stochasticity

August 12, 2016 – Hartford, CT, USA

Welcome to the next day of my journey. Logically, it was the third day of my trip, but, as we know the Earth is *NOT* FLAT and is round, timezones and dates made this the second day of the trip. I am no keeper of any sort, so, let’s just go with the last day of my first international trip. It sounds better and logical!

Anyway, if you have been following my journey so far, I took a car ride with my family to Nagpur Railway Station. The train took me from Nagpur to Mumbai, and I boarded my first international flight from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi. So, you can say, Abu Dhabi was the first country I landed outside India (if the airport stay counts).

The moment I got out of the airplane, I was surprised to see so many Indian faces in the crowd. Like every amateur traveler, I thought everyone outside India is a foreigner and I wouldn’t find anyone familiar face in a foreign land. Such a small bubble we live in, right?

Anywhoo, I was in awe of the architecture of the Abu Dhabi airport. Before seeing this, I couldn’t imagine a column morphing into the ceiling, as you can see below. May be I was not that much travelled, so I found this amusing.

After waiting for a couple hours at the airport, it was time to board the flight to Milan, Italy. I was excited to continue this life changing journey and was really looking forward to it. I always prefer takeoff than landing while traveling by air. So, I was experiencing some goosebumps when the plane finally took off as I realized the next time I get off this plane, I would be far away from home in a different continent. It was an amazing feeling and after looking outside for a couple minutes, I went to bed.

This is what it looked outside from my window seat.

When I woke up after a few hours of sleep, I was treated with this beautiful view of Italy. My love for greenery instantaneously multiplied looking at such a stunning view, especially after opening my eyes in a faraway land for the first time. It felt great.
That’s when the pilot announced that we would be landing in a few minutes and I started getting ready to land.

After landing, it was just a waiting game for me to climb my next flight to New York. I didn’t know so many things could happen during this waiting time and I wasn’t ready for it. Those few hours spent at the Milan Airport felt quite long as I yearn to get sooner to the US and prayed for this journey to get over sooner.
Let’s see if I can articulate those things. I will try to keep things short to avoid boring you wonderful reader!

Flight Delay
When I reached the boarding gate, I was greeted with a bad news of my New York flight running late. If you are interested in details, the plane that was supposed to go to New York hadn’t returned from its earlier flight and was still midair somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. When I enquired about the rough ETA of the plane, I was given the old age reply that they didn’t have that information and passengers would be notified upon confirmation. I was a little sad to know the delay and started thinking about things I could do to kill my time.

Trying a black coffee for the first time
While thinking about killing time at the airport, naturally, I got hungry and too lazy to roam around the airport, I just headed straight to the one food stand that they had right across the boarding gate. Upon reaching the counter, I dealt with so many choices about food and drinks, that I was under pressure for ordering the food in a correct way, as every first time traveler feels, I guess!
By the time I reached the counter, the only thing that I could order was a black coffee. When I placed the order with the server, I guess, she didn’t understand what I wanted to order, so asked me to be more specific, so I ended up saying “One Americana” please, because that’s what was written on the Menu for an American Black Coffee.
I was disappointed enough that they didn’t have a Chai at the Italian airport, the taste of coffee was adding fuel to the fire. I didn’t enjoy a single bit of that cup filled with black coffee. I tried adding sugar and milk, to no avail. At the end, I just took two more sips before the taste became unbearable and I threw the entire thing in the trashcan. I felt bad to have wasted, I think, 2 euros on a cup of coffee. My Indian brain started calculating how much that was in Indian Rupees and felt bad that I just threw away 150 Indian rupees just to kill some time.

Striking a conversation with a stranger (sort of networking)
After going through the buyer’s remorse with my first black coffee, it was time to just sit back and kill time by one way or another. I remember dropping a message to my girlfriend about the flight delay and was waiting for her response.
I took a sit right across the boarding gate, so that, if there is any movement, I would be the first person to know about that. Maybe that’s how every new traveler behave, or maybe I was the exception. Who knows? I just fell like doing it and did it.
That’s when I was greeted by a Sardarji. He was also traveling to the US in the same plane, which I got to know after striking the conversation with him. He found it really surprising that I was going to the US for studies and not doing any business or work. I found it strange to explain my situation to a complete stranger in a short span of 5-10 minutes chat, so I said, may be you are right and tried diverting the subject. I asked him a few questions about his stay at the US and got some interesting answers like how easy it was to get a green card in the US and settle without proper documentation. Those are rarity these days, so he started reminiscing the good old times.
Anyway, I had to cut short our discussion as I was getting a call from my girlfriend who was responding to my text. I didn’t mean to be rude to him so just excused myself politely and carried on with my phone call.

Having a serious talk with my then girlfriend (I think, for the first time)
When I picked up the phone, I thought it would be a quick call, sort of an update about my journey so far and how she was doing. I was so wrong.
We started talking and she expressed that she was sorry she couldn’t come to meet me in person in Milan. I was okay with that since I didn’t know my plane would be delayed on the way to New York. After this, before hanging up, I told her that I wanted to “talk about us” once I land in the USA. I deliberately said once I reached the USA as I didn’t want to have that discussion when I am traveling internationally, for the first time. Turned out, she wanted to have that discussion right then as she didn’t want to wait for several more hours panicking what I might wanted to discuss with her. I don’t blame her, I would have felt the same way.
Anyway, we got to talking and realized that even though we were apart from each other, at least I could feel her with me at that airport and felt like I was talking to her in person. The plethora of emotions was on display during this 100-minute phone call. We talked, listened, laughed, and cried, We shared what we felt about each other and what we wanted or expected from the relationship. It was a positive thing that we were on the same page. I was really happy to note that, because, it was the first time I was in a long distance relationship and it is definitely harder than it looks. By the time it was almost an hour, I looked at my phone and got worried as it was draining my battery quite significantly. The last thing I wanted was to drain my battery during the international travel, at the same time, I didn’t want to stop her from expressing herself, so I quickly got up from the old place and found a spot with the USB charging available and continued with the discussion. While doing so, I passed the sardarji with whom I talking a few minutes earlier and gave him a hard smile.
Anyway, by the time, it was almost an hour and a half, I told her that they were starting to board the flight and promised her that we would continue this discussion once I settle in the USA. She wished me the best for my future journey and I continued.

It was one of the most important discussions I have ever had with someone and I was glad that I had someone in my life to talk these things to and help me clear my mind with all the doubts and uncertainties.

After that phone call, I was excited about my future leg of the journey. We started with the boarding and within minutes were over the Alps. This was the first time I was taking a closer look at these world famous mountains and turned out I craved for more. Let’s see when I will get a closer chance to look at this beautiful natural phenomenon.
Don’t they look beautiful?

I ended up clicking many pictures during this flight. I enjoyed my favorite superhero franchise – Marvel. Got to taste a world class Airline food for the first time and it was the first time I got to taste Cinnamon – I didn’t like it and still detest it. Got to see some breathtaking views and off course a few selfies here and there!

And after spending I don’t know how many hours in the air, I was finally headed towards to the greatest city in the world. Landing at JFK was one of the pivotal moments of my life. I still remember the fresh breeze when I stepped out of the airport and was happy to see the Sun smiling at me. This was just after acing my immigration interview, which I dreaded at first, but turned out to be an easy affair as long you kept the straight face and answered all questions of the Immigration Officer. It was an experience of a lifetime and I will always remember those 2 minutes that I spent at the counter, providing all documents and answering all questions.

This is what it looked like outside the JFK airport.

The drive from JFK to Hartford, my final destination, was the final leg of my journey and I couldn’t be happier to enjoy the ride, sitting in the back of the car and trust a complete stranger (my cab driver) to take me to Hartford. I was so tired by this time that I didn’t even check whether we were on the correct path and remember dozing off for a few minutes during this 2 hour long drive. Before dozing off though, I clicked this photo, which at that time, I thought was Brooklyn Bridge. I was so dumb!

And who knew that this guy would be our president?

The moment I reached Hartford, I took out all my stuff from the cab and called my local contact who had promised to let us stay with him for a few days before we get our apartment. I was surprised to find out that my new roommates had already cooked some delicious food for me and were just waiting for me for dinner. It was such a sweet gesture from their side, even though we were meeting for the first time.
Here’s the delicious Chicken curry that they had cooked on the day of my arrival, brings water to your mouth, am I right?

The day was good!
The day was long!
The first trip had some twists and turns
But didn’t disappoint at all!

The future seemed better and cooler!

August 12, 2016 – Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

This was the second day of the trip and my last day in India.

If you haven’t read yesterday’s journey, I will strongly recommend doing that to have a better idea about my itinerary from home to the US.

So, this day started on the railway track as I was taking a railway to go from my home, Nagpur to the city from where I was supposed to fly out of India, Mumbai.

I knew I was going to Mumbai and then to the US, but when I woke up in the train all by myself, there was a 2 minute delay in this chain of thought. After opening up my eyes, I couldn’t connect the dots between my existence on that train and where the train was supposed to take me. I am not sure if things like that happen with you, but I happen to experience it all the time, especially after a good and powerful afternoon nap. Maybe I slept in the train quite peacefully that night, who knows?

Anyway, after coming to the reality slowly, I decided to click a selfie and capture the moment. Inadvertently, a smile appeared on my face. I knew my family was back home and I had just bade them goodbyes 12 hours earlier, but I couldn’t help but remain excited for the journey ahead. I was looking forward to catching a plane and experience my first international flight and this excitement helped me come over some of the sadness that was drawn upon me the previous day.

Here’s the selfie I am talking about.

After I woke up, I had to wait almost 3 hours before the train reached the Mumbai city. For one reason or the other, I am one of those people (and I am ready to take criticism for it) who don’t like Mumbai. It might be the crowd, it might be the humidity, or maybe some other factor. Whatever it is, I detest Mumbai and if given a choice, would choose not to visit it. I know I have mentioned in the past about falling in love with the Nariman Point during my first visit, but, that was an anomaly, and still couldn’t make me fall in love with the city. Maybe, its just me! 😭

Anyway, I was greeted with this scene outside when my train started pulling in one of the railway stations in Mumbai.

The plan was to head to the Mumbai International Airport from this railway station and my youngest uncle, Suresh Kaka, graciously agreed to accompany me to the airport and see me off catching the plane. Suresh Kaka has been an ardent supporter of my success and has always blessed us with career guidance and whatever support we needed! Him agreeing to join me hauling some big bags in the hot and humid weather of Mumbai was just the kind of support I needed while embarking on this beautiful and life changing journey.

He was already at the Railway Station when I stepped out of my train coach on the Railway platform. I was so happy to see him. We still had a few hours to go before my flight, so I decided to take a quick shower in the waiting room of the Railway station. If you have ever visited an Indian railway station, you could imagine how the bathrooms in the waiting room would be. I feel cringe, if not horror, just imagining the state of that bathroom and wonder how I could take a shower there. Anyway, swiftly moving over to the next phase of the journey.

We took a cab from the Railway Station to the airport and it seemed to be the longest cab ride for me as I was desperately waiting for the airport to arrive. The Mumbai weather was getting on my nerves, and I just wanted to breathe some airport air. I know, it sounds weird, but that’s what I was feeling.

We made it to the Airport and things became quite formal between myself and Suresh Kaka. He started telling me many wonderful stories about foreign land, and I, being the courteous nephew, heard them patiently. He also told me to always look after myself in the country far away. He made me promise to take care of my parents once I start earning as they have sacrificed a lot for my happiness. Again, I complied and thank him for accompanying me on this journey.

As the 3 hour time was getting closer for my flight to depart the airport, I had to bid him goodbye and tell him to travel home safely, as there wouldn’t be any way for me to check on him in real-time. That’s when I saw a small tear drop in his eyes, and I had to tell and promise him that I would take care of myself and requested him to do the same. Before heading inside the airport through the security gates, I quickly snapped a selfie with him, his moist eyes quite evident.

One thing I knew deep down my heart after clicking that selfie was that my life is never going to be the same. As soon as I am going to enter that airport through the security gates, my life would be changed forever, and I really needed a moment to grasp the gravity of this moment.

That’s when I looked back at Suresh Kaka through the security gates and found him still waiting for me to wave back. This was the moment it finally hit me that I was going to be away from my family for quite some time, all by myself, surrounded by a bunch of strangers, with a no support system. For people surrounding me at that busy airport, that moment had been as insignificant as any other person, but, for me, it was the moment I realized what I was going to do. This was the moment that really transformed all the things around me and made me a person who I am today.

As I was reliving this moment again and again, the time was not stopping for anyone, and that’s why I decided to carry on. I knew I had a little extra luggage, so I needed a few extra minutes to convince someone at the luggage counter to make an exception for myself to haul such a big luggage. As all this craziness was going on, I managed to capture the magnificence of the Mumbai Airport as an appreciation of the thoughts that went into designing such a marvelous structure without disturbing the current inflow and outflow of the flights.

And I was almost done with the check-in process. Being an ardent appreciator of my selfie clicking skills, I managed to capture myself with the luggage, which turned out to be a Facebook-worthy photo and I remember getting a lot of response. Many of them congratulatory messages and best wishes for the future. Aha! Good old Facebook days!
Here’s what it looked like.

After checking in and clearing the security, it was the waiting time for me, when I got in touch with everyone that I could think of – my family, girlfriend, friends, and relatives. I made sure nobody is worried about me and I sent a quick picture depicting how I was doing.

While I was engrossed in watching something on my laptop, I was interrupted with the boarding announcement for my flight to Abu Dhabi. That announcement brought a smile to my face, as my dream was about to become a reality. From Abu Dhabi, I was supposed to board a flight to Milan, Italy. And, from there, the final leg of the flight was due to land at New York’s JFK Airport.

After boarding, I finally took my seat and was overjoyed at the little goosebumps in my tummy. This is what I saw from my seat.

And as always, I clicked a selfie before I put the phone on Airplane Mode and the flight took off of the runway and bade goodbye to Mumbai for some unforeseeable future.

Stay tuned for the next stage of this trip! The next day was quite emotional!

August 11, 2016 – A hard goodbye to Family, Patansaongi, Maharashtra, India

And the most dreaded day was here upon me!

I had been waiting to see the magical and life transforming journey to the US for quite some time now, but at the same time, the thought of leaving my family 8,000 miles away dreaded me and this day, I realized I wasn’t ready for it. The morning when I woke up, I knew the ultimate sadness was upon me and I just couldn’t handle it. I spent a few minutes in the bed that morning, soaking it in, and planning the day in my head and realizing within 12 hours, I will bid goodbye to the wonderful people in my life for some foreseeable future and would never get a chance to see their faces everyday as I have been doing for the last couple weeks.

I know my parents don’t express their emotions that much, especially my Dad (like every Indian Dad), I knew, deep down, they were sad that I was going to a new country all by myself, without realizing what was before me and what the future looked like. At the same time, they had a confidence in their upbringing and the learnings that they have taught me and my three sisters over the last couple decades and knew that I could handle these new things with utmost confidence. And my parents had always been like that. Be it sending me to Nanded for my Engineering, heading to Bangalore for my first corporate job or this time, sending me to the new country for my further education, they had always surprised me with the kind of support and freedom they had given me to take my own decisions and carve my life in the way I like and choose to.

The morning and afternoon was gone like a whisker. I didn’t even realize the time as I had to take a last look at my packing, weighing everything to the last minute and eating some delicious food made by my mom. By the time, it was 4PM, we were already getting ready to bid goodbyes to each other.

As I have mentioned before about Rakshabandhan, this year’s celebration was a little different. Even though the actual celebration was a few days away, we decided to celebrate it today itself, as I wouldn’t get any better chance to celebrate it with my sister, after today. So, my sisters and mom, made sure to give me a perfect sendoff by celebrating this beloved festival together.

Here’s the snippet of that celebration.

I definitely wasn’t giving away my ear-to-ear smile as deep down I knew I had to bid goodbye to these moments in a couple hours!

And that’s when the waiting game began! One of my brothers-in-law graciously offered us to drive to the Railway Station in Nagpur, and trust me, we desperately needed that ride as I had two full sized luggage bags, with a couple small ones and a laptop bag. Also, it was raining heavily that day – one more indication that the cloud Gods were not happy with me leaving my family! 😭

Anyway, as we were waiting for our ride to arrive, me and my sister, clicked a lot of pictures. This was the only with a good quality that I could find. You can see, we are *somewhat* smiling as everyone wanted to protect each other’s feelings and didn’t want to show sadness as I was about to embark the journey of my lifetime.
My eldest sister, Minu Tai, is missing from the picture, as we were missing her during this time. I love these people in my life and never trade anything for them!

And after waiting for some time, my ride arrived. It felt like a small car but was enough for us to accommodate us inside, with the luggage and everything. Before getting inside the car, I took one last look at my home. This has been my oasis for a few years now and with that one step, became my parent’s home. It is weird how we draw these lines. Anyway, I felt mixed emotions while bidding goodbye to this wonderful place called “Milind Niwas” with a promise that I will return soon!

I don’t remember the journey from my place to the Nagpur Railway Station as I was mostly thinking about my future and how terribly I would miss my family. I do remember doing some small talk with everyone in the car and cracking jokes whenever I could, because that’s the only thing I am good at when I am sad, I guess!

By the time we reached the Railway Station, I had a good 45 minutes before the train was supposed to leave. That’s when, out of nowhere, my friends started to show up. I didn’t expect them being there for me, waving final goodbyes along with my family. I must admit, I felt great and proud that I have built such amazing relationships and friendships over the years that people took time out of their busy schedule just to come and see me travel to a faraway land.
This is the squad that was present when I took the train to Mumbai, from where I was supposed to fly to New York, via Abu Dhabi, my first international destination.

I couldn’t thank them then as I was more focused on my journey and worried about my life in the US, but, I would like to say how grateful I felt when everyone came to see me off and wished me good luck for my future journey.
Thanks, everyone!

What followed this was truly a life changing event and you will get to hear more about it. Stay tuned!

August 10, 2016 – And one more day, Patansaongi, Maharashtra, India

A hard day to live!
A day in the making for more than a decade!
Filled with both fear and excitement, I didn’t know how to express what I was actually feeling during this day.

I was dreading that this day would come. This day was always in the back of my mind, even when I was enjoying in Goa with friends, when I visited my college roommates in Pune, and when I went out with my school friends, the fear of this day arising never left my mind and heart and prayed about delaying the arrival of this day quite ferociously.
Wish life would have been this simple! Am I right?

So, the day started with hanging out with family and enjoying some beautiful and delicious breakfast with the entire family together. My sister, Minu Tai, visited for a couple days to be with everyone before I left India. I really loved that gesture and her thoughtfulness behind that. I wouldn’t have guessed, even tried, doing that, as I usually think from the mind than from the heart.

At the back of my mind, I always had this thought that the four of us – myself, Minu Tai, Shubhu Tai, and Dikshu Tai, were together might be for the last time before I return from the US, so I wanted to make the best of it. We gossiped, laughed, and had a good time. We reminisced all the good old memories with each other and tried spending every minute with each other.
By the time the noon hit, it was time for Minu Tai to leave for Bangalore unfortunately. I drove her to Nagpur from where she was supposed to board a bus which would take her to Bangalore. It was an emotional goodbye with a promise to see each other soon.

This is the last memory I had of her when we bade our goodbyes.

While returning home, I thought of stopping at my coaching classes. It was supposed to be a quick 5-10 minute visit as I had some other things to take care of, but I ended up spending at least half an hour there, talking to my teachers and current students. It wasn’t what I wanted but felt better to know that I was benefitting someone by giving my time.
Before heading home, I somehow managed to click this picture, to give myself a gentle reminder of the time and place that I have come from. I remember I used to go to the same coaching class and used to sit in a similar way. It is both humbling and proud to see how far I have come!

After this, the afternoon was spent at home packing and savoring some delicious food made by my Mom. I knew my Mom would cook something that I love eating and I didn’t mind enjoying the delicious food, which I was not sure when I would be able to eat again.

This evening was already planned with some of the most extraordinary traditions of my village. When I was a kid, I remember participating in this with my friends. Back in those days, you knew almost everyone in the village so you really didn’t need adult supervision and someone that you remotely knew by face used to take care of you if you seem lost or needed some help. Just thinking about this brought back so many memories for me over the years.

This year’s festivities turned out to be magical affair for me, as it was the last festivities I attended till date in my village and I am not sure when I will get a chance to repeat this feat. Over the last decade or so, many of the things have changed and many people have been replaced, but this being one of the oldest traditions in my village, has been kept alive by people, community and the village officials. I feel so proud and humble at the same time just to observe the intense care people show towards each other when they come together to celebrate, something that I miss really desperately here in the US.

I visited the spot from where the gathering was supposed to kick off. In my mother tongue, which is Marathi, this gathering is called Dindi. So, I reached the spot where the Dindi was about to start and was greeted by a sea of people. Having spent almost 2-3 years in Bangalore, which is a Metro City, this crowd made the Bangalore IT employee crowd looked cute. It was amazing to watch. At the very beginning of this Dindi, I saw a couple kids holding a huge banner depicting the name of their band.
Here’s what it looked like.

After greeting a few people, I was pleasantly surprised to see my Dad’s friends being part of the crowd. You can see them in the below picture. My Dad owns a grocery store back home and all these people live minutes away from the store, so they knew me since young age and I knew them by their faces. Everyone looking sharp and all ready to start the Dindi.

This Dindi took almost an hour and a half to go from its starting point temple to the other temple which is also in the village, spending some time at that temple and then returning back to the origin temple and then again doing Pooja and Aarti at the origin temple. It was both exhausting and mind blowing to be the part of that crowd but I went through the entire experience just to have that memory with me and hopefully, cherish it for some years to come.

As the temple where the Dindi ended was super close to the house where I grew up and my Grandma still living in that house, naturally, she invited me over for dinner and I couldn’t refuse it even though it would mean her going to extreme lengths just to make sure her grandson eats food cooked by her.

I must say she put her heart and soul in cooking such a beautiful and delicious treat and I loved it. I still have that taste with me and just couldn’t resist overeating myself because I never knew when the next time would come I would get to experience the same.
I know we shouldn’t compare granny’s love, but I cannot help myself saying that I being the eldest of my generation, it is safe to say, I am her favorite grandkid. I know my sisters will get mad at me while reading this (if they do read my blogs).

This is what my Grandma’s love looks like. We call her MothiAai, which is a Marathi word meaning elder Mom. She is a really good cook and I love eating food made by her and enjoy it very much.

And this is my grandma and grandpa. Our grandfather left us when I was just a couple years old. I clicked the picture of my grandma when she was serving me dinner. She looked really tired and I pitied her. Even after requesting her to sit and let me serve myself, she said THIS MIGHT BE THE LAST DINNER I MIGHT SERVE YOU, SO, LET ME SERVE! I did docile to her polite request and enjoyed the lovely meal made by her.

After finishing dinner, we talked for some time and then took her blessings before I headed home. She had so many questions about “Amrika” as she used to pronounce. It was both funny and awesome to answer her questions and have some good grandma-grandson bonding.
I miss these times.

Reflecting upon on this day made me realize how far I have come physically, but not mentally or emotionally. I am still the same guy when it comes to emotions and would like to keep it that way.
More to come!

See ya! 🙂

Week 26 – Detroit FreePress International Marathon prep (June 28 – July 04)

By the end of this week, I would complete the six months since the day my prep began and I feel humble to see how far I have come so far.
The first half of 2020 done, excited about the second half!

Day 1 – Sunday, June 28, 2020 – Quarantine Day 104
It was an awesome way to kick off the week in style & we had to drive a couple of hours to enjoy this hike/beach day. This couple hours’ drive was totally worth it, after experiencing the hiking and some beach time.
The place was Saugatuck Dunes State Park. The good thing about this hike was that you had to hike at least 2-3 miles to get to the beach, so there was not a huge crowd at the beach, which gave us a little relief to go in water, given the Covid19 situation that we are in. The only people that were at the beach were with the boats and a handful like us who hiked to the beach.

It felt so refreshing to be in waters after so many months and I had a blast experiencing the fresh waters. By the time we headed back from the beach and reached the parking lot, we had already covered 5 miles of hiking, which was a good amount of work for the day. This was taken during one of the picturesque locations during the hike.

And this was the first glimpse of the beach. We could feel the cool breeze of the water and felt great as we were exposed to sun for more than an hour of hiking.

Day 2 – Monday June 29, 2020 – Quarantine Day 105
Monday couldn’t have been better. I ran THE PR FOR A 10K!

When I started the run in the morning at around 5.30 AM, I wasn’t planning to run that fast, but the cool temperature and my new shoes helped me finish the 3 mile mark before 30 minutes. That is when I realized I can go for a 10K under an hour. I started picking up some pace and felt really great about it. Unfortunately, my Apple Watch got soaked in sprinkler’s water and ended my run at around 3.39 mile mark, started an indoor run for a mile or so and then started a Soccer activity after that. I was so pissed because of this. Why can’t Apple figure out how to distinguish between water and my finger? FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS, I guess!

Anyway, based on the start time of the first activity and the end time of the last activity, I could figure out that I made it barely by 3 seconds and finished the 10K in 59:57. It was a huge thing and a personal milestone for me and will remember this for a long time.

Day 3 – Tuesday June 30, 2020 – Quarantine Day 106
The second run of the week and it couldn’t be more relaxing. Like yesterday, I wasn’t going for some pace for this run. I just wanted to enjoy my run and some Sun.
I have been using my usual route for these morning runs for a few weeks now and I realize the distance covered before my Apple Watch notifies me, so, it was awesome to realize the 5K distance covered with almost 10’ pace and went a little further to cover more distance before stopping my run. It was a good efforts with 3.5 miles under my belt.

The evening was really joyful with an hour of soccer with the kids. They are improving on a daily basis and have come a long way when we started the soccer practice a couple weeks ago.

Day 4 – Wednesday July 01, 2020– Quarantine Day 107
One more month down. June is finished and we are in the second part of 2020 and it doesn’t seem to get any better as the second and more destructive phase of COVID19 positive cases across the US.

We are all bracing ourselves for the more damage by the COVID19 crisis and at the same time, I am trying to keep things together and stay healthy and motivated.
I have been reading The 5 AM Club and that’s why starting today decided to follow the morning routine mentioned in the book. I will talk more about the morning routine in a separate post, but, to put it in a single sentence – the author has recommended to use the 1 hour from 5AM to 6AM for personal growth and improvements. That’s why, even I woke up at around 5AM, I didn’t go out for run at that time.

I was working on things mentioned in the book, when suddenly Mr. Arnav started calling for help. I think he was just having some nightmare. So, I had to stop whatever I was doing and comfort him. After making sure he was okay, I wanted to get back to whatever I was doing, but he insisted I stay with him, and hence, I decided to skip the routine for the day and start it from tomorrow. That’s where my entire morning went.

After wrapping up the day’s work and working more than usual, I decided to go out for running. I always dreaded running in the hot weather. Something about high temperatures and its effects on my body give me chills. This is one of the reasons I started running in the morning. Today, things were different and to achieve the run for the day, I had to face my fear and run in 86F temperature. It was something that I hadn’t done before, so I thought it would be interesting to find out whether I can sustain this brutal weather or not.

Turns out, I was worried for nothing. Not only I survived the entire run without water and food, I maintained such a stellar pace throughout the run that I outdid my previous run by more than 3 minutes. It was such an amazing feeling to find out my timing after finishing my run. I found out so many things about my body and the way it works in the high temperatures, but, most importantly, I found out how good my new shoes are and why they are treated with such respect in the running community.
I finished the 3.4 miles run at 9’35” pace, which is an awesome pace for me.

As soon as I got back from my run, I took a quick cold shower and headed out again with the kids for the evening soccer practice.

Day 5 – Thursday July 02, 2020– Quarantine Day 108
Today was the official last work day for the week as the US prepares for the 4th of July celebrations over the long weekend starting tomorrow.

Happy to say that I started my morning routine and today was the Day 01 of it. It will be a long 2 month time until I reach my goal, so I will keep you posted accordingly. I am just living in the moment and taking it one day at a time.

After finishing up my daily routine from 5AM-6AM, I headed out for my run and ran quite handsomely at 9’33” pace for 3.2 miles. The only difference between this run and the other runs was the route. I have been quite frustrated with all the bugs chasing me down while I am running in the morning. Even after putting on bug spray, I don’t seem to get away from them, therefore, I decided to run in the open and on the street in the community itself.
This was a big decision for me, as I love spending time in nature and get excited by being in the wildlife. But, this is a new thing which I desperately wanted to try and I was glad that I could do it.

Like yesterday, after finishing my run and taking care of some last minute requests from different teams at work, I headed out for soccer practice with kids. They are improving every day and today, they surprised me with their dribbling skills and awesome passing.

Day 6 – Friday July 03, 2020– Quarantine Day 109
It is finally Friday and I am ready to relax on a Friday after so many days.

One thing that you should know about me is that my most favorite thing in the world is AN AFTERNOON NAP. Nothing makes me happier than a good afternoon nap and sometimes if a nap is strong, I drool too. For the fast few months, I haven’t had a chance to enjoy my afternoon nap and I am okay with that as long as I am doing some productive activity.

The reason I told you that little story is to give you an idea about my personality so that you can relate and don’t think of me as some special person. I am just like you and I function in the same way.

Anyway, the day started as usual. I got up before 5AM today and started my routine at exactly 5AM. I was surprised to find out so many things I could do in just an hour. After finishing up with the routine, it was time to head out for run; but, I was so exhausted during the first hour of the day, I didn’t feel like going for a run. Having said that, I forced myself out the door and that was one of the best decisions I made today. As soon as I took the first step for my run, I found my hidden love for running and then I couldn’t stop myself. I thought I would finish just a 5K, but ended up completing 5 miles. I explored my community and the neighboring too. I was glad to see so many people out running and walking. As I forced myself to run, you can see, I ran with the slower pace than I expected, but, I am okay with that as long as I get some miles under my belt. I finished the 5 miles run in around 52 minutes.

The evening was uneventful, going through different stores shopping for groceries and then calling it a night a little late (around 10 PM).

Day 7 – Saturday July 04, 2020– Quarantine Day 110
Happy Independence Day, USA.

What a perfect way to celebrate the 4th of July by running a 5K in not-so-early in the morning. Waking up at around 5AM and going out to run has become a good habit now and when I couldn’t do it this morning, I felt not so great about it. I think because I went a little late to bed made me wake up a little late than usual, at around 7AM and I didn’t feel like running, but, as always, I dragged myself out the door and with a little help from my awesome shoes, could complete the 5K that I hoped for.
Though I took more time than I initially thought, I was okay with the pace and glad that I could at least finish the distance that I had hoped for.

Here’s the photo of the lovely breakfast that I had after this quick run. All thanks to wonderful friends, Monika and Anupam. ♥️

After finishing the breakfast, it was time to go for hiking, but we scrapped the plan due to too much heat and too many things to finish. However, I got a chance to go out for a mile of running in the evening with the kids to commemorate the 4th of July celebration. I was surprised that the kids finished a mile in just 13 minutes and few seconds. More amazing thing was this was in 90F temperature, so I was really impressed.

After running a mile, our adrenaline wasn’t quenched and we went for an hour of soccer practice. It was a leisure activity to give some refreshment to our legs, so enjoyed it and ended the week in a perfect way!

It was a pretty busy week, I must say! Here’s my running journal.

See you next week!

August 09, 2016 – Adarsh Vidyalaya Patansaongi, Maharashtra, India

This is a must visit place for me whenever I visit home.

Adarsh Vidyalaya is more than my high school to me. This is the place where my leadership qualities were cultivated. This is the place where all my teachers worked so hard for us to to our best in our lives. This is the place where I learnt how important teachers are for this society and started thinking about becoming one.

There are not enough words to express my gratitude towards my school. If I had to put it in simplest words – “Whatever leadership qualities I possess, that’s all because of my school – Adarsh Vidyalaya Patansaongi” & I am proud of this fact.

This visit was special and emotional as I was biding my adieu to this place for some unforeseeable future. I know I might come across like exaggerating my feelings, but, that’s how I felt.

The trip started off by parking my vehicle in the parking space where students park their bicycles. It was a nice feeling to have returned to the same educational institution years after graduating, and funny that the bicycle was replaced by a moped. Even though I was the same Milind, the dynamics had changed and that one smooth parking moment gave me that sweet realization.

Before heading directly to the staff room to meet my wonderful teachers, I decided to visit the school ground as I saw a few students trying and practicing the game of Kabaddi. It gave me goosebumps just to see them practice as I used to (well, not that much, but still) just a few years ago. I saw myself in them and instead of disturbing them with their practice, just stood there and acted as a distant spectator of their craft.
Here’s what I was looking at.

After standing there for a few minutes and appreciating the weather like it was, I started moving to the actual school building and that’s when I was greeted with a group of students who were quick to notice that I was clicking some pictures and immediately posed to be in one, I also couldn’t resist and clicked their photos anyway.
Look at them enjoying their lives and doing what kids do best – carefree and enjoying their life.

That’s when I looked at the not-so-new kind-of dilapidated school building. When I was still studying, this was a brand new building and I remember being craved to attend lectures in this building; But, after many years, the time has had a greater impact on this building and its beauty didn’t last that long. Having said that, I am sure students who were lucky to have sat in that building used it during its prime and hopeful that they learnt some important life lessons while doing so.
This is the building that I am talking about.

Now was the time to head to the principal’s room and the staff room to meet the wonderful teachers and staff members. I had a great chat with everyone, catching up on so many things with so many teachers. We talked about our lives – current and future; there was a sense of pride while talking to my teachers and I was glad that they were proud of me, and everything that I could accomplish so far. Though I met more than 10-15 teachers and staff members, I could capture a selfie with only a couple teachers.
Below, you can see Lakhe Sir and Awate Sir, my middle school teachers. (please ignore my messy hair)

Though I could most of my teachers in the staff room, there were some who had gone out for classes and I had to go to individual classes to see them and bid my goodbyes. Obviously, I was made to stand in front of the classroom full of students and help the current students deliver some kind of inspiring speech. I, for one, who loves giving speeches and stand in front of the crowd and teaching, didn’t hold back and spoke from the heart. Some teachers loved it, some didn’t as they thought I would ask the current students to study more and do well academically. I did say that but more than that I emphasized upon importance of doing what you like and listen to your heart. Having gone through the rigor of long study hours and countless pages read, I realized it is very important to do what you love and shouldn’t force yourselves.
That’s when I clicked the picture of my 10th grade classroom from the distant. Looking back after these many years, I chuckled with a realization that the trees were painted/striped with the RAINBOW flag. It might had a different meaning back then, which had changed over the time and now represents the colors for LGBTQ+.

After reminiscing all these memories, it was a coincidence that it was time for morning prayer and I didn’t want to miss it, so, I stood there in the distant just like a normal/regular student and soaked it all in. I managed to capture a picture, though!

After the prayers, as it was time for classes and other stuff, I thought of heading home and bid my last goodbye to this wonderful place. On my way out of the school, I came across my 7th grade classroom, which is really special to me to this day.
Dhande sir was our class teacher during the 7th grade and it was this class which unleashed my potential. It was during the 7th grade, I knew, what my next steps would be after the 10th grade. I realized that English was utmost important thing to learn to progress, so I worked really hard on my English. I made sure Mathematics and Science was paid enough attention too, resulting in mugging History, Social Science, and Geography, which I thought were important in the short term but not in a long term as I wanted to develop my career in Computers. He made sure we were given enough individual attention so that we make progress in both personal and professional lives and I thank him for that.
There were a few students when I was passing through the classroom and hence are part of the picture below.

My desk is not visible in the picture, but I used to sit on the first bench in the left row right by the window. We made so many memories and learnt many life lessons in this classroom.
Reflecting back after many years, you feel humble and realize how important these small and trivial things help you develop as a person and set you up for a success.

After this emotionally enriching experience, it was time to head home, but before that I was again pleasantly surprised by some of the students and our physical education teacher, Chavan sir. He checked in about myself and my three sisters who were also in the same school, and was happy to know that we were doing good in our lives.
I requested him to pose for a quick picture and all students gathered around him. This picture captures perfectly what my school stands for and I am forever indebted to it. I will see you soon!

See ya!

August 06, 2016 – Pune, Maharashtra, India

This was my last trip to Pune before heading to US for my further studies.

With only one and a half weeks to go, it was very crucial to time all the get togethers and meets with my college, school, and other friends perfectly to make sure I don’t miss meeting anyone and face their wraith, you know!

To enjoy the trip more and have some relaxed time, I decided to take the train to Pune. It was a good decision for many reasons. The first one being I wouldn’t get to enjoy the Indian Railways anymore, so decided to make the best out of it. The second one was I have been going to so many relative’s places that I hardly had a quiet time at home, so this train ride was the quiet time that I desperately needed to retrospect and think about many things that I didn’t get time to think about before other people.

When I reached the Nagpur Railway Station, the emotions were different and everything felt so strange. I knew, this was neither the first nor the last time that I was visiting this place, but still, it made me emotional to reflect upon all the amazing things happened to me at this spot. It felt like I lived almost 10-12 years of lifetime in a single glimpse that I could capture in the picture below.

When I reached Pune Railway Station, it was hard to navigate to my friends place as I had never been to Pune alone before that, so it was an interesting experience. Instead of listening to my friends about the number of the buses I had to exchange to get to their place, I hailed an Uber and reached their place in no time with some comfort.

I remember spending that morning with them. We had breakfast and drank tea just like old times that we used to do during our engineering at SGGS. We had plentiful laughs and I still remember our talk while sipping the tasty cups of tea. I was a huge tea person back then so it brought a smirk and chuckle to my face just thinking about it.

After this breakfast was done, I had a lunch plan with one of my junior college friends. Well, we didn’t hang out when we were in junior college together, but over the years through Facebook and WhatsApp gotten in touch with each other and were meeting for the first time. It was really refreshing to meet her in person and hear all the talks that we couldn’t do over the phone. Good that she picked the restaurant as I didn’t know any places in Pune. For food, we ordered Pizza and a coke to go with it. We had a good time, but, I was astound to look at how expensive that place was. I think I spent more than INR 1,000 just at a pizza and a couple cold drinks. Even for a big spender like myself, that was a big amount. I am not complaining, just thinking how far I have come in the last few years!

After meeting her, it was time to hang out with my college roommates again and they had some places in mind. I was tagging along with them to explore Pune and see as many places as I continue my future journey.

This is Aniket, my roommate of four years during Engineering. He is flaunting Vedant’s bike when we were about to leave for our Pune exploration.
It was funny how we actually met. So, during the initial days of Engineering back in 2013, someone told me that there was a tall guy from Nagpur who also got admission to our college, so, when I was roaming on the streets of Vishnupuri, Aniket fit the description perfectly and I just walked up to him and asked him if he was from Nagpur. He nodded and I just gave him my number saying if he needed help with the room arrangements, he can give me a call and we can figure something out.
I chuckle thinking about that incident now. How innocent we were and never knew it would turn out to be a life lasting friendship!

And then you have Vedant.

Here you have one of the funniest guys I know. Vedant has been a close friend of mine for a few years now and our friendship has only grown.
I have seen him and his then-girlfriend, now-wife Rudu grow up. I still remember how I used to hang out with Vedant’s younger brother when these guys were dating. From there, I have virtually seen them getting married, and becoming parents for the first time.
I am surprised with his immense calm and demeanor personality and always wish him the best of luck.

Your new son is lucky to have you as a parent and I wish you all the happiness in the world!

If you are fed up with these introductions, I feel you, and will carry on with my day in Pune.

The next stop was to meet Harshal, one of my friends from Bangalore and my then-girlfriend’s ex-roommate and best friend. It is always refreshing to talk to her and, you know, spend time with her. We talked about so many things and the glasses that you see were a gift from her. I think I still have those!

After spending time with Harshal and savoring some Puneri snacks, it was time to meet my best friend from college, Reshma. Reshma has been my close confidant for years now and she knows more about me than some of my friends. I always love talking to her and there is very less room for error when it comes to her. She knows how to treat someone with respect, at the same time, how to draw boundaries. This is what I love about her the most. You must be mentally ready to receive an honest feedback from her, and that’s what has kept me both grounded and humble over the years. No matter what I do in life and whatever I achieve, our bond will remain the same that it has been for more than a decade now and I cherish our friendship more than any other thing!

So, we decided to have dinner somewhere near her workplace as it would be easier for the both of us to navigate during such a crazy traffic hour. We ended up meeting at Mezza 9. I loved this place and the evening that we spent was really good. I don’t remember what I ate, but still remember her moped that she rode that day and how I made fun of her for that. Man, those times never get old and hope that we both would stay like this!

After finishing the dinner, it was time for me to head back to Nagpur. I was glad that I could meet as many people as I could in just one day and was heading home what seemed like a really long day for me.

Around 10 PM, my friend, Harshal, called me saying she and her friends would like to meet me before I head home. Turned out they were close friends with my then-girlfriend and wanted to meet me before I get out of Pune. It was refreshing to meet them finally and talk to them on random topics. I had a great time talking to them and wished I had more time to spend with them. Harshal generously gave my some Mango Pickle Jars which were my favorite and I still remember the taste of those.

I will be forever grateful to everyone who took the time out of their lives just to meet me!

One more day to feel more grateful and humble!

August 04, 2016 – Waki Darbar, Patansaongi, Maharashtra, India

Two weeks to go for my flight to the US.

My Mom wanted all of us to go to this famous place near my village. This place is so famous that I have seen many politicians coming here to seek blessings from the deity.
Whatever the case may be, this place has always been destination for many.

Some people come here to seek help, some come here to celebrate a major milestone in their lives. Whatever might be the occasion, this place has never seen shortage of people queuing up for hours to get a glimpse of Tajuddin Baba, who was known to be the last Mujaddid. I don’t know what that means, but seems like a big deal to me.

Anyway, as I was set to go to the US to pursue my higher education and having booked my ticket to New York’s JFK, my Mom became more and more anxious each single day. So, for my safety and to make sure nothing happens to me, she told me that the entire family has to go to this place to seek blessings of Tajuddin Baba. To avoid the wraith of my caring mother and not to hurt her sentiments before I leave, I obliged and accompanied her to this place. My two sisters, Shubhu Tai and Dikshu Tai also joined us. Minu Tai, unfortunately, was in Bangalore, so she couldn’t make it to this visit, and, Papa was too busy with his store and decided to raincheck.

The road to Waki Darbar is no easy. It is filled with numerous potholes and countless speed bumps. Now that I look back and think about it, I wonder how we could visit this place so many times despite the road conditions. I guess, growing up around this area and having seen these types of roads since I was a small kid, helps you adapt to it and you swiftly carry on!

It took us good 20-25 minutes to reach this place and once we were there, after parking our bikes, this is what we were greeted with. The last time I visited this was, I think, a couple of years ago before that, so I could definitely see many changes. Aesthetically, it looked more beautiful and I could see some vivid updates and additions. I felt nice that the donation money was put to the good use.

The importance of this place is that is known as the shrine of Tajuddin Baba. I don’t have the history lesson for you guys, but, will leave it by saying that this place is of high importance.

We are not allowed to click pictures inside the building, and, I being the ultimate rule follower, made sure I don’t violate that rule. Once we were done praying and spending some time quietly, we were on our way outside and were exploring other places to worship. My Mom wanted to make sure she doesn’t leave anyone out to pray for my safety. Mom’s love, you know!

This was the scene outside the shrine.

And that was the end of this short trip.
I do have many memories from this place and this definitely is one of the latest memories I have. I try to visit this place whenever I come home, even though being an atheist. I don’t know, for some reason, this place attracts me and I don’t mind spending an hour here.

Many more fun stuff coming up before I head to the US.

Week 25 – Detroit FreePress International Marathon prep (June 21 – June 27)

From early morning runs in the 24th week, I am expecting to follow this routine more religiously. Let’s see what 25th week has in store for us.

Day 1 – Sunday, June 21, 2020 – Quarantine Day 97
Happy Sunday! The first day of the week and started it with a bang!

I woke up later than I expected, but managed to get in some early morning run. Before the run, I usually have a glass of freshly squeezed lemon juice. I wanted to get a head start today as I was planning for a long distance, so, instead of spending 10-15 minutes in preparing the lemon juice and drinking it, I just had a glass of water and headed out for my run.

Skipping lemon juice and having just water didn’t turn out to be a bad decision and with reduced pace, I could finish the 10K distance with ease. By the time I was done with my run, the sun was up in full flare and I was glad that I managed to finish the run sooner than I expected.

The one downside of running bare chested was bugs. I don’t know why many bugs started following me and I had to deal with them especially around trees. I am a germaphobe, so, more than physical, it was a mental torture and wanted to be done with my run sooner. I think that was one of the reasons, I finished the 6th mile of the run under 10 minutes, whereas the rest of the miles took more than 11 minutes each. Anyway, I will make a mental note of putting on bug spray next time I go out for a morning run.

The evening was special. I visited friends after almost 3-4 months and it was a good family gathering with kids around playing. We played basketball and checked out some trails and a pond, followed by delicious and wonderful dinner.

Day 2 – Monday June 22, 2020 – Quarantine Day 98
The first day of the work week was really busy.
I woke up in the morning at around 6 AM and felt like skipping the run for the morning. I couldn’t convince myself to go out for run as I didn’t get enough time to read in the morning, so, I spent the morning to get some reading in.

I thought I would get some time in the afternoon before heading out for biking, but, work help me up and I had to head out for biking, not giving me enough time to run.
This made me take it as a rest day. I am not that happy with it, but it is okay, I guess!

Here’s the little biking session that we had this day.

Day 3 – Tuesday June 23, 2020 – Quarantine Day 99
One more lazy day for me. I got up at my usual time but instead of going out for run, I ended up spending at least an hour or so in reading the latest book that I am reading. I was so glued to the book that I gave up on running for the day.

The evening was spent with the kids playing an hour of soccer. It was relaxing especially after staring at my laptop screen for more than 10 hours. 😭

Day 4 – Wednesday June 24, 2020– Quarantine Day 100
We’re in the middle of the week now and it was very important for me to keep the momentum going to cover at least 20 miles of running for the week.

Also, today marks the 100th day of being quarantined, so I had to run a 10K just to commemorate the occasion. I still remember the first day and cannot believe we have gone through 100 days without stepping a foot at work. I have used my car during these 100 days so little that the last time I filled up the tank was back in March. Strange, right?

After spending last couple of days without running gave me enough motivation to go out for run, especially in the morning.
This 10K run turned out to be exceptional for me. I started earlier than usual, at around 5.30 AM and as it was cold, didn’t sweat that much during the run. I had such a great time that I didn’t find myself that much tired at the end of the run and could have gone for more distance.
After the run, as usual, I sat by my car enjoying some fruits and water. It has become sort of a ritual now and I like it.

The work was a little too much and had to go out for soccer after it. Loved it!

Day 5 – Thursday June 25, 2020– Quarantine Day 101
Man! What a day!

First of all, work – it was crazy today. Today was the day Ford Motor Company was going to launch the new version of their crown jewel – the all new Ford F-150 and it being my favorite vehicle of all time, I was definitely pumped to see what was in store for the new vehicle release & I was happy to know that I wasn’t disappointed.
The look, the feel and the interior were so high class and top notch, I instantly fell in love with it. I know I am going to be a future owner of the F-150, its just a question of when and which year model. Let’s see when that happens.
Here’s the quick recap of the launch, if you are interested.

I get goosebumps every time I look at F-150 videos ❤️

So, at work, we had to do some analysis related to F-150 and it turned out to be the longest day ever. By the time, I was done with my part of the delivery, it was 7.30 PM and we sent the final email regarding the work that we did was around 9.30 PM. I must say, it was a long day and easily the longest I have worked so far. But, I am not complaining. I loved every single minute of this analysis. I got to learn so many things and got to know my favorite vehicle slightly better. Always fun to work on any area which is remotely related to Ford F-150, the best selling truck in America for more than 4 decades.

Now, talking about the run – I was so glad that I got some time to run in the morning. If I would have not gone out for a quick run, I would have missed it the whole day and would have been a grumpy person at the end of the day. When I started the run, I had only 5K in mind, but the new shoes felt so good, I couldn’t control myself from going for 5 miles.

As you can see below, trying to relax before I head to work (I mean upstairs on my Laptop).

And lastly my new shoes – Damn, my new shoes are so good, I couldn’t help but appreciate how much care the manufacturer has put in those to make a perfect product on a mass scale. I am talking about Brooks Ghost 12. I ordered these from Amazon and was excited when they finally dropped it off at my front porch in 2-3 days. I was dying to try them out and enjoy my first run with them. This day turned out to be that first run and with the first step itself, I knew, these are shoes are great and I am going to have some fun with them.
The most amazing thing about these shoes are the look and feel when you hold them in your hands or tie your shoelaces when you are going out. The fabric is so soft, I couldn’t help but smile at the feeling. The shoelaces are so well designed and crafted, that you see they have paid enough attention to details. This is by far the most expensive pair of shoes I have ever owned and I don’t have buyers remorse and believe that I have made a good choice. Let us see how far I can go in/with them.

Damn, these look sexy!

Day 6 – Friday June 26, 2020– Quarantine Day 102
Aha! The last day of the work week which seemed like never ending and it really was.

Today was the longest I worked till date. Just to give you an idea about my screen time, I turned on my laptop at around 7 AM and finally shut it off at around 10.30 PM. That’s a whopping 15 hours of work. It might be normal for some hard working people, but, for me, it is definitely the longest I have worked and was definitely exhausted when I wrote the last email of the day.
These days, I have to put in more hours than normal to support the new vehicle launches and the transformation that Ford is going through. I am not complaining, I love my job and definitely passionate about the kind of work I am doing, so those 15 hours didn’t feel long, especially when you have the luxury of working from home and enjoy some downtime in between breaks.

It was good that I got some run in before the craziness of the day began. I have been waking up consistently now at 5 AM or before that, and using the early hours of the morning to the full extent i.e. either running or reading. Today was the second day of my new shoes and it never failed to disappoint me. I clocked in the best time for a 5K. It is a personal best and I could feel it right from the beginning, so I didn’t hold myself back and just went with the flow. The coolness in the air helped a lot to keep my body temperature down and not fatigue myself while going at around 9 minutes a mile.
I am sure there is room for improvement, but, I am just happy to realize that I used to take 36 minutes to finish a 5K, which I have successfully brought down to 28 minutes. Many more 5Ks to come, and many more things to achieve.

The evening was well spent with kids playing soccer. We tried some new techniques today and they impressed me with their performance and energy.

Day 7 – Saturday June 27, 2020– Quarantine Day 103
And that brings us to the end of the week. Can’t believe it has been 25 weeks already.

After sleeping at around 10.45 PM last night, I was a little skeptical about waking up at 5 AM. I surprised myself when I opened my eyes in the morning and realized that it was 5.30 AM. I smiled and thought this is the best possible start a day can have. For the past one week, I have started keeping my phone in the downstairs living room, so when I go upstairs bedroom to sleep at night, I am alone with my thoughts, thinking about things that I would like to accomplish tomorrow. This has helped me tremendously to have a pleasant sleep without any interruption and wake up earlier than usual.
Previously, when I used to sleep with my phone by the bedside table, I used to get up frequently throughout the night causing me to wake up more tired and sleepy. For the last one week, I hardly had those interruptions in my sleep and as they call it, I have been sleeping like a baby.

Anyway, after waking up at around 5.30 AM, I was out the door for my run at around 5.50 AM. I skipped lemon juice today and just had a glass of water. The run turned out to be super amazing, partly thanks to the new route that I took on my way back. While observing different buildings in entirely different community, I realized I was running faster than usual and didn’t feel tired at all as I was distracted by the new surrounding. This transpired into pushing myself clocking the fastest pace for the last mile and I was glad I could go more than 10K distance.
This was the perfect way to end the week for me and I felt good to realize that I completed more than 26 miles of running for this week. It’s a good feeling!

You can see me relaxing after the amazing run!

The Saturday afternoon was well spent at the St. Clair Lake Metropark. I was really surprised to see so many vehicles on the freeway as I hadn’t seen them for the last 2-3 months. The traffic was a little bit too much for me. I guess, it will be like this for me until I get used to it.
We ended up walking by the lake shores and enjoyed some Sun and some lazy Saturday afternoon after many days. Here’s me posing for a photo during this walk.

And the week is finally over. Here’s my running journal looking all beautiful.

Until see each other again!

Quarantine – Month 3 (May 17 – June 16)

If you are interested, please check out the first and second edition too! Much thanks!

So, when we started with all this (craziness), I didn’t imagine, it will go like this. It feels like forever and an eternity ago that we started the quarantine phase and there doesn’t seem to be the end of it!

The first month of quarantine was difficult to process. Everything was new and there wasn’t a plan in place to spend time or take care of yourself.
By the second month started, I came to a realization that it might go on for quite some time, so, I should better get used to it.
Now that I have completed the third month of quarantine, I have emotions which are filled with gratitude, privilege, and thankfulness for the quality of life that I have been bestowed upon by friends and family. If I wouldn’t have spent this time with Monika and family, I don’t know what I would have done for this long a time and I feel for people (like my youngest sister, Dikshu Tai, back in India) who are spending this time alone, away from family and close friends.

I must say I am both fortunate and blessed to have gone through this time with people I love by my side and one thing that I have learnt over last three months is to never take anything for granted.

I will stop being all philosophical and dive into discussing the third month of me being quarantined.

COVID19 POSITIVE CASES IN MICHIGAN
What a turnaround by the state of Michigan!

I have been tracking the COVID19 positive cases quite consistently now. Being a Data Professional helps a lot when you are dealing with numbers and when the stakes are this high! Our Governor Gretchen Whitmer, led us from the front to make sure we slow down the growth of the virus in our state and bring life to normalcy once the numbers reach a satisfactory level.

Due to these relentless efforts by the HealthCare workers, nurses, doctors, and all the volunteers, it was amazing to see the count drop below 100 for the first time. It was a big thing to witness that and it happened after 3 months of strict social distancing implementation and closure of public places. It was a necessary and important step and the results of that are quite evident to us today.

The number of COVID19 positive cases on June 17th was 204. Exactly a month ago, this number was almost 400 and exactly a month before that, this number was ~1,000. It is safe to say that we have come a long way and hopefully, keeping the social distancing in mind, we will be able to pull this number a little bit down.

Fingers crossed!

RUNNING
Running has been by my side for a few months now and I have been running quite religiously for the last three months due to quarantine.

The first month saw me running 50 miles, which didn’t include any long run. The first month had a 10K as my longest run.
In the second month, I could run a Half Marathon and completing a total of 67 miles.

I sure surprised myself during the third month of quarantine. Not only, I ran a Half Marathon, but, I could run the First Full Marathon of my on the Memorial Day. It was a huge accomplishment for me, as I felt it was almost impossible to cross such a long distance on foot. I was both glad and proud that I could finish this distance and had Anupam for the company, who finished his first Marathon as well.

Talking about the numbers, 50 miles in the first month were beaten by the 67 miles during the second month. Due to more running, the third month saw me finishing 85 miles of running, an increase of 27% 📈 from the previous month and an increase of 70% 📈compared to the first month. I am so happy with this result and excited for the future ahead.

BIKING
The third month of quarantine was a blessing for my biking activities.

If you checked out the first month, you would know I rode 80 miles. This number ballooned to 201 miles during the second month of quarantine. And, the third month was even better. This month, my biking activities saw a growth of almost 8% 📈, which doesn’t seem like much, but I think it was impressive that I could complete 217 miles of biking. I never imagined that I would be able to cross the last milestone of 200 miles, and really proud of myself that I could do that!

HIKING
This third month was no different for hiking, per se.
Every Saturday has been a hiking day for us and we all have enjoyed different state parks in the state of Michigan. The one trip that stood was to the Hartwick Pines State Park. Though, we didn’t have a great time hiking this state park, but, it felt better to be on the road for more than 3 hours and feeling like summer that we used to. If you are or have been to US, you would know how cool it feels to go on a road trip here in the US. Summer is my favorite season and US has played a great part in that.
Talking about numbers, we finished 46 miles of hiking, a 40% 📈increase if you compare it with the second month and almost 60% 📈increase in comparison with the first month. These numbers are encouraging, and I am not sure whether they’ll increase further or not. In either case, I am one happy man!

CORE EXERCISES
Unfortunately, I couldn’t focus on my core exercises. I am hopeful that I would get back to these, but, would like to enjoy the summer before that!

GRATEFUL
I will reiterate what I mentioned in the beginning of this post. I am both humbled and grateful for all the lovely people that are around me. Lucky is a small word about what I feel and this lockdown has taught me to not take anything for granted and treasure the beautiful relationship.

Fear and Hope
I miss the busy streets
I miss the busy beach
Oh I miss the work
And life with little perk
But there’s one thing
I don’t miss at all
(that’s CHANGE!)
Because Change trumps
above all!

Fear and Hope are two sides of same coin
I welcome everyone to join
& leave you with this one thought
which side to pick once you toss!