journal

𝒟ℯ𝒶𝓇 𝒦𝒾𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒮ℴ𝓃𝒶𝓁, As the echoes of laughter and love still resonate in our hearts, we want to extend our deepest thanks and gratitude for the breathtaking celebration of your 20th wedding anniversary. The two enchanting events, the intimate हल्दी ceremony at your house and the mesmerizing exchange of wedding vows and reception in the picturesque park in Piedmont, were nothing short of magical. 🥂 The हल्दी ceremony in your home was a heartwarming affair, filled with the essence of love, tradition, and family bonding....

I have a hard time dealing with failure. I am guessing this is the same with most others as well. I go through the following chain of thought: why? why me? what did I do wrong? what could I have done instead? is there a way to salvage the situation? Simultaneously, I also go through another set of thoughts: is this a precursor of things to come? am I destined to fail at other new things or even my current endeavors?...

If everything behaved like freshly scented flowers, life would be much simpler. Unfortunately, this is not the case for most of the things we store in our homes. Moving supplies, exotic lamps, pens, printouts, camping gear, old art, jewelry, fancy kitchen gadgets, clothes, sandals, shoes, and many other items have limited utility, yet we continue to carry them from one home to another. The accumulation of these items is due to several factors....

Moving to a new house can be surprisingly disruptive and challenging, even if you spend more than a month preparing for the move. In our case, it took us four days to complete the end-to-end move, despite all the preparations. We finally moved in on Saturday and spent the whole day setting up the new kitchen. Vanya cooked our first supper in our new home, which was Tacos with a delicious dessert....

I use self help books to guide my meditation practice. Most recently, I finished Sam Harris’s Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion. Another interesting book I am still reading is Mark W. Muesse’s Four Wise Men: The Lives and Teachings of Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammad. In my fledgling practice, I am noticing the following patterns: on rare days on which I skip meditation, I am more anxious and tend to be less even tempered if I am anxious, meditation is harder to do meditation makes me aware of my inner narrative, and reminds me that I am not critically analyzing it meditation increases my self determination better meditation helps me to hear what others tell me better meditation helps me vocalize my opinion more However, it is almost a catch 22 situation....

Rearranging old furniture in new space is a thorny issue. We’ve had arguments, suggestions, and advice meted out at us by well meaning friends and designers. None of it is as controversial as the argument over TV placement though. We have a 65" Samsung TV (58"Lx~32"H). Today, we have it placed around 30" high from the floor, mounted on a custom wooden cabinet, which makes it at perfect eye level viewing from the couch....

Buying a preowned house is getting a fun project. The bones are what you like and buy, and the meat is what you need to hunt and procure. Our new home is ~20 miles from our current abode. It is around two and a half decades old, and the style is dated. The flooring is a mix of carpet and tiles. The cabinets in the bathrooms and staircase are in yellow oak finish....

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of events that finally led me to close on a house that we liked. Some statistics on the buying process: We started looking for a new house last August, so it took us six months to locate and buy an available house. We toured an average of 1-2 open houses every week We switched our search area 3 times Not liking the neighborhood Not liking the houses in our budget in a desirable neighborhood Optimizing for being near existing friends We made 3 offers, and the last one got accepted We increased the budget twice We got the house at asking price What next?...

Maybe it is a placebo effect, but meditation makes me feel clear headed. I used to have dreamless sleep, but now I often have vivid dreams. In my interactions with people, I feel that I am able to get to the main concerns faster. I am patient in performing routine work. I have less fear, and know when my anxiety levels are rising. The twenty minutes meditation practice still isn’t easy....

A conversation with Vanya sparked this post. The Earth goes around the Sun in 365 days; and around 100 rounds is what we get to experience and exist. In comparison, the Earth has completed 4,543,000,000 rounds so far, and it is estimated that it will continue to support us for around 1,500,000,000 more rounds. My initial 20-25 rounds were spent in ignorant bliss, with only worries of homework and tests. All people and love around me was normal and forever....