after resting for a good couple of days. My knees felt better, my breathing was remarkable and the weather was so good that I hardly sweated during the 4.3 miles run.
I went out for a short run, to see how my legs felt. The feeling of running again after a couple day was so great that I ended up taking a detour to add a couple miles more to the run. The special thing about this run was that I finished 700 miles of running for the year 2020. This is a huge milestone and there is still some work to be done, but, I know, with enough consistency, I will definitely get there!
Day 6 – Friday, September 25, 2020– Quarantine Day 193 One more rest for this week. The work kept me occupied for the better part of the day and the evening was spent grocery shopping and taking care of the chores. One more rest day and my legs couldn’t feel better. I am hoping to get one more run before this weekend. Will I be able to do it? I don’t know! 🤷🏽♂️
Day 7 – Saturday, September 26, 2020– Quarantine Day 194 What an awesome Saturday!
I couldn’t go out for a run, but, we went out for biking and this time, we chose the Clinton Huron Trail. The weather in Michigan couldn’t be better and the fact that we were biking by the river just sweeten the deal. The constant supply of the cool breeze and countless places to check out, this bike ride was filled with many cherishable moments, which made it hard to handpick some of the special ones. The highlight of the bike ride for me was the lunch in Downtown Clinton. We had some pizza and the kids loved the ice cream too. When we were going to pick up our food, the walk through the busy streets of Downtown helped us live a little normal life, which had been disrupted for the most part of the year.
It felt good to be out again in this awesome and beautiful Michigan weather. Cheers!
What an year! One sentence – “2016 was a life changing year for me!“
The biggest transformation was to switch from the Indian culture to the Western Culture, which I am happy to say wasn’t difficult for me. I had always been a social person, so after coming to the US, this social nature has helped me *only* thrive with my friends and connections that I could build throughout 2016.
There were lows as well during this year. There was a period, just before coming to the US, I was unsure about my future. I had secured my place at UConn, and was all set to come to the US. Keeping the notice period of my then employer and spending enough time with family in mind, I resigned in early May. Little did I know that the road to securing the loan would not be that smooth and easy. I applied at various banks and places, to no avail. I was resuscitated by Prodigy Finance who approved my loan application. I still remember that day and will never forget. I was teaching a class in Bangalore on an afternoon. That’s when I got a notification on my phone and I opened it with care and I could hear my hearbeat going crazy. At that moment, the fastest WiFi in Bangalore seemed slow to let me open that email. Finally, when I actually saw the subject line and the word“Congratulations!”, that was the moment for me. Since early childhood, I had been dreaming about coming to the US, and that dream was about to get real. Receiving that email and securing the loan meant increased odds at my student visa approval and hassle free ticket booking. That email was not only the approval of my student loan, but an approval of my lifelong dreams and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.
Apart from the journey to the US, the other highlights that come to mind are –
Saying goodbye to the family – this was one of the hardest things I had to. I knew my life would not be the same when I took that train from Nagpur to Mumbai and then a flight from Mumbai to New York. I knew my love would multifold after leaving home, but it would just not be the same – not seeing their lovely and smiling face and not able to visit home every once in a while.
Meeting her in the US – this was definitely my highlight during the stay in the US. I didn’t even imagine she would come here in the US to meet me so that we could spend holidays together. Her love was real and so was mine.
Exploring US – I did get a chance to explore US (both East Coast and West Coast) within the first couple months I got here. I had fun in Las Vegas, California, and got to meet some friends from India in the Alumni Meet at New Jersey & then there were random trips with cricket buddies across Connecticut.
Having gone through all these highlights, it really came to a fitting point that I celebrate this new year with my Hartford roommates. We had a nice time, doing what single guys do on a new year’s eve. Though I looked happy in the pictures, deep down I was still missing her as it was only a day for her to leave US and me. I missed her among my friends during this special day of the year.
The day I was dreading the most for finally came. After returning from our almost week long US East Coast tour of cities like Boston, New York City, and Washington D.C., we had a couple days for ourselves to help her pack her bags and shop for some last minute items.
These last couple days have kept us occupied thinking and working on our relationship, which was becoming harder due to the geographical distance. We both tried to avoid discussing this but deep down, we both knew, we needed to sit down and talk about it. Unfortunately, that “time” didn’t come. We both were a different people back then and “thought” it would work automatically.
Anyway. On the day she was leaving, I had booked a shuttle from Hartford to NYC and the plan was to leave at around 4PM to get to NYC at around 7-8PM and then reach JFK by 10PM for her 1AM flight according to the Eastern time. We got up in the morning and cooked and ate the breakfast together. She was gracious and kind enough to cook a meal for my roommates as a token of appreciation for letting her stay in the apartment. I loved her that gesture.
The one incident that I still remember from that day was her crying in the bathroom. I was in the living room talking to my roommate and letting them know when I was going to come back from NYC after dropping her off at JFK. That’s when I realized the time and went in my bedroom to check up on her; she was still in the bathroom, so I waited outside for her. The moment she walked out of the bathroom, I realized she was not her normal self and must be something wrong. I inquired once, she said she’s fine. Twice – again the same answer. And the third time too got the same answer, so, unfortunately, I had to drop it thinking that she must be sad that she was leaving me and the US and was going far away.
After the lunch, we waited downstairs for our shuttle to arrive and within a few minutes, we were on our way to NYC. We talked throughout during the 2-3 hour drive and shared many things with each other. We shared our feelings with each other, with the promise to be together and work out this long distance thing pretty soon. Somewhere deep down we both knew it will be a long road and a difficult one too, but the positive part was that the both of us were somewhat ready to take that effort and actually work on the relationship.
Anyway, each passing minute was killing me because I knew, as soon as she gets on that plane, I will be all alone again in this unknown country and I wouldn’t have anyone like her close to me with whom I could share my feelings and emotions. For me, it was a sad thing that she was leaving and I really wanted her to stay with me as she was one of those people with whom I could share literally anything.
Coming back to our journey to NYC, we requested our shuttle guy to drop us off at the Times Square. From there, we got the metro to JFK and that’s when it really hit me that she was actually leaving. Over these many years, whenever I am introduced with the long travel either for myself or my loved ones, I have observed that, it hits me whenever it is actually about to happen. It happened with me when I left Bangalore and India, and here it was happening to me again!
We entered the airport together. We grabbed the cart together, put her stuff on the cart together. Walked towards check-in counter together. Did the check-in together. And then came the hard part. As she was travelling alone, the security and immigration and boarding was going to be done by herself.
This is where we were supposed to part ways. This is where we were supposed to bid goodbyes. This is where we were supposed to look each other in eyes and talk. This is where we were supposed to stop talking with each other in person and start using phones to get in touch. & so many more things.
It was a heartbreaking moment, to be honest. I wasn’t ready for it, but the time was not going to wait for me and this is true for everything.
I don’t remember what we talked about. I just remember her smiling face and we bidding goodbyes to each other. We said bye countless times, but both of us don’t seem to take the next step. When it was truly the time for me to let her go and continue her journey I took the lead and told her to continue with her journey and hugged her.
As soon as I started hugging her, I noticed her crying immensely at the thought of us parting ways. I, for one, being an emotional person, couldn’t control my tears and joined her in what turned out to be an awkward moment for the strangers surrounding us. Back then, we did not know how long it would be until we meet each other, so that one single hug was the only thing in the world that was binding us together. Both of us didn’t seem to get enough of it. It was a long time before I realized that I must let go and kick start her journey. It was a hard thing to do but had to be done, you know!
As soon as she crossed the security scanner, that was it! There was no turning back and I couldn’t have done anything. I just stayed there, watched her go past the line and get lost in the crowd. Controlling her tears, she urged me to leave, but I waited for her to get past the crowd and take one last look at her, before I continue my journey back to Hartford.
It was a long and emotional day for the both of us and I had nothing but good wishes for her journey back home. I had a few hours of journey myself, but I wasn’t worried about it and was constantly checking up on her and her flight status throughout the night. When I got to Times Square, that’s when we both realized that we didn’t click a last picture together – which made the last goodbye so more special. It is just in memory and there is no way to see it! For me, that’s the beauty of it.
One more month & this time, changing it from quarantined to working from home. I am sure there will be more of these coming in future.
Let’s reflect on one more month of staying away from people (at least six feet apart).
This month has been filled with many highs and a couple personal losses. The first COVID19 death in our extended family & the loss of our pet dog - Raja. Its a loss which is hard to digest, but with the time, the life goes on. Losing someone changes your perspective and you appreciate little things in life.
The lesson stays the same - NEVER TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED!
Let’s get started with this month, shall we?
MAJOR HAPPENINGS Personal losses This month wasn’t all flowery for me. I mourned the loss of one of my extended family members. This was the first COVID19 death in my extended family. Given the conditions in India and the increasing number of cases of COVID19 positive cases, I don’t have any hopes for it to slow down. The only solution is to come up with a vaccine that might take at least a year from now. As I was mourning the loss of my extended family member, I was throat punched by the fact that we lost our pet dog, Raja. I knew his time was around the corner, but this was sudden and unexpected, to be honest. It was heartbreaking. We watched him grow up from a small puppy to a big dog, who fathered many small puppies. It was a hard fact to come to terms with and I took the time to come back to reality.
First time camping The joy of camping for the first time was unbounded by the fact that we were camping in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In the last post, I did mention that we hiked at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Well, the camping was followed by a quick hike at the same spot. It was bliss and the weather and the Lake Superior couldn’t treat us any better. We camped at the AuTrain Lake Campground & had the best time ever. The highlight of the camping trip was the scary stories that kids told us during the night sitting around the campfire. With kids growing up fast, those stories remind me how cute and innocent they are!
Mr. Arnav’s birthday A sheer joy and excitement seeing their presence. Its a bliss to have kids around, especially during these times. Mr. Arnav turned 7 years old and we celebrated as a family to avoid unsafe celebrations by inviting someone. He demanded to be gifted a few gifts and was overjoyed to find out his wishes came true. More important part of the celebration was that the kids found balloons more exciting and enjoyable as compared to some of the gifts. It was fun!
Biking Hines Drive in its entirety Ever since I came to Michigan almost 3 years ago, Hines Drive has been my favorite go-to spot. There is something magical in that place that keeps me wanting more. When I bought Jinx, I had this plan of completing Hines Drive in its entirety and we did that a month ago. This time, the Michigan weather prompted us to repeat this feat & with kids this time. We were not going to let go of this wonderful opportunity. The only thing we were worried about was whether kids could handle such a long ride. It turned out, we were completely wrong. The kids not only finished the 40 miles distance, they beat every one of us to reach the finish line and were so pumped even after finishing the distance. It is a long way to go, but, I think, they can accomplish 100 miles of biking goal hopefully next year! 🤞🏽
COVID19 POSITIVE CASES IN MICHIGAN The COVID19 Positive Cases were on the rise throughout the US and Michigan was no exception.
Though the Governor of Michigan has put strict #MaskUpMichigan policy, a few people never fail to disappoint us by not wearing masks and partaking in social gatherings. The COVID19 positive cases are in 700+ range for the last few days, crossing 1,100 in one instance. With all the measures and precautions in place, the cases seem to rise which only tells you that the Michiganders are not following the correct guidelines. Hopefully, we will turn this boat around and sail through alive. Wear your masks.
RUNNING Talking about running, two things come to my mind.
The first thing is the number of miles that I ran during this time. I finished 108+ miles during these 30 days and couldn’t be more proud. This just goes on to show that you can accomplish anything if you work on small goals (small runs) which contribute to the one big top-level goal (100 miles distance for a month).
The second highlight was that I ran 3 Half Marathons in this month. It is a feat unimaginable just a few months ago, but, hey, I just did that, right? The more exciting thing was that I scored PR on my last run, finishing the 13.1 miles distance in 2 hours 6 minutes 5 seconds. The last PR was 2 hours 8 minutes 15 seconds.
BIKING Biking has taken a back seat a little bit, but I am okay with that.
I could manage to bike for like ~75 miles and I am not that happy with that, but hey, it’s okay. I know I will bounce back stronger.
HIKING We got the new favorite hiking spot and it was Seven Lakes State Park. We loved the hike and state park so much that we are planning for canoeing and kayaking here next year. Let’s see how it goes. I could hike for like ~22 miles during these 30 days and I am okay with that.
CORE EXERCISES Nada! Nil! Not a bit! Zilch! In short – none!
THE CONCLUSION Be Humble! Be Gentle! Be Polite! & WEAR A MASK!
We arrived quite late last night and our host was gracious enough to let us check in during the wee hours of the night. The apartment was in an absolutely gorgeous building with access to swimming pool and play room. It was super neat apartment and the host was kind enough to put some food and water supplies for us since we were arriving late at night. The plan was to spend the night in the apartment, check out in the morning, explore DC for the whole day and then head Hartford in the evening and spend the last couple days together before she heads back.
It was a solid plan and we loved the way everything that was planned worked out.
In the morning, we freshen up a little, checked out the game room and other wonderful things the apartment building had to offer. After we relaxed a little bit, we headed out to grab a bite before we start our day. Back then, I didn’t know about Panera Bread. That was the spot we stopped at for our breakfast. We wanted to take this day slowly to relax a little bit and put the pace of NYC behind us. I was glad we started the day correctly on that note – taking a leisure walk around the neighborhood where we staying and looking for a good spot for breakfast and that’s when she suggested Panera Bread. This was the first time I was hearing about it, so was a new experience for me and didn’t know what to expect. Once we ordered what we wanted to, I was relieved to find out I liked the food and it was quite fulfilling. It was just the kind of food I needed to start the morning and enjoy the beautiful day in D.C. with her.
After the breakfast, we went back to our Airbnb, grabbed our belongings and headed for the last day of exploration together. The first spot we checked out was the White House. It was a dream come true for a small kid from Patansaongi. Growing up, White House was one of the must visit places for me. I had promised myself that one day, I would go to the US and see White House myself in person. Today, that dream was realized and it brought plethora of emotions which is hard to see through the photos. I was giggling on the inside and also making sure she was having good time too.
After experiencing a flurry of emotions at the White House, we went to the nearby souvenir shop to buy some more stuff for friends and family back home. She bought a few more items which we found attractive and funny enough to share it with everyone! By the time we were done with our “little shopping”, it was almost afternoon and we really needed to grab a bite.
When we were at our Airbnb, we were looking for some delicious Indian food places to check out before our holiday ends. Upon Google searches and reviews, we zeroed in on “Rasika West End” & I would say this was the best decision we made that day. The food, ambiance, and people were so good, it was a perfect way to have one more meal before, you know, she leaves. We ubered to the restaurant and once we were inside, the host graciously helped us with our bags. When we actually sat inside, I felt like so out of place. The place was super sexy and attractive, same were the people. It was a high end restaurant and it was the first time I was experiencing such a fine dining experience, at least in the US and I was glad that I was sharing it with her.
We ordered her favorite food and we devoured it in no time. The highlight for was the Gulab Jamun. They were so good looking and so delicious, every once in a while, I still crave for them. Just writing about the experience made me aware about how delicious those were. Check out the picture below.
After experiencing such a fine dining experience, it was time to cover all the spots in our itinerary. We walked to the Lincoln Memorial as the first spot in National Mall. When I watched the movie “night at the museum” , I really wanted to check out this memorial of the former President of the United States of America (POTUS). I knew I would need to research to find some cool things about this statue and found out that there were some spelling mistakes on the President’s Second Inaugural Address. It was cool to witness those spell mistakes and checking out some cool spots near the memorial. The pictures from this spot turned out to be way cooler than I expected.
We took a walk from Lincoln Memorial to the World War II Memorial. I found it a cool spot to hang out and click photos with the columns from the state of Connecticut as I was staying at CT during that time.
The third spot in the list was the Washington Monument. The building, though looks simple, is astounding to see how tall it is. This spot worked the best as a resting spot, with enough space for us to rest and appreciate the beauty surrounding us. This is where I fell in love with the city. This was the first time I was visiting Washington D.C. and I couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty that this city had to offer and countless leisure and picnic spots around the city.
After relaxing a little bit, it was time to get going to Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. This museum was shown in the movie and I really wanted to check it out from the inside. We waited in line for only a few minutes as it was not a rush hour and was a couple days after the Christmas Day. We (again) rested a little bit inside the museum and spent most of our time exploring things that we liked to see. She seems not that much amused with the museum energy, and for valid reasons, but still participated as I really wanted to check it out. She was disappointed to know that we couldn’t see a Panda in person, which would have been really cool.
As it was getting dark and almost time for our bus to Hartford, we decided to exit the museum and head to the bus station for our late night bus. I still remember when we were catching the bus from Museum to the Bus station, the driver was so kind and humble, he helped us settle in nicely for the ride as we were the only ones in the bus and he didn’t even charge us for the trip. That was such a small gesture from him, but has remained with me all these years and will be with me in future.
As soon as we reached the bus station, we had our dinner, relaxed a bit before it was time to board the bus to New York and from New York to Hartford. I knew it would be a long ride back home, so wanted to nail the timing of the buses so that we get enough sleep during the bus ride and enjoy the last couple days together.
It was a long bus ride It was a hard bus ride With her hands in mine Dozed off in no time!
What an awesome Week36. This week’s target is completing 686 miles. Will I get there? Let’s find out.
Day 1 – Sunday, September 13, 2020 – Quarantine Day 181 Awesome Sunday marked the perfect beginning of the week.
Though I couldn’t run, we made sure we go out for some adventurous activity such as a 40 mile long bike ride. This time we decided to cover the entirety of Hines Drive which is roughly 17.5 miles long stretch. We decided to start at the 0 mile mark and returning from the 17.5 mile mark, or possibly going a little bit ahead to explore UfM Dearborn campus and then get back to our car. The 0 mile mark was in Northville and the 17.5 mile mark was almost in Dearborn. For someone living in Wayne county, they would know it is a long distance and covering it on the bike is a big task, especially when you are biking with kids.
But they are strong kids and I must say they impressed me one more time today. The last time we rode 40 miles or longer, we took more than 6 hours and this time, we could finish it in 5 hours (including all breaks and stops). They are getting better, faster, stronger with each passing day and I couldn’t be more proud of them.
This bike ride was filled with so many highlights and beautiful things to check out on my favorite Hines Drive. I giggled a lot during this bike ride for two reasons – Michigan Weather and Hines Drive. We had a lovely break at the Tim Hortons, Dearborn. I had donuts after many weeks and it was the best meal for kids. We checked out the new construction on the Hines Drive, people celebrating their respective milestones like baby showers, anniversaries, etc. We took our last break on the banks of the Rouge River and devoured mangoes that we brought with us. When we were about to reach the parking lot where we parked our car (the 0 mile mark), the kids just picked up speed and they bolted through me, leaving me to the dust as they always like to – win everything.
It was a Sunday well spent! Do check out some pictures.
Day 2 – Monday, September 14, 2020 – Quarantine Day 182 The first run of the week came on Monday. The work was quite intense today and I hardly had any time to relax and stretch, so logically, in the evening, I had to go out for a quick 5K at NHS. I was careful while running no to run into anyone as kids were playing soccer, football, and cheerleading. I wanted to stay at least 6 feet away from them and at the same time complete my run. I could finish it under 30 minutes, which is always a good feeling.
After the run, we went to our neighborhood’s community park to toss some soccer ball around. It was so cold that we could barely play for 15 minutes and then had to go back home to avoid falling sick from the cold. The dinner was Mr. Aryan’s favorite tomato soup with veggie sandwich.
Day 3 – Tuesday, September 15, 2020 – Quarantine Day 183 The first official rest of the week. As usual, work continued non-stop and I got some breather at the end of the day to stretch my legs. I got to play some baseball for a few minutes with the kids and loved it. They are improving and getting better. After baseball, we headed to play soccer and it was a lovely evening with the glorious and mighty Sun looking after us.
Day 4 – Wednesday, September 16, 2020– Quarantine Day 184 One more long day at work and one more run under the belt. I shut down my laptop at around 4.30PM and went out for our regular run at NHS at around 6PM. The run was pretty normal, with kids tossing the soccer ball around and the adults lapping the NHS tracks. I could finish the 5K in under 28 minutes or so which is always a good time for someone like me. After the 5K, it was time for some soccer and post-soccer, we enjoyed some lovely Hot & Sour soup made by Monika.
Day 5 – Thursday, September 17, 2020– Quarantine Day 185 What a day!
I finished the 11th Half Marathon this day and it couldn’t have been better – it was my PR effort till date. The effort started off with just a mile or two miles long run, which ultimately ballooned into a Half Marathon distance. The good thing was I ran in the community itself, so had a quick access to water and other resources, which helped me freshen up a lot during the rare sunny days in Michigan. I must admit the last mile was really tough and though I was running hard for finishing the Half Marathon distance under 2 hours, I couldn’t achieve it and took 6 more minutes. I am okay with the outcome, since it was my PR effort, but would have been nicer if I could have finished it under 2 hours.
Anyway, with this run, I finished my weekly quota and am looking forward to the next two days to add some additional miles to get a head start for the next week.
Day 6 – Friday, September 18, 2020– Quarantine Day 186 End of the work-week for me and it couldn’t have gone better.
Just before lunch, I got some free time and I could finish a 13-mile bike ride. The weather was extremely pleasant and the shiny sunrays were calling out for me, which I couldn’t ignore. It was like a guilty pleasure for me.
Once I shut down my laptop at around 4.30PM, it was time to go for a quick run before heading to Costco for our weekly grocery shopping. I got a good feeling about the run and could finish 5 miles in under an hour. The only downside was that after the iOS upgrade, Strava couldn’t capture my location and I couldn’t keep track of the map. It’s a small thing but that map would have looked cooler.
Day 7 – Saturday, September 19, 2020– Quarantine Day 187 With the weekly running goal achieved with one day to go and no plans for hiking, we took this day as the official rest day to give our bodies some time to heal and recover. Happy with the progress so far. The goal was to finish 686 miles and glad that I am at most 4 miles ahead of my target. Let’s see how the next week turns out.
Before you go, please check out the weekly highlights.
It was the next logical book in my recommendation list after finishing the Grit. When we recently celebrated Rakshabandhan, Monika asked me what gift I would like to have and if you know me, you would know that I *only* love books as gifts, so there we are with Atomic Habits by James Clear.
This book is an extension of what I have read in some of the previous books like Grit, the 5 AM Club, etc. I have been reading a lot of books on self/personality development and life hacks to live a better, stronger, and healthier life & this book definitely helped me with so many messages which are etched into my mind for eternity. Let us see if I can break those down in a few words.
The common theme throughout the book There is one single message the author is trying to convey throughout the book and to put that in brief – “tiny changes, remarkable differences”. Please allow me to explain. The author is telling us to make a few tiny changes in our daily life, which (over time) will become your habits and eventually cause a big and positive difference in your life. To buttress this analogy, the author has given so many examples throughout this book and that’s what I loved the most about it – the author has started each chapter with a story, which a normal human brain remembers than the actual message itself. There are so many stories to share on this piece, but, I would refrain myself from doing that (in the interest of both time and the length of this blog post).
Four laws of habit The author mentioned the four laws of habit and I agree with him on this. There were so many things that I do without even realizing, which, the author was quick to point out. I guess that’s how human nature is. The author mentioned if you are doing something new or developing a new habit, your mind and body will take time to get used to it; but, if you have a habit which is ingrained in you, your brain and body wouldn’t even realize that you are doing it; that’s the magic of habits. The author’s goal throughout this book is to help you take your body and mind from difficult to do something to not realizing doing something. It is just a magical process.
While doing this, the author has mentioned four laws that we *should* use to ingrain a new habit. These four laws and their basic descriptions are – 1. Make it Obvious – whichever habit you want to constitute, you must make it obvious. For example: putting important things in front of your eyes (on your desk) so that you don’t forget them whenever you go out until it becomes your habit. I do that with my car keys, wallet, and phone. 2. Make is Attractive – once the habit is obvious but still you are not motivated to follow it, you must make it attractive. For example: tell yourself, if you do this habit, promise yourself a pleasant activity *only* after you do this habit/exercise, etc. 3. Make it Easy – this is the most important law. If the habit that you want to follow/ingrain is not easy, then your brain will not tell you to follow this habit, so it is very important to make the habit easy. 4. Make it Satisfying – once the habit is achieved, you must reward yourself. This is very important if you want to come back to this habit because if you reward yourself soon after installing this habit, your brain will associate this habit with the satisfying feeling of the reward, which will help you perform this habit even more. You can find examples of these four laws in the pictures at the end of this blog post.
2-minutes Rule This is a revolutionary method of thinking and tricking your brain to allow your body to do some task or install a habit. Instead of boring you with details – the crisp idea behind this rule is – YOU CAN BREAK DOWN ANY ACTIVITY/HABIT IN 2-MINUTES. IF YOU CAN DO IT IN 2 MINUTES, YOU CAN INSTALL THAT HABIT. I know it sounds weird, funny, and incorrect at first, but let me give you an example. I would quote the author’s example from the book. If your goal is to run a marathon, then here’s how you will break it down according to the 2-minutes rule.
Phase 5 – Running a Marathon (~6 hours)
Phase 4 – Running a 5K (~45 minutes)
Phase 3 – Walking some 10,000 steps (~35 minutes)
Phase 2 – Going out for a 10-minute walk (~10 minutes)
Phase 1 – Putting on your running shoes (~2 minutes)
As you can see, the author is trying to tell us to focus on Phase 1. With a 2-minutes rule, you are telling your brain to just putting on your running shoes. Once you put it on, the next logical activity the brains gets involved is telling you that you already put the shoes on, you might as well go for a 10-minute walk, followed by a few steps, then a 5K, and eventually a Marathon distance. Obviously, this is *not possible* in the first attempt itself, that is why we are more focused on developing this habit. Every time, you put your running shoes on, you will remember your brain telling you to go out for a walk and then eventually more distance.
Habit Installation Protocol The author mentioned this during the initial part of the book and to keep it short, the habit installation protocol goes like this Syntax -> I will [HABIT] at [TIME] in [LOCATION] Example -> I will READ A BOOK at 5.20AM in MY BEDROOM. The author tells you if you just tell yourself that you will read a book (without time and location), at the time of actually reading a book, your brain will start to procrastinate and come up with excuses for not reading a book. If you specifically tell your brain to read that book at a particular time in a particular location, it will remember and trigger you to read it. You can couple it with other habits, which brings us to Habit Stacking.
Habit Stacking If you successfully implemented the Habit Installation Protocol, the next step is to stack habits. The author (very cleverly) put these two ideas together so that we can easily relate those to one another. The central idea of Habit Stacking is if you ingrained a habit successfully, it is time to couple it with a new habit so that there would be an association of these two habits, which the brain would think go together and you would eventually end up doing. I would revisit the above example here as well. It goes like this. Syntax -> I will [HABIT1] at [TIME1] in [LOCATION1/2] & after that, I will [HABIT2] at [TIME2] in [LOCATION1/2] Example -> I will READ A BOOK at 5.20AMin MY BEDROOM & after that, I will EXERCISE at 6AM inBASEMENT.
It sounds such a simple and easy and attractive and obvious (four laws of habit) change and that’s why the brain/mind is tricked into installing and stacking these habits. While mentioning this, the author also pointed out to *always* do some hard thing before the *already ingrained* habit to act as a motivation. For example, if exercising is hard for you and reading is easy, reverse the habit1 and habit2 in the above formula and you will see better results.
Conclusion – Focus on the SYSTEM, not on the GOAL This is a good point for the conclusion. Throughout the book, the author has stressed how important it is to focus on the system and minute details instead of just achieving the goal. While mentioning this, he didn’t downplay the goal-setting strategy, which is important. He just asked a simple question to prove his point – WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU ACHIEVE A GOAL? It hit me so hard because it is so true. When I was doing 30-days 100 push-ups challenge, I was just focused on the goal and not the system. If I would have focused on ingraining it as a habit, I would still be doing that. Alas, that’s not the case right now. The point I am trying to make here is to be a healthy person with a healthy lifestyle instead of focusing on achieving a goal for just 30 days. I am glad that this has improved me mentally for my running. I can see that I have become a runner, instead of focusing on running certain miles per week. Let us see till when it lasts.
This sounds like a good spot to stop. Please check out some pictures from the book itself.
After returning from the Times Square, we were tired, so we didn’t even realize when we went to bed. The morning was pretty normal – getting up, getting ready and eating something for breakfast and then going through the day’s itinerary. These past few days have been a repetition or combination of the above set of activities. It has been roughly 4-5 days we left house and believe it or not, the thought of her going back always was at the back of my head, so even though I wanted to enjoy these moments together, the thought of separation was more severe.
Anyway, for today, we had only one spot in the plan and that was Statue Of Liberty. This was the first time for the both of us to visit the liberty lady and we couldn’t be more excited for this. For every person who comes to the US, the statue of liberty stands for something significant which other strive to achieve and just visiting this spot relieves you of all the worries and helps you calm and enjoy the scene a little bit. I was no exception.
We checked out of our Airbnb well before the check out time as we wanted to head to our next destination directly from the Statue of Liberty. The one thing that I should have known while heading to this spot that they don’t allow the big luggage bags inside. Unfortunately, I didn’t do enough research or asked anyone about it, so it was kind of a bummer when I got to know about it after reaching there. The last minute hurdles ask for some Indian Jugaad. I saw a couple street vendors just outside the ticket center and requested them if we could keep our luggage at their store, to which they agreed, but told it’ll be $20. Being a student in the US, it was a big amount, so I negotiated a little bit and he agreed to keep our bags for $10. Feeling relieved that we won’t have to take care of our bags and stressed that he shouldn’t run away with our belongings, we went to the ticketing center.
The line for tickets was big and I was afraid that it would delay us a little bit, but, fortunately, they opened a new line to avoid the crowd and we were the first in line for that. The day was just getting better and better. After securing the tickets, it was time to get in line for the security check. I should have expected, but didn’t the level of security checks at this spot. It was no less than the Airport Security checks and was impressed with the way they were carrying it out. In minutes, we were in our boats for the Liberty Island to see the Liberty Lady.
The boat ride was quite chilling and I meant literally. It was December and we were on water. I couldn’t have gotten colder than that, but good thing that it was not that much cold on this day and we survived with a jacket and a warm muffler and a hoodie. On the other days, even this much covering would have been insufficient.
I still remember the moment I saw the Liberty Lady for the first time. The boat was taking forever to reach the Island and everyone was waiting for the perfect distance so they could capture their moments with the Liberty Lady. When I saw her the first time from the boat, I couldn’t fathom her grandeur. The statue was really tall and big, something I couldn’t comprehend before actually seeing. I was introduced to how small we were in comparison with the Liberty Lady and how insignificant we looked. I wondered – how small we might look (if someone could see us) from space! (Going on a tangent here! STOPPING!)
We arrived at the island and that’s when the roaming around part of the journey began. It was a well kept place and I saw people from across the world creating memories of their own with their loved ones at this beautiful and spectacular place. We spent considerable time here at the place, making our own memories and clicking countless pictures. When we got tired of roaming and hungry, we went to the souvenir shop to buy something for our friends and family back home. She bought a few things keeping everyone in mind and made sure she doesn’t miss anyone back home.
After we were thoroughly tired and was time to head to the Bus Terminal to catch bus for our next destination, we thought of catching the boat ride back to the city. It took us around 45 minutes to get to the city and after some disappointing photo ops at the Charging Bull on Wall Street, we thought of heading to the bus depot to catch our bus. It was almost 25 minutes walk and we saw so many thing s on our way to the bus depot. We walked past the 9/11 Memorial, the Charging Bull, the Wall Street, and many more. That walks was very pleasant enjoying the cold weather and chatting non-stop on our way to the bus stop.
We waited for like 20-30 minutes before it was time to board our bus for the next destination – Washington D.C. Unfortunately, this was the last destination for her during this trip as her departure date was getting closer. But, I will get to that later.
We had a slice of pizza each before we dozed off in the bus on our way to the capital of the United States of America! Stay tuned and check out the pictures!
I didn’t have that great running week number 35, partly due to the long weekend. Dusting off the disappointment, the goal for the week is to finish 659.6 miles of running by the end of this week, let us find out whether I achieved it or not.
Day 1 – Sunday, September 06, 2020 – Quarantine Day 174 I am *still* on the long weekend mode and in no mood to return to work on Tuesday. It will certainly be a weird feeling when I will open my laptop on Tuesday and try to remember what I had missed for the last few days. Anyway, I don’t want to think too much into it, so let’s get started with the day’s run.
The Sunday morning started in the way I like – waking up earlier than the Sun and in the dark. I was up by almost 5AM and was glad to start my day by driving to NHS and finishing a quick 5K. Before heading to the NHS, I took care of some stuff and ended up leaving my place at around 7AM if I remember it correctly. The run was pretty normal. It was a special feeling as there was no one on the track except me. Neither did I expect anyone to show up since it was a Sunday of the long weekend.
Honestly, I could have gone fore some more distance, but wanted to get home just in time for breakfast. It was a wonderful run, followed by some delicious breakfast.
Day 2 – Monday, September 07, 2020 – Quarantine Day 175 Monday is the last day of the long weekend and I wanted to use it really well before starting work tomorrow.
The morning started with my favorite ritual. In the last few days, one of my friends have inspired me again to wake up early and own my mornings – inspired by the book “5 AM Club”, so I have started waking up early at around 4.30-5AM.
It was a refreshing feeling to go outside early in the morning and finish a quick run. It was a 4 mile run this time and I couldn’t be happier with my attempt. I was glad to be back in time for the breakfast.
After the breakfast and talking to my parents, I did take care of some work emails, before heading out for a long bike ride. It was an awesome feeling to finally go out for biking at one of my favorite metroparks – Kensington Metropark. I think this was the first time Jinx was visiting Kensington, so it was a special ride. We ended up finishing 20 miles. The highlight of this bike ride was the bike path that connects Kensington to Island Lake State Recreational Area. It was a nice discovery and a good path with less traffic, which gave me opportunity to unwind Jinx’s full pace and I took upon it. It was so effortless to accelerate with Jinx, like talking to the wind through my pipes (pun intended, if you get it)
Day 3 – Tuesday, September 08, 2020 – Quarantine Day 176 Today was my first day back at work and the kids’ first day at school too. In my wildest dreams, I didn’t imagine it would be this rush.
More than my work and countless emails, I had to pay attention to what Mr. Arnav’s teacher was telling him, to make sure we don’t miss any assignments or homework or instructions. This was the first time I was actually taking care of his school stuff, so I was a little nervous. Fortunately, I didn’t have any meetings during his class times, so I could pay more attention to what his teacher was saying.
The one positive was that the school was entirely virtual to not risk or expose students to the COVID19 outbreak and I would like to thank the Northville Schools Management to understand the importance of kids’ safety.
I didn’t even realize when the day ended. Tomorrow is a special day – It is Mr. Arnav’s 7th birthday. Before going to the bed, we blew up some balloons and decorated with the Happy Birthday sign just to see kids’ smiles and excitement.
Day 4 – Wednesday, September 09, 2020– Quarantine Day 177 Happy Birthday, Arnav!
Today was the second day of online school for the kids and I have started to get used to new lifestyle. This day was a lot smoother than the first, having able to successfully balance both my work and kids’ school.
We were eagerly waiting for the evening for birthday celebrations. The most amazing thing for the birthday boy was that we had enough gifts for both of them to give them every couple of hours, to keep the excitement and momentum going. I loved how their face lit up when they saw the Ford Bronco that we gifted them. Along with the replica for the Ford Bronco, we gave them some books and some legos too. The cakes were delicious, tiramisu being my favorite. Seeing kids smile made my day and loved every single moment of it.
Day 5 – Thursday, September 10, 2020– Quarantine Day 178 What a day!
I really needed to get rid of the calories that I consumed from the two cakes and some delicious fritters and chole bhature that we made yesterday.
The first run of the run came during the lunch time. I didn’t have a meeting during the lunch time and the kids were having lunch break, so I took the opportunity and went out for a quick 25 minute run. I could complete a quick 5K in under 30 minutes. The feeling was so good, partly because of the awesome Michigan weather. One of the most underrated things about Michigan is its weather and I am a sucker of it.
The second run of the day came when I was done for the work and we were going out for run. While waiting for everyone to get ready, I decided to run randomly in the neighborhood, competing with kids and letting them win against me. I could finish 1 mile before we actually headed out to run at Northville High School.
The third and last run of the day was a trail run. NHS was having a soccer game and we didn’t want to disturb the crowd and the soccer game, so decided to head to Hines Drive and enjoy some trail running. It was a feeling like no other. I explored so many hidden gems of the Hines Drive and fell in love with it again. It was an awesome feeling to share the track with the cross country runners who outnumbered us comfortably.
The awesome day ended with some awesome home-cooked food! 6 more miles to go for the week.
Day 6 – Friday, September 11, 2020– Quarantine Day 179 Awesome day!
What a wonderful way to accomplish the weekly running goal. When I woke up in the morning, I knew I would be able to finish the weekly goal today itself. The work was really fast paced during the first part of the day and I got a little breather after 3PM. I was desperately waiting to go out for a run as the Sun was out and we had some cool breeze going around – a perfect weather to run outside – mix of both cool and hot.
I could finally step outside at around 4.30PM and started my long run. The only downside at the earlier stage of the run was that I had a piece of Tiramisu cake that we had on Arnav’s birthday. I shouldn’t have done that. As I had just a few minutes before the run, the first three miles were really difficult and I really wanted to quit and return home. But, having been through grinder so many times has taught me not to give up and I continued on. As soon as I finished 4 miles, I realized my body got rid of all the sugar from the Tiramisu and I could run freely without feeling anything.
That’s when I got the good rhythm and continued on. I had a plan of finishing a half marathon but I couldn’t finish as I had to take kids to soccer practice. I could finish 9.3 miles in just under 2 hours. I wasn’t happy with the pace, but the positive was that I accomplished the weekly running goal.
The evening was spent at the park near my workplace and with some Thai food. Loved the food & company. I ended up meeting my colleague and had a good chat. It was a lovely day with an awesome Michigan weather. Check out the pictures of my workplace.
Day 7 – Saturday, September 12, 2020– Quarantine Day 180 It was an amazing Saturday and a perfect way to end the week.
Keeping Saturday tradition alive – we hiked and this time, we explored Seven Lake State Park. If you remember, when I talked about Holly Recreational Area, I rated that as the numero uno hiking spot so far; well, that just changed after this hike! When we were on our way to the location, we were not happy with an hour-long drive to this place just for hiking, but all that disappointment was wiped away with the countless scenic places that this state park had to offer. We went ahead with the open mind and we were simple blown away by the beauty of it. We should give some credit to the Michigan weather as well, which was one of the best throughout the weekend.
The best part about hiking at this park is in the name itself – Seven Lakes. You are surrounded by lakes throughout the hike and you can’t help but appreciate the cleanliness of the water and the beautiful scenery surrounding almost all the lakes. We saw people hiking, walking, running, kayaking, and canoeing. Man, I was envy of people kayaking. I really want to do it and hopefully, I will be able to next summer. 🤞🏽
When our hike was about to end, we came across this awesome spot known as the Dickinson Lake Scenic Overlook. This spot was entirely covered in green and rich grass. There were only 5 of us on that grass with the lakes on both the sides. It felt like a piece of poetry taking shape in the physical world. The green grass, the blue water of the lake, the broccoli shaped thick trees, and the clean blue sky with white clouds – everything that could go right this day went right and we couldn’t be happier with the circumstances. It was a well deserved relaxing hike for all of us.
After the hike was over, we had our usual Pizza at the Downtown Fenton (if I am not wrong) and headed home. I had to go out for a couple errands and once I was back I really wanted to go out for a quick 5K. My legs were tired after the hike but my heart wasn’t. So, I grabbed my running shoes and checked the weather and headed out for a 30-minute run.
It was an awesome run, again, thanks to the beautiful weather. With this run, I am way ahead of my running plan and on the course to finish 1,000 miles by the end of 2020.
As I mentioned at the start of this post, I had a target of completing 659.6 miles of running by the end of this week and I currently stand at 665.5, roughly 6 miles ahead. Hope, I will be able to keep the spirits alive like this for the remaining 15+ weeks and see myself cross the 4-digits. 🤞🏽😍
& before you go, please check the weekly highlight.
stochasticity 