To whoever is reading,
I hope you're doing alright in containment.
It's been a while. And it will be a while until we can shake hands without thinking twice.
Inevitably, things have changed since March, for all of us, and I want to create a personal record of this universal historical event. After all, this blog was the only way of representing myself and structuring my thoughts. And I believe writing (it out) always helps.
Personally, I am still the same silly person I was last year, just with slightly longer hair. Professionally, I'm turning into a more curious designer and as a result, digging up and learning so much.
So here's an essay of some random and refreshing changes from 2020.
Home improvement
I used to think I was an outdoor person and hate being stuck at home. But, it looks like I just needed a nice home and a lovely person to share the home with. So naturally we ended up spending some time and effort in making our abode more functional and, of course, more beautiful.
Yes, I miss the trips we planned and the escape rooms we cracked, but with the givens it'd be foolish to risk ourselves and others. And these functional changes to the living space has been satisfying shift of focus in the past year. It almost looks like we're all out of ideas to improve it anymore, except to make the place more green.
What has been your satisfying distraction?
Routines
Working from home was never my thing. I learnt from my man here, the ways of maintaining the discipline of doing office work, at home.
Work starts at 0930 along with breakfast, and the 10am stand-ups allow for an hour's standing desk routine. Lunch is at 1230 and we watch an episode of The Simpsons while we're at it. Work ends at 1830 and the plan was to do some yoga for 30 minutes but we end up talking and discussing until we start planning for dinner at 1900.
Also, we do see Mandalorian and play some chess or uno or rummy on the weekends.
What's your routine?
Food
Just like the rest of the world, we cooked and consumed a wide range of food. And finally, after two whole years of moving to Berlin, I made my dearest idly from scratch, at home!
Eating healthy is also an important change we've brought about. Including plant based food and good fats and proteins are usually always in check while planning the groceries. I've personally bid adieu to carbonated drinks, sugars and things made of all-purpose flour. This healthy home diet has been a winner in keeping our weights a constant.
What's the favorite food that you made?
Boredom
Whatever you do, however you occupy yourself, there comes a time when boredom will strike you. Sometimes, it's obvious-- you know you'll be bored in the weekend, so you decide what you're going to do. But when you don't plan for it, you are going to be stuck with your phone or your TV. And for me, that's not a good thing.
Even when I was a loner, I've treaded safely around the topic of boredom and I've always treated it as an ally. Whenever I was bored, I filled it up with something. I used to take long walks or rides, while thinking of things or contemplating about myself.
But right now, being indoors, boredom strikes even harder. And we've turned to side projects that are quite far from our work topics, to be occupied. And Queen's Gambit has also driven me towards chess.com and I believe I'm somewhere around 1550. Also during the winter holidays, I plan on refreshing my websites.
What are you doing to fight boredom?
Cringe & Binge
Cringe
If you're not familiar with this- Cringing is that feeling of disgust, unpleasantness or embarrassment that makes you "cringe" or "shrivel". For instance,
Slayy Point highlights cringe content and they're always on point!
Me and my guy-- we're both professional cringers. Our earlier routines involved watching one cringy movie a month, but in the past year we've watched so much cringe-filled content. Some of our examples of cringe are movies like DDLJ or KKKG, and reality shows like Too hot to handle or The lives of Bollywood wives, where you shudder at the amount of over-acting or the cast and what they do.
I've also recently realized watching content like this, has made us share anecdotes from our past. It makes us awe at the different kinds of personalities there are. And since both of us are happily detached and un-social, these shows and movies help us a lot to stay this way.
Binge
We're not great binge watchers, but we do watch some shows regularly. Here are some shows and movies we watched, liked and remembered:
A few shows we liked :
The Simpsons, Avatar - The Last Airbender, Elementary, Fringe, The Mandalorian, Lie to Me, Truth Seekers, The Criminal series, Suits, Queen's Gambit, Upload.
Some movies we could recall:
Prisoners, The Call, is that it? 🤔
What did you enjoy watching recently?
The past
For some reason, the past year has been bringing back memories. These are not nostalgic memories, but the ones that helped us shape ourselves and the reasons we are the way we are. And by sharing our stories, we learn to listen to each other and embrace our pasts.
The past usually takes me back to the days at school, and I always wonder why I had such low confidence. I was bubbly and smart, but only in my head. Everyone else was either studying better than me or looking better than me. I wanted to stand out, so badly.
I was told, sometimes compelled even, to be curious and outspoken. But I never actually understood how it helped. I'm 29.9 now and curiosity is just seeping in! And for all the right reasons.
Does that mean my parents were wrong? Was there a better way that could have made a moody teenager, curious? Would I have been more mature if I was curious? I'll never know. And that's alright.
I felt better in college. I was neither curious nor studious, but I had the internet and the English language. I had some strengths, and realizing them was everything I ever needed to go on. All this, and I fell in love like an idiot, which meant settling down in my hometown.
I remember that my mom was providing me full support, while my dad was giving me the occasional silent treatment. And these are the two things parents must never do, in a situation like this.
Was there a better way to make me understand? Did I not know I was better than that? Why did I not see it sooner? But, thanks to me, I somehow realized my folly just in time!
I ran away from everything in 2012, the same way I did in 2018. I was an immature little girl with a "can do" attitude. I was only learning and observing my waking life.
I also observed men from a close range and learnt how they function. More importantly, this was when I understood the importance of knowing what I did NOT want in life. Knowing what you want is good too, just doesn't work for me so well.
A few more years of living and learning, and I started riding.
But frankly, I have almost forgotten that I used to own a motorbike, but sometimes I get reminded of the trips, thanks to Google Photos. And then we talk about how important it was, to be
comfortable while being alone.
Movies have been an important part of my life. The other day, me and my guy were talking about how we watched movies as an escape - And in two very different ways! He watched movies as a passive distraction, as white noise, without registering it.
But me? Oh, I used to go to the theatres by myself to indulge entirely in the movie-watching experience (with corn/popcorn and all that), and to be occupied by the story for a whole 90 minutes. Living the moment, I was! So proud. *pats on the back*
What have you been reminiscing about recently?
That's all for now.
Let's talk again, soon. Stay safe until the vaccine.
The past usually takes me back to the days at school, and I always wonder why I had such low confidence. I was bubbly and smart, but only in my head. Everyone else was either studying better than me or looking better than me. I wanted to stand out, so badly. 
