2006 Reflections, 2007 Resoultions

With one night & one sunrise left for this year, here are my reflections of 2006 & resolutions for 2007.

'Reflections' of 2006

Health - 2006 has been kind on me. Have been hale & hearty throught the year, except for some common cold & cough occasionally. Had a minor accident early this year, fortunately nothing happened to me. Been careful since then riding/driving a 2/4 wheeler. Food habits haven't changed much, plan to go complete Veg sometime next year......don't know when that would happen. No, I don't eat red meat, i just love sea food.

Finance - Sound year, but as they say 'Make MONEY (HAY) while the IT industry (SUN) shines'. Yearning to make MORE money next year.

Career - Had the opportunity to contribute to couple of articles & hone my writing skills. Privileged to working with different teams & products in the first 2 quarters. Have been having fun in the last 2 quarters working on POCs & Demos with wide set of clients from various domains. It has been challenging situation where one needs to accept CHANGE from your clients at last moments & implement them @ 11th hour. Initally, I used to loose my mind over it, but, as time passed got used to it & developed patience at the end of the day. Had the pleasure of personnel management, to coach 2 batches of freshmen. Last quarter has been hell of a roller-coaster, dealing with attrition - one of the major problems of IT industry in Bangalore. Hoping for things to improve, as we step into the brand new year. I would be completing my MBA in IT next month from Manipal University.

Personal - As with everyone, I have had my share of HIGHS & LOWS throughout the year. I have been seeing someone for the past 6 months, things don't seem to be going good between us for over a 20 odd days or so. When I look back at the fights we have had, they seem to be over something which we could have easily passed off. In any relationship, it all depends on what each one is looking from the other. Apart from that, for any relationship to succeed I would prioritize the following things - Being honest to oneself, Communication, Trust & Respect. I don't have any regret over anything that has happened; have learned to accept the reality & live by it. At the end of the day, they all sum upto what you call EXPERIENCE - 'Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes' - a quote by Oscar Wilde. For those who don't know her, let it remain that way, it won't make any difference ;)

Travel - Has been a wonderful year traveling to various places.
Started off the year with a night trek to Tadiandamol, Coorg with Malhar, Raksha, Nita & Nitin.
In March, been on a trek to Kalathagiri then to Kemmangundi, Chickmangalur with Rags & his folks from Thoughtwork.
In April, been on a trek to Bear Mountain, Masinagudi, Ooty with Rags, Shivu & Nilesh.
In May, been on a trek to Mulliangiri and then hiking from Bababudangiri to Kemmangundi, Chickmangalur with Rags, Nilesh and Deepak Reddy.
In August, road trip to Tiruvannamallai, Gingee, Pondicherry & Mahabalipuram with Rags & Nilesh.
In October, another road trip with my old college buddies to Goa.
Finally, over Christmas weekend, been on a trek to Brahmagiri, near Nagarhole with Rags.

Photography - After spending 8 months shooting with FZ-30, have learnt some stuff & got to explore more functions/features of FZ-30. Learnt few stuff in processing the pictures from the web & my colleague Vijay.

Reading - Reading has been quite good too - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, The Quilt & Other Stories by Ismat Chughtai, Unio Mystica I by Osho, Extreme Programming Explained by Kent Beck, The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master by Andrew Hunt,David Thomas.

Music - I don't play any instruments, but follow things in the music world & try to make it to most of the music festivals/concerts that happens in Bangalore. Had been to Fireflies, June Rock Out & Deep Purple, missed out on IIMB Fest, Strawberry Fest & Sunday jams.

Sports - Soccer - Watched most of the games in this year's FIFA World Cup, was disappointed with the performance of ENG & GER. Atleast France made it to the finals & couldn't pull it off. Whatever happened in the final between France & Italy, still support Zidane. UEFA Champions League & EPL is going great, except the fact that Gunners have played badly and just hope they finish among the top 4 in this season's EPL; so that they qualify for next season's Champions League. I wish Chelsea win EPL & either Arsenal / Liverpool win this edition's Champions League.

F1 - Followed most of the F1 races & had interesting competition between Schumi & Alonso for the Championship. I thought Schumi would change his mind and continue another year with Ferrari, unfortunately he won't be around for next season. Looking forward to the Kimi's performance with the Ferrari in the next season, hope he beats Alonso.

Tennis - Watched all the grandslams & loved the way Roger Federer has performed through out the season. I wish he wins the French Open title next year, the only title which eludes him. Even though Leander & Mahesh won during the Doha games, I hope they don't make so much fuss when they can't get along well personally. Tennis too saw one of the greatest player retire this seaosn, none other than Andre Agassi.

Cricket - I don't really watch this sport much, atleast when India is playing - damn such a waste of time,we end up loosing most of the times. Watched last 2 matches of Ashes, man England performed very poorly & Aussies, as always dominated and won. I am hoping for a 5-0 whitewash. Hats off to Warnie, who happened to take 700 wickets in test cricket & has announced his retirement along with his teammate McGrath.

Movies- Not a movie buff, but I am surprised at the number of movies I have watched this year. Guess they sum up to around 50+ movies in theatres, DVDs, HBO, Star, AXN & downloads.

Blogging - Haven't blogged that often after August this year, hope to be regular next year.

Gadgets - Panasonic FZ-30, Apple iPod, Sony Ericsson K608i

'Resolutions' for 2007

• Go for morning jogs everyday & do some yoga.
• Cut down on binge drinking.
• Convince parents, its not the time for marriage.
• Achieve perfection @ work & photography.
• Keep the learning curve growing.
• Blog more frequently.
• Attend more music festivals.
• Travel to distant place.
• Buy more gadgets.

Yesterday evening I sent an SMS to few friends and requested a response. Here is the SMS, "Hi! Only 2 days left 4 new year. So....Wat do u like 2 see change in me? Or wat shouldn't change 4 next yr. Reply frankly in as much as u know me...To be a better person".

Following are the responses I have recieved till today:

• Change u'r attitude towards SN management N don't chnage u'r frankfull thoughts to any....
• Live life on u'r terms not on public demand
• U r gud d way u r but spend quality time wit u'r family
• I cannot xpect any bdy to change fr me....I my self hav tonnes to imprve. N change fr urself nt fr others
• Get married soon :) ;)
• Hey...wel i think u r the best as u r....very open n polite...quite informative also at times...i love d way u counter attack N argue wit frends...nevs on me mind it :) der wise no changes for u to make, ya one, don use kannada wen ua talk t me N V bad at tat.

Now, I am requesting those of you who know me to give me an honest response too.