Anish Nadh’s Blog

Walking 5000 steps has toned my body down a little bit. I also started doing upayoga in the mornings. I want to add some push ups to this, I’m planning I do it between my classes.  The watch helps me track the progress and I regret not getting one earlier. According to the metrics I’m not getting enough sleep. My stress is normal. It’s been 10 days of doing this. Let’s see what a 100 days can do. 

I see him everyday at the park while I am on my routine walks.  Madan is well dressed, polished shoes, tucked in blue shirt and black pants and carries an office bag. While I walk circling the park, I see him settled on a park bench, making calls, eating oranges and taking notes from those calls. I assumed either he must be a hard working man, seeking a change from working at home or he has got his folk back at home into a false belief that he is going to work.  He asked me for five minutes of my time. Curious, I obliged. He was polite and said he was seeking advice from me! I  removed my earphones, and  got ready to listen to the pyramid scheme he was going to introduce to me. If not why would anyone stop a stranger to talk right?  I had time to kill, so I was all ears.  He told me he was  a facility manager for the Embassy group and he resigned the job, because they were not willing to give him a leave for 2 months to get married. He was looking for ...

  Yesterday, while I was on my routine walk at the park, I saw a few kids swinging on the branches of a big banyan tree that grew in the park. It got back memories from my childhood when I used to swing the branches of a guava tree. I could pull myself up through the branches and even reach my terrace that had no access through stairs. This guava tree was the only way there.   They cut the tree, I stopped swinging trees, got old and now I can barely hang on to a pull up bar. I know I didn’t have control over my age or the tree being cut, but I think I lost my ability to swing because I didn’t practice regularly.

My students and I are sometimes bitten by the procrastination bug. I have done some changes to beat the mindset.  1. Make a To Do list: This list includes tasks that I must do each day. Writing this blog is one of the things on that list. I must do it no matter what happens that day. I’ve also included music practise, walks in the park etc. to this list. I do not compromise on this no matter what. 2. Stay organised: Keeping my bed in order, finding a place for each thing, keeping my cupboard organised saves a lot of time. Even my keys have a place and I don’t waste time looking for them.  3. Will power: Having a strong mind to drag myself to complete my tasks takes a lot of will power and mental strength.  4. Eating right: I make sure I add a lot of fiber in my diet by including fruits and vegetables. I’m also taking vitamins and getting sunlight for atleast 15 minutes daily. I’ve noticed a big change in my mood. Carb heavy food almost transforms me into a lazy sloth so I...

My niece and mom made chicken stew yesterday. The ingredients did not have potatoes or milk. Instead, coconut milk and  corn flour was used to thicken it slightly. This was very delicious. I had poori and idiappams with it. I like the stew to look white, but turmeric made it yellow! Regardless, it was quite tasty and I had 7 poories with it! 

 Camy is the best chess opponent up-to date. The best part about playing chess with Camy is that he’s so unpredictable. This one game, I almost thought I was winning but he made a move that made me lose a lot of important pieces. He’s the most challenging player ever I’ve played with. I’ve learnt to watch out to predict the next moves after playing with him. I’m on a game with him now. I hope I can beat him some day! 

I’ve started a new routine. Walking 5000 steps everyday. I’ve noticed the sides of my tummy go down a bit! This takes quite some time to walk around. I’m also taking a nap everyday.  But, I need more time and energy to do the things that will add value to me. I’ve been playing hanging out with friends on discord and it’s a good hang. But I sleep too late that makes me wake up very late.  I need time everyday, atleast 30 minutes to do my piano assignments.  So I plan to make a list of things that I must do daily and then make a time table of sorts. Let’s see if I can keep that going. 

I deleted all the previous chats and data yesterday. 65gb of space was free from my phone. I did lose some important chats and videos. Out with the old. In with the new. life also has a reset button. But we seldom use it because we are attached and entangled with the people we share it with. I wouldn’t dare to hit the reset button of life. That’s gonna kill me. 

Today was the fifth day of walking over 5000 steps. My target is 10000 but I was not sure if my phone was tracking my steps correctly. So I got myself a fast track smart watch. This was on sale and I also added some Amazon points that I accumulated over the past. The watch costed me around ₹1500. I’m just getting used to it.  It looks like I have been walking just around 3500 to 4000 steps. Must take it up a notch gradually. 

 It’s 10:15 and I’m still not up from my bed! Today is my day off and there’s nothing to do other than my piano assignments.  I stayed in bed, played chess, went through some reels and videos and dozed off again. I was woken up by some heavy band set playing outside my lane that ended with crackers. I didn’t bother to get off my bed to investigate.  I’m hungry, I need to brush, take a dump, take shower but I need many more 5 minutes before I want to even try. Bye. Good night!

I swiggied some pothi biryani from Thalasseri restaurant. This was quite unplanned, my body was craving for some chicken! When the packet arrived, my niece came to request help to turn the tv on. I took the pothi biryani to the dining are where the tv is kept, and we shared the biryani. The biryani was packed with one banana leaf in a news paper.  She was trying to eat watching the tv behind her, (I placed her in such a way to irritate her). She would eat some biryani and look into the tv. I noticed she enjoyed her chicken so much, so I hid all the chicken under the rice. When her turn came ti eat she was surprised that I had eaten all the chicken! She asked me with disappointment, “did you finish it?”. She had a heavenly glow when I revealed the hidden chicken. 

From the best player, I think, to the worst.  Cameron: find the loot quietly, always get the chip upgrade, use the shield efficiently, fight the enemy that the other players are picking on for no reason, die saving them and sometimes succeed.  Allen: find basic loot, find chopper go to all the drop boxes  for premium weapons and plates, pick fights that can be fought inside smokes.  Bhanu: find guns, plate up 75%, fight enemy squads alone and die while others scan the dog tags to bring you back to repeat the cycle.  Solomon: loot to the greatest detail, including the recoil settings, gun aim settings, gyroscope settings, kill a few bots, in search of squads die outside the zone.  Vridhi: Loot, shoot fight anything and everything, even own team mate’s chopper, scope in with snipers but pick only close combat fights and heal!  Denzil: A great obedient soldier! Plays really well with precise instructions from Solomon.  Andy: Jump to Construction Site...

I’ve been washing all my shelved clothes and the used ones this week. It’s easy with the washing machine. I allow the clothes to pile up a little so it can all go to the laundry on the same day. After washing I reverse them and dry in the direct sun, flipping them after an hour so it gets the sun evenly. Then, after my lunch, walk and nap, I spend some time folding them and organizing them in my closet! 

 Every night my friends and I, join discord and chat away while some of them play Call of Duty fondly known as COD. Last night everyone joined late. So some of us discussed how we play chess and shared tips and tricks. Camy,  Bhanu alias Reeko aka Magnus and Vridhi aka storm, joined chess and we have some long games going on there.  As far as COD goes I enjoy spectating and commenting on the gameplay, especially Andy’s gameplay. It’s fun to watch different strategies at play! 

Ayurveda recommends the purging of the colon at least once a month. My grandpa used to do this regularly. So I spoke to my uncle a second generation old school Ayurvedic practitioner who agreed it’s good for the colon.  So last night I had a big spoonful of castor oil and drank a glass of warm water after. I woke up by 5:30ish feeling the discomfort in my stomach. So today will be the purge day, Imma let go! 

I made a list to complete today that included the following  1. Walk 5000 steps  2. Blog 3. Read  4. Oil bath  5. Nap  6. Laundry  7. Piano assignments  I’m yet to do the piano assignments, I had very little time to add these to my other chores and work. I also did some backyard clean up with my parents. I fought the urge to eat prawns fry stuck to my decision to eat just vegetarian food today. I also scrubbed a few tiles in my bathroom and I’m going 2 tiles a day. It seems like a lot of tasks but making tiny progress. Now to get on with my music assignments.

It’s the queen’s game She’s just reckless  Straight, side, sometimes diagonal,  She’s just everywhere  What’s her next move?  Is she mine?  Or am I just her pawn.

 I had a very long week. Lot of classes, parents not around and taking care of chores was a little taxing for me. It’s finally weekend and I get one day off, tomorrow. They will all be back tomorrow. 

Today is one such day Of demons and  unluck! Of fear and confusion! Why did this come be?  12 disciples and The One,  Joined in dining  On a Thursday evening Bringing bad luck, The next day Ironic, it’s called a Good Friday! 

My students are such liars! When confronted about why they did not practice, one student had finger pain. Ironic, he magically played the entire song and only had finger pain because a mistake was made.  Another student’s dad lied on his behalf, he didn’t practice because he missed school the whole week and had a lot of notes to write. Children watch parents lie for them and end up  getting really good at it.  So if you are reading this, hold your kids responsible for not doing the task they are supposed to do, or else, they’ll end up running our country in a similar manner. 

Food prep for my Toffee is quite easy. Just some rice and boiled chicken feet with some turmeric makes a one time meal. He seems to be enjoying it.  I’m was not sure if dogs can be given vegetables. Some online research for the best dog food prep showed rice, carrots, peas, spinach and zucchini. So dogs do need the veggies. And it’s all easy to prepare, it just needs boiling. 

I took a risk and got an Ayurvedic massage done near my place. I didn’t know if it was going to make matters worse for me, but this eased my neck and I can move about freely. Only tomorrow I’ll get to know if it’s going to get worse or not. 

It’s my birthday! I had a heavy breakfast, felt so full and did my morning chores. This time I spent my birthday with just myself. My parents and sister’s family are out of town. I enjoyed my day so far. My neck is improving. The sinus issue needs sorting.  I’m looking forward to my evening chores, and my classes. I didn’t use the birthday as an excuse to miss these lessons. 

 I started playing chess again on the chess.com app.  Sometimes I play with Andy, other times it’s with random strangers. I recently played with a 17 year old Indonesian girl and she beat me at all the games! She was just brilliant. The app also allows us to chat with each other! I pretended to be distracted with my girlfriend while I shamelessly lost all the games! 

 Parents came with mussels, preserved so it can be fried. The earliest memory I have is when we used to steam boil and have hot mussels with tapioca and chilli oil in my mother’s family home. I also like them fried to just about crisp, not too much. Mussel fry and rice with some curry is my favorite family dish! 

My parents just got home after their long tour in Kerala. They were there for over a month now. I observed how they didn’t look the same. My dad was quite weak, he found it difficult to walk. My mom as well limping. It scares me that I mar not have enough strength to take care of them. I’m making some changes to sort us all out.  I noticed they came in with a flu! Dad was coughing badly and mom’s voice was not sounding right. I started antibiotics for both of them. It was so difficult to notice my dad’s dark swollen legs due to diabetics. I will start oil massages for my dad everyday going forward maybe that will reduce swelling. I’m also going to start cooking a little bit for them from tomorrow. I’m doing all this with my stiff neck! My life may be cursed, but maybe God put me in place to serve my parents. Good give me strength. 

My music lessons are getting difficult for my students. I need to find ways to motivate them to practise! This is the most difficult part, keeping someone who does not want to play amused! It’s so difficult!  Im also reading a book called the Psychology of Musicians. This goes into the roots of music evolution, its purpose and uses. I’m learning a lot!  My neck is still hurting, I’m taking some pills from Dr sam. It’s ironic how I feel life is going to end so soon, but I’m  learning like I’ll live forever! 

 I woke up at 4:00 am today, thanks to my neck pain I kept waking up. I noticed Denzil was online, we got on a video call and chatted for over 2 hours.  We spoke about the tourism in Netherlands and new technology and advances on finding alternate fuel. It was quite insightful! 

I’ve been suffering with  a lot of pain after falling sick recently to a viral fever. My neck seems to be stuck and I’m finding it difficult to move and ride my bike or even drive.  I still picked myself up today! Went out and walked for 30 minutes, took a shower and went for the class with Avir! I’m came back and put some hot water bag on my neck. Now I have to send my assignments and prepare for the longest array of classes tomorrow! I could use some prayers. 

 I have a bad catch on my neck for the past 2 days. Not sure how that started. must have slept in the wrong position. I feel ok just after waking up. I’m not 100% ok but just better. So, just doing ok is good enough for me.  Today I will start working, teaching music. I will need to address the stiff neck and maybe exercise a bit. 

 This is another reason to start something new. I’m going to be more focused on my personal growth this year. Focus on work, health, wealth and staying organized. The plan is to put everything in a google calendar. It’s a lot to plan and as usual it’s going to be difficult to stick to it. But so far I’ve developed the brain callus to sticking to what is planned. I will make a checklist for this year! I will be 38 soon.