2018 - A year Gone by

Have been thinking of this post since a week now and finally I have started jotting down points. A Happy New Year to All my Readers and Friends and Near and Dear Ones!

2018 was much like any other year except - many if my Dreams - Big Dreams came true and some big Good Byes were said.  I don't  recollect much about what happened in January 1st. Fast forward Mid Jan - my marathon time. As always I was half trained for Mumbai marathon and this time I failed miserably. I ran till 27 kms and then gave in, basically blood clotting had started in my right toe and I opened my shoe to check it out. The sight was pretty bad and I decided to quit. My first DNF. It was more than enough to out me out of my running career. I took early flight to Chennai to join my friends for Rameshwar trip. 9 people, 2 cars and 3 bikes. I was not driving back then but it was hell of a trip. Kartik was to leave for new job in few days and this was last long trip with the gang. It was a three day trip with more than 1200 kms on road.

Then February March April - came and went. It was a mixed one. I went Gujarat with parents somewhere at that time. Had one of the best birthdays where I didn't sleep for entire 24 hours, double cake cutting and long chat with Bestie and other close friends. I also had a very small visit to Bangalore where I didn't move out of the airport and you can find more about it - Bangalore Trip. Office was good as always, there was some heavy load at the end of March and I started to work on project which helped me learn new programming language.

There were two other big things that happen which are interconnected - Euro-trip with parents and my Car-Drives. Euro-Trip - my First International trip with Parents and it was a Multi-Country visit. My Cousin stays in UK with his wife and that made the trip process very smooth. Thanks to my Boss and office policies, I was able to get an approval for around 3 week trip. So, my second and parents first trip outside. It included visit to UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Belgium. It was cold there and snow at some places. Cable-Cars, Snow Clad mountains, Green Fields, Street full of cycles and Super Sports Car and what not. I'll have to write a complete new chapter to cover all the days and adventures, but for now let me highlight few points.

Some of the not so good point was that I broke my mobile when it slipped off my hand. It was a special one and I was planning to use it for atleast a couple of months more. So, things don't go always as planned. Because of this I had to make a purchase of new cell and one of the costliest purchase that I did for myself. The most exciting part of the trip was Car-Drive. We hired a self drive car in UK and took it from Cotswold to Oxford to Swindon. It was around 200-250 kms only but nothing compares to the fun that I had. Volkswagen Golf, it had 6-speed and one of the costliest cars I ever drove. People there fall rules like how Indians follow religion and it felt so safe to drive there. Wide roads and less traffic with ample of traffic signals. Turn around  there are tricky and couple of times I took 2 rounds before taking the correct exit.

Now, it was not like I said I will drive in UK and my parents and Cousin agreed, no. Frankly I myself had some doubt and so I tried to make a long term plan to improve my confidence and also make my parents realise that I can Drive. I had been driving some of my friends car here and there but not much in heavy traffic. After some lessons from kartik and Rohit I get to drive Abhijay's Wagon R. I took it on GST road (A narrow highway in Chennai) on weekend in the afternoon or early morning. I got the required confidence and I was sure I could drive abroad. I always knew that driving outside India is based on rules whereas in India it is based on Intuition, so safe drive abroad. Next I hired Ford-EcoSport and with Rohan and Ajinkya went to Pondicherry. A big for my my standards and we shared the driving time. You can read more about the trip - Road trip to pondicherry. That was the last push I needed for myself. As a final step my task was to convince my parents that I can drive in trafic too and they can be assured of their and my safety when I am on the steering wheel.

I made an impromptu 2-day plan to go to Mumbai, and drive my parents around in ZoomCar. This trip served two purposes - First I hired and drove in Mumbai and second - A short impromptu plan to Mumbai. I always dream of going to airport booking a flight to Mumbai on weekend, meet parents and leave the next day. I booked the ZoomCar from Airport and didn't inform parents about it. It was a surprise for them and I got a mixed share of scolding and praise for the same. So next day I took my parents for a spin for few kms and my Mom felt safe. It was less than 30 kms. Then I made a trip to Ghatkopar from Mumbai with Dad and he further accessed my driving style and he was happy about it. This trip was around 5th August and I was to leave for UK on 9th August. During this trip I also went to Marine Drive with friends and before that I had self doubt about driving in Mumbai traffic. All went well and I was able to convince all to let me Drive in UK. More about my this Mumbai trip - Inch-by-Inch.

Now, 2018 has a been a year when many of my Dreams came true. Few of them have been highlight ed in the post - Dreams Do Come True. Euro Trip with Parents _ i never knew that my this dream will come true so soon. It was an expected one and thanks to my Cousin too for making it happen. Then - buying a car - I bought my first powered vehicle - Activa (2 wheeler) when I turned 25, I got it on my BirthDay. I am not a good saver of money and it felt really tough to own a car in Chennai with my current salary and spending habit. Also, I was not sure how long I'll be in Chennai. I had a personal target to buy a car before I turn 30 but who knew Universe, or what I call Forces of Nature, had some other plan. My team, change, a burning desire to own a car, parents support and easy loan procedure made it possible for me to buy my first Car - Alto 800 :)

This year included many Good-Byes too. Many of my close friends and Crushes left the organisation and or the city. It was tough to deal with but at the same time I was Happy since everyone got more than what they had asked for and everyone moved towards a brighter Tomorrow. Finally, the last week of December was full of Marriages - Marriages -and- More Marriages of my friends, with some more friends getting blessed with Baby Boy/Girl.

Thanks for reading it completely and now I'll end the post Abruptly just like how 2018 ended. May this year bring new challenges and teach all a New Lessons which would make you stronger and help you climb upwards in life and at work.