All posts filed under: Living

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 …

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 …

Why TRI: 9 fun reasons you should give multi-sport a spin!

Published by Anita

I have an admission to make upfront. I’m not an athlete. Never have been. And possibly never will be. In the real sense. I mean you know the type. On the cover of Runners World magazine; rippling muscles, lean body, long strides. On Bicycling magazine, aero dynamic, serious “I mean business” look, lean, astride well-oiled machines, showing off incredible calves and toned arms. No, I am not that person. But what I lack in athleticism, I make up for in enthusiasm, curiosity and “I want to try everything” attitude! I want to be the best I can be. I don’t want to spend my life wishing I had tried (or “tri’d” for that matter). Wishing I’d done this. Or that. Or basically… wishing! In March this year, I began training with a group to complete my first sprint triathlon on June 28. A sprint is the baby of the group, followed by longer distances like the Olympic, Half-Ironman and the Full-Ironman and other distances in between. While the distances were small, for me it was …

Losing a passport and why travel insurance proved useless

Published by Anita

This post is all about “what happens when you lose a passport” and my personal experience with ICICI Lombard Travel Insurance. Yes. I did the “no 1” thing feared by most travellers. It features probably on the top of things NOT to do when on the road. Lose a passport; your most precious travel document. So how I lost it is not a very glamourous story. It has no masala or intrigue at all. I won’t get into the details. For the record, somewhere on the streets of Malaga (Spain), while on a sightseeing trip (on a cycle), I am quite sure the passport got lost (case of the open bag, carelessness of not closing it properly). But more importantly, what happens when you do happen to lose a passport? While it’s not something you hope will ever happen to you, there’s always a possibility. Having gone through this experience, here’s what I did and I hope will help anyone who lands up in this quandary. My second part details with travel insurance. In my …