Good Bye 2008!!

I am definitely getting back to blogging after a long time. A lot has happened. Time to say good bye to 2008 and hope for a gr8 2009. Time to set new resolutions, goals and also action plans on achieveing those goals. I am currently reading Jack Canfield's "The Success Principles". A wonderful book. I have always set resolutions every year which I never achieved. :) But this time, after reading this book, I feel like setting up those goals with a plan to acieve them so that I myself feel gr8. To stay focussed is important which is what I plan on doing. 

I am really excited about entering the new year. Over the next days, I will be working on setting up my goals for 2009 with definite dates and action plan. So here's bidding good bye to 2008.

Trek!!

What a day its been. I literally trekked after 9 years. The last trek was sometime in 1999 or so during college days. I never ever thought that I wouldnt be able to do it especially since I havent been in shape for a long time. In fact, it only made me realize at the end of the day that no matter what you gotto be in shape. Our trek guides Sunil and Anil were much older than us and they were going smoothly. Definitely an inspiration to remain fit no matter how old you are.

We started the day at 6:30am, quite unusual considering that we have never started on time earlier. So that was definitely good for a start. As I entered the bus, I could only 16 like-minded, enthusiastic people all set for a trek. Our destination was 1&1/2 hours from the city and I didnt see anybody cribbing about waking up so early on a Sunday morning. Eveybody were cracking jokes, and the atmosphere in the bus was extremely friendly and lively. 

We had breaksfast at a place close to the destination.  People were conscious about what they were eating. They didnt want to overeat before the trek. Once we reached, we got down from the bus, formed into a quick circle and had introductions. Most of us were current rotaractors. There were some ex-rotaractors whom the new members didnt know.

We started off on this long jurney. The younger members went really fast. Many of us were behind and the trek guides were there with us. As I looked on top to see our final destination, I didnt think that we wouldnt be able to do it. I was indeed slow since I was trekking after a long time. But somehow nothing negative came into my mind. We did take a lot of breaks and that was also fun since in every break we would have different fun conversations. Each of us would suddenly share about some incident or experience and everyone would get interested. What I liked was, that everybody was got along well with others. While most of us knew each other, there were other people who didnt know each other and were meeting for the first time. But everybody got along with each other so well that it didnt look like they were meeting for the first time. When we meet people for the first time, we generally dont get into long conversations. We often tend to get judgmental about him/her. But didnt see any of that today because everybody belonged to one Fraternity, ROTARACT and there was only 1 goal to get on top of the hill. There was no particular mission. We just wanted to have fun, test our limits which I think I definitely did. :) 

As we got closer to the top of the hill, we just wanted to get closer asap. I always insisted on breaks. Most people would want it. But wouldnt take the first step of saying that. So obviously I become like the short-lived hero of the time. :) 

We finally reached and I could see a great relief among the group. We just sat back under the shade and we were re-energizing ourselves. We spent a good enough time on top and didnt even think of returning back. Some of us felt like putting up a tent right there itself. But we definitely had to return. 

Most of us thought that getting down was not that difficult and that it would definitely be faster. But was not easy as we thought it would be. We definitely didnt take any breaks and I saw some people were really hoping that I would shout out for a break and were extremely surprised that I went faster. :) As we reached down, we looked on top and really asked ourselves if we went all the way there. 1350mtrs up was not a joke. We had completed a journey re-emphasizing the fact that nothing is impossible if you have a will and a strong belief that you can do it. This is something that all of us need to apply in our personal and professional lives. We have a lot of negative vibrations that affect us day in and day out. But if we can keep a closed ear to that and just have a strong belief, we are sure to achieve whatever we want to do.

We had our lunch at the Annie Besant Camp, a place where a lot of training is given to the Scouts & Guides. Anil had got the food cooked from home and it was just delicious. People were so hungry that they were just eating as much as they could. :)

As we got into the bus, we played a game of Dumbcharades which was a lot of fun. We discovered some hidden acting talents. I got back home thinking of the wonderful day we had. When you have a great company of like-minded and fun people, you can go to any place and have fun. 

Well, thats pretty much about my Fun Sunday. Time to get ready for work tomorrow. :)

Weekend!! :)

Its so nice that the weekend has arrived. These 2 days in a week are extremely precious for me just like anybody else. However, I wont call it a complete weekend for the next 1 year since I have my MBA classes over the weekend.. :( But 2 days of not seeing your boss and your colleagues qualifies for a weekend. :) 

Just getting ready to go for a trek tomorrow with my Rotaract club. Havent been on a trek for a long time and my fellow rotaractors have always been calling me. So this time, I have decided that I will go for the trek. 

We are going to a place called Makalaidurga. Below is some information about the place.

Title : MAKALIDURGA
Category : Trekking / Camping
Duration : Overnight / Day
Location : Karnataka State, India
Season : Autumn (sep - nov)
Winter (dec - feb)
Grade : Easy


Makalidurga is a small granite hillock, formed like a valley close to Ghati Subramanya. Makalidurga has a fort on top at a height of 1350mts. The fort has a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The mountains are filled predominantly with date plants, lemon grass and small boulders.

One can also get a glimpse of the mountain train, passing through the valley at the foothills of the mountain. On either side of the hillock are lakes spread over a 6km radius.

Makalidurga is a 1 ½ hrs drive from Bangalore.

My first blog!

After so many people have spoken about blogging and having been using the Internet for 10 years, I have finally decided to start blogging. :) It is definitely late when a whole bunch of people are blogging actively and have their blogs visited regularly. Nevrtheless, time has come today to start on. I plan to share my thoughts and views over general stuff.