1. What did you do in 2018 that you’d never done before?
2018 was a garbage fire of a year, a dumpster engulfed in flames that refused to go out. Now that I look back, I legit did not do any single *new* thing this year. I grinded away at the same old, same old. Thor bori khara, purono pajama...
But I did exercise semi-regularly for the first time in my life, and started a new, potential sidegig-y thing that got okay reviews and is still under production. So I guess ... I adulted?
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Nope. Yes.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope. But 2019 promises to make up for the temporary lull in procreation in my social circle.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank god.
5. What countries did you visit?
Vietnam! It was a surprisingly great vacation, where we wandered the length of the country, eating delicious food and walking aimlessly through pretty streets.
Within India, I went to Kalpa in Himachal, and the usual suspects of Benares and Calcutta. Maybe 2019's resolution can be to travel a bit more within the country.
I also visited the Nizamuddin dargah for the first time, after living in Delhi for 8 years ... does that count?
6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018?
Money money money money....MONEY. [Please sing along with me]
7. What date from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory?
Hmmm...maybe 31st December? But frankly, that's probably because that's the freshest in my mind, and I really did have the greatest time that day.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting out of the rut at work, I think. Change is terrifying and HARD, y'all.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes, a badly timed horrible bout of fever that made me partially miss a much-anticipated wedding, and several horrid cases of food poisoning. In retrospect, maybe stress really IS the silent killer.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Tickets to Vietnam!
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Mine. Without a shadow of doubt. Maybe S' too, but the jury is still out on that one.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
No comments, because remember how I'm adulting now? Responsible adults do not crib in public.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Travel. Food. Cats.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Vietnam trip! The business-y sidegig-y thing *fingers crossed*
16. What song/album will always remind you of 2018?
Sakalbana - especially the Coke Studio version
This was also the year I discovered podcasts, and I *could not* be more of a convert. They make household chores and errand running 100% better. My current favourites are Potterless, Harry Potter And The Sacred Text, Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard, and Spirits. Maybe 2019 can be my year of discovering Indian podcasts.
Podcasts for president!
17.Compared to this time last year, are you:
1. Happier or sadder? Same.
2. Thinner or fatter? Fatter.
3. Richer or poorer? Same.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Go outside. Shut down my computer and go for walks/picnics/runs. The amount of time I spent in front of a screen -- either working or trying to work -- is ridiculous.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Procrastination. Sitting on my ass, scrolling through the social media hellscapes.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Christmas was spent in Vietnam -- exploring caves in Halong bay and then coming back to Hanoi to walk around the city, visit a local church, and ingest Banh Mis and many cups of delightful Vietnamese coffee. So it was all good. :)
21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
The Americans from work. (This answer is the same as last year, which is a truly depressing state of being.)
22. Did you fall in love in 2018?
Nope.
23. How many one night stands in this last year?
None.
24. What was your favourite TV programme?
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Yes.
26. What was the best book(s) you read?
Hmm...let's see. "Ones Who Eat Darkness" by Richard Lloyd Perry and "All That Remains" by Sue Black were both stunning works of non-fiction. This was the year where fiction really did disappoint -- Katherine Arden's "Girl In The Tower" being one of the few exceptions.
I also completed my Goodreads challenge of reading 36 books. So that was something.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Nothing at all. All the old comforts were played on loop to keep real life at bay.
28. What did you want and get?
The Vietnam trip.
29. What did you want and not get?
Job satisfaction.
30. What were your favourite films of this year?
Mukkabaz. Manmarziyan. Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned the big three o! There was cosy lunch party with few friends the weekend before. Many gifts from S and colleagues the day and day after. Spent the day chilling at home with cats, reading happily in bed -- and went out to fancy dinner with S in the evening. Best goddamn steak I've had in Delhi -- which is a true birthday miracle.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less procrastinating, more doing. Maybe a little bit of therapy?
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018?
Boring corporate slave with red/green hair a remnant of rebellion.
34. What kept you sane?
Cats and books and yoga.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Lin Manuel Miranda. Ranveer Singh. Neil Gaiman [WHO REPLIED TO ONE OF MY TWEETS AND MADE ME DELIRIOUS WITH JOY]. David Tennant. Hasan Minhaj. Riz Ahmed. (My list doesn't change much, does it? I am loyal towards my celebrity crushes.)
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Scrapping of Section 377 from the Indian penal code! Yeah babeh!
37. Who did you miss?
Didimoni
38. Who was the best new person you met?
No one
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018.
As I recently read on the Interwebz -- DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
2018 was a garbage fire of a year, a dumpster engulfed in flames that refused to go out. Now that I look back, I legit did not do any single *new* thing this year. I grinded away at the same old, same old. Thor bori khara, purono pajama...
But I did exercise semi-regularly for the first time in my life, and started a new, potential sidegig-y thing that got okay reviews and is still under production. So I guess ... I adulted?
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Nope. Yes.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope. But 2019 promises to make up for the temporary lull in procreation in my social circle.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank god.
5. What countries did you visit?
Vietnam! It was a surprisingly great vacation, where we wandered the length of the country, eating delicious food and walking aimlessly through pretty streets.
Within India, I went to Kalpa in Himachal, and the usual suspects of Benares and Calcutta. Maybe 2019's resolution can be to travel a bit more within the country.
I also visited the Nizamuddin dargah for the first time, after living in Delhi for 8 years ... does that count?
6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018?
Money money money money....MONEY. [Please sing along with me]
7. What date from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory?
Hmmm...maybe 31st December? But frankly, that's probably because that's the freshest in my mind, and I really did have the greatest time that day.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
- Exercising semi-regularly
- Going on that much-awaited trip
- Staying contentedly alone for long stretches of time
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting out of the rut at work, I think. Change is terrifying and HARD, y'all.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes, a badly timed horrible bout of fever that made me partially miss a much-anticipated wedding, and several horrid cases of food poisoning. In retrospect, maybe stress really IS the silent killer.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Tickets to Vietnam!
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Mine. Without a shadow of doubt. Maybe S' too, but the jury is still out on that one.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
No comments, because remember how I'm adulting now? Responsible adults do not crib in public.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Travel. Food. Cats.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Vietnam trip! The business-y sidegig-y thing *fingers crossed*
16. What song/album will always remind you of 2018?
Sakalbana - especially the Coke Studio version
This was also the year I discovered podcasts, and I *could not* be more of a convert. They make household chores and errand running 100% better. My current favourites are Potterless, Harry Potter And The Sacred Text, Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard, and Spirits. Maybe 2019 can be my year of discovering Indian podcasts.
Podcasts for president!
17.Compared to this time last year, are you:
1. Happier or sadder? Same.
2. Thinner or fatter? Fatter.
3. Richer or poorer? Same.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Go outside. Shut down my computer and go for walks/picnics/runs. The amount of time I spent in front of a screen -- either working or trying to work -- is ridiculous.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Procrastination. Sitting on my ass, scrolling through the social media hellscapes.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Christmas was spent in Vietnam -- exploring caves in Halong bay and then coming back to Hanoi to walk around the city, visit a local church, and ingest Banh Mis and many cups of delightful Vietnamese coffee. So it was all good. :)
21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
The Americans from work. (This answer is the same as last year, which is a truly depressing state of being.)
22. Did you fall in love in 2018?
Nope.
23. How many one night stands in this last year?
None.
24. What was your favourite TV programme?
- GLOW
- Brooklyn Nine Nine
- Queer Eye
- Anne With An E
- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Yes.
26. What was the best book(s) you read?
Hmm...let's see. "Ones Who Eat Darkness" by Richard Lloyd Perry and "All That Remains" by Sue Black were both stunning works of non-fiction. This was the year where fiction really did disappoint -- Katherine Arden's "Girl In The Tower" being one of the few exceptions.
I also completed my Goodreads challenge of reading 36 books. So that was something.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Nothing at all. All the old comforts were played on loop to keep real life at bay.
28. What did you want and get?
The Vietnam trip.
29. What did you want and not get?
Job satisfaction.
30. What were your favourite films of this year?
Mukkabaz. Manmarziyan. Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned the big three o! There was cosy lunch party with few friends the weekend before. Many gifts from S and colleagues the day and day after. Spent the day chilling at home with cats, reading happily in bed -- and went out to fancy dinner with S in the evening. Best goddamn steak I've had in Delhi -- which is a true birthday miracle.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less procrastinating, more doing. Maybe a little bit of therapy?
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018?
Boring corporate slave with red/green hair a remnant of rebellion.
34. What kept you sane?
Cats and books and yoga.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Lin Manuel Miranda. Ranveer Singh. Neil Gaiman [WHO REPLIED TO ONE OF MY TWEETS AND MADE ME DELIRIOUS WITH JOY]. David Tennant. Hasan Minhaj. Riz Ahmed. (My list doesn't change much, does it? I am loyal towards my celebrity crushes.)
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Scrapping of Section 377 from the Indian penal code! Yeah babeh!
37. Who did you miss?
Didimoni
38. Who was the best new person you met?
No one
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018.
As I recently read on the Interwebz -- DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
Wahaan kaun hai tera,
Musaafir, jayega kahaan?
