Author: Anita

Winter in Virginia

Coping with life changes and enjoying the seasons

Published by Anita

My initial emotions when contemplating yet another life changing shift was equal parts anticipation and depression/anxiety. And probably, now that I think about it, quite naturally so. I did live in California for nearly 4 years (they did fly by) and built a life and a social network there. I pretty much upended my well sorted-out life and moved across the country to Virginia to start life all over. Again. The older I get, the more apprehensive I have become about building new relationships, and friendships, which are quite important to me. While I was an indiscriminate extrovert in my early years, I think I’ve come to appreciate quality over quantity now. I also find it much more difficult now. I still need and look for deeper connections and find it challenging because it’s becoming harder and rarer. And unlike people who live without social contact, I don’t do well without some form of physical and verbal connect with people. I need a hug once in a while, I need to exchange a few meaningful …

Thanksgiving and what I’m thankful for!

Published by Anita

I’ve been meaning to write more, but right now life has turned a bit topsy turvy again. Plans have gone out of the window. But life kind of tends to be that way for me, I’ve noticed. So just because it’s Thanksgiving today, I decided to look back on the last 10 years and my travels and adventures. Just for fun. It was hard to choose of course, but here are a few highlights. I definitely have a lot to be thankful for!  2008 My first experience at self supported cycling through the state of Goa A glimpse of the working life of women in rural Kerala on a photography assignment A young kid along with his grandfather in a sunflower field in Karnataka 2009 More explorations of Kerala on a bike recce trip for Muddy Boots, which has now become a major player in adventure tourism 2010 More explorations of rural Karnataka – spent many happy hours on my trusty Trek cycle with wonderful friends 2011 A time to chill and a beautiful hike …

Reaching the half-way mark: It’s the journey, not the destination!

Published by Anita

It’s rather crazy how time flies. I was just looking back to a few weeks ago (8 now!) when I started off on my challenge. A few days ago, I hit my 50 day goalpost. I now have 45 more days to go. So what did I achieve so far and what did I learn? One thing is for sure—with a bit of determination and focus (okay, more than a bit!), it’s possible to stick to a target. Take for example, my determination to run/walk a 5k everyday. On paper, it did seem a bit daunting. But now that I’ve incorporated it into my routine, I make sure I get it done—doesn’t matter what time of the day. Though I started aiming to run everyday, one month into the challenge I began to experience a lot of ankle and calf pain. That’s when I decided that instead of stopping all together, I would just focus on brisk walking. At least for a week or two. So, yes—I’ve made a few adjustments, but I’m getting my …

The magic of meal time

The magic of mealtime

Published by Anita

Growing up, I remember that my parents always made sure we ate at the table. Together. At least one meal and it was usually dinner. I didn’t really pay much importance to it till I grew up and moved on and out of home.  Now that I look back, I really appreciate that we all got together at the dining table every evening. It might not have been deep conversations all the time, but just the act of gathering at the table was something we followed pretty much every night. As was tradition, mom would cook, and the three of us would eat! I do remember trying to learn some culinary skills at a young age, more specifically baking, but for some reason my mom did always insist on taking charge of the kitchen and never really taught us how to cook. My sister, however, did go on to become a chef during the early phase of her grown up life, but that’s a whole different story.   As I moved on in life, I crossed …

A 100 day challenge: Fitness, food and a few important things

Published by Anita

When visiting Stephanie last month in Switzerland, she and I reminisced about when we met and how we met. We actually met through our blogs! I was quite active on blogger at that time, having discovered blogs around 2002. I found some correspondence between us dating back to 2004, but we might have connected even before that time frame. We were both prolific blog writers—Stephanie wrote a lot about her experiences in India and that’s what got me interested (why would someone leave paradise, a.k.a. Switzerland, and spend a year in India?!). I used to write a lot of ‘diary’ like posts about life in general, my travels and experiences. Over the years, I’ve lost that habit (of writing on my blog regularly, not writing for work, which is my bread and butter!) and I still remember it feeling so good to just write. It didn’t matter what the topic was—and I didn’t have reservations about writing about what I ate for breakfast or what I did for lunch. It was my blog and I …

Albi Chronicles: A tram ride to remember

Published by Anita

As the noisy white tram clattered through the narrow cobbled streets, I am filled with wonder at the navigation skills of the driver of this rather clunky long vehicle. He’s doing very well and considering the train runs around 5-6 times a day, he can probably do this in his sleep. We’re in the town of Albi in Southern France and this tram proves to be a rather quick and easy way to get in a 45 minute glimpse of the city.  Though I’m using the term city rather loosely. It’s small as far as cities go and this is one place where you’d be hard pressed to get lost. The first morning here, I realized that all roads lead to the main cathedral. And you don’t really need GPS or a map after the first couple of hours—just check where you are in relation to the cathedral tower, which is visible wherever you go.  Located beside the Tarn river, the main attraction of Albi is the Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile. The outside walls of this imposing …