2024 Report : The race begins again.

 January

Began feeling better and happier. All the mental clutter was removed in the previous quarter (Oct-Dec 2023). Began feeling 'settled' in Chennai. Work and home both came slowly under control. As my project progressed at work, I found myself getting more and more excited about Wind Turbine Design. 

Started learning about the Stoic philosophy. I identified myself with it.

IIT KGP visit : Stage 5 work resumed in new vigor.

February

Started looking after myself again after four years : (a) Ordered hard water shampoo and Amla-Shikakai powder to look after my hair, (b) Started taking 50-60 min brisk walks almost every evening with a pedometer, (c) started home salon treatment to look after my skin, (d) took turmeric bath every Sunday, (e) sipped mint water round the clock, (f) slept well.

Got a health check-up done. Started walking daily with a pedometer. Started with 4k-5k steps, then increased to 7k-8k by the end of the month. Reduced food intake. 

Stage 5 work resumed in full swing.

Updated my Home Study report for child adoption under CARA, GoI.

March

Deleted all dating apps. Men on such online platforms could not behave with me with the required level of respect consistent to my persona. I was not interested in any casual flings at this age (actually I never was interested in anything casual, not even when I tried my first relationship in 2002).

Pedometer began clocking 9.5k-10k steps per day. Sweating it out in the workout began feeling wonderful after many years. Lost 2.5kg in 6 weeks.

April

As my office shifted very close to my house, my commute time dropped drastically. This gave me more time to unwind after work. 

Stopped using hard water. Switched to RO water. My hair began improving, after a 9-month onslaught of borewell water of TDS > 1200.

The adoption agency (St. Thomas Mount) in-charge Sr. Malar visited my home and approved my application for child adoption. 

May

Stopped eating in the office dining hall. Started taking packed home-cooked lunch to work. 

Started my first project at work as a lead, ran all sequential tasks ahead of schedule. 

1-week vacation at Kolkata. Visited close relatives, completed a property-related legal formality with family, cast my vote in the Lok Sabha Election 2024. 

June

Began intermittent fasting. Breakfast became a forgotten meal now. Lost another kilo. Altered my regular wear kurtis to a smaller size from a local tailor. 

Hosted my father (Pita) for his hernia operation at Rela Hospital, Chromepet. The surgery was done by Dr. Arun Mozhi Varman. Pita was discharged 24 hours later. 

Completed my first project as lead smoothly, on time. Received good feedback from the Line manager and the Project manager. 

July

Switched to a more formal office wear, with black pleated skirt, plain pastel-shade kurta, and black modi-jacket. Compliments came in on my new look. Lost another 2 kgs.

Invited by Dr. Chirodeep Bakli (Asst. professor, School of Energy Science and Engg, IIt Kharagpur) to a capacity-building workshop under the SPARC-UKIERI project, titled "Sustainable Energy Transition: Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Wellbeing", on 10th July. Delivered a 90 min lecture (including an interesting Q&A session). 

Pita had his left eye cataract surgery in Sankara Netralaya, Thousand Lights West, Central Chennai. The surgery was done by Dr. R. Mugundhan, and discharged after 5 hours.

Renewed passport, registered the car (Neelam) at Meenambakkam RTO. 

Started my next project as a lead, closing tasks ahead of schedule. 

August

Received good feedback from the Line manager and the Project manager. Intensified studies on Wind Turbine Design. 

Resumed Chakra-Sindhu work. 

Visit to IIT Madras. New publication plan with Prof. Nilanjan Saha of Ocean engineering. Met Prof. Sujith after 2 years at the Rarified Gas Dynamics Lab. He introduced me to Prof. Chandramouli Padmanabhan, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. 

Started swimming at Waves Swim Academy : Sunday morning, 1 hour. 

September

Sri Lanka Cruise with Anindita, on board MV Empress, owned by Cordelia Cruises. 

Sept 02, 2024 : Sail out from Chennai at 5:30 pm.

Sept 03, 2024 : On high seas, sailing parallel to the east coast of Sri Lanka. Enjoyed the 2-hour Dance Drama "Balle Balle".

Sept 04, 2024 : Docking at Hambantota. Visit to Yala National Park, Yatala Dagoba Stupa.

Sept 05, 2024 : Docking at Trincomalee. Snorkelling around Mangrove Island. Visit to Sri Bhadrakali Amman Hindu Temple. 

Sept 06, 2024 : Docking at Jaffna. Visit to Nallur Kandaswamy Devasthanam, Deer Park, Jaffna Public Library. 

Sept 07, 2024 : Chennai Arrival at 10 AM.

The cruise had lavish buffets, glittering evening dance shows, free drinks, live music, Yoga classes, gym, salon, spa, rock-climbing wall, swimming pool, casino, magic shows, DJ, and much more. 

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Visit to St. Thomas Mount (the spot of martyrdom of St. Thomas), Santhome Basillica (the tomb of St. Thomas), and Marina beach.

Increased swimming to both Saturday and Sunday. Swimming 800 m in one hour, it was a combination of freestyle, backstroke, and breast-stroke.

Crossed 10k steps per day. 

October

Had a viral attack : had to take a week off from work.

Having lost 9 kgs since Feb 2024, I increased swimming to 900 m in one hour, both Saturday and Sunday. 

November

Swimming began exceeding 1 km in one hour. Freestyle speed increased and technique improved. It was interspersed with backstroke / breast-stroke laps to catch my breath. 

Was appointed as a Technical Lead in the Department, was the responsibility to supervise two simultaneous projects. 

December

Decided to revive my old PhD-time hobby of Odissi. Contacted Bengaluru-based Guru Karishma Ahuja, who visits Chennai once a month for her students here, and takes online classes for rest of the month.

Got the Company-sponsored annual health check-up done at Apollo Clinic Tambaram. The HDL and Triglyceride numbers showed improvements, but the LDL numbers still needed work. 

Met Prof. P. Chandramouli, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras; who is also heading the upcoming Centre for Wind Energy at IIT Madras. Also met Prof. K.V.Nagendra Gopal, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras. 

Enjoyed a 2-week stay-cation at home. Began swimming at a higher RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion). Increased the duration of brisk-walking sessions, sometimes breaking into a run.

Made strong plans for 2025. 

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This year sees a small report. I was relaxing and rejuvenating myself. This is in sharp contrast to the reports from the last 10 years (2014-2023), where so much was happening in life. Finally in 2024, I was at peace. I had reached a high plateau from where I had begun to slowly savour life. It was the cusp year beginning the second half of my life.