#628 : Another Year gone! - 2018

2018 - A year of changes. Frankly, it's been like that since Dec 2016! 

I welcomed 2018 in a tiny claustrophobic room lying on the bed despairing to be with my loved ones. I was in Spain for work and home sickness had begun to set in. It did eventually get better though. Days passed by in a blur as I worked my head off for a good 4 months there before I got packed off to home. Being home felt good, but I missed the independence and the peace that Spain offered me. 

The year turned out to be a complete surprise in many ways. Just like 2017, the "adapt" streak continued. I moved to a new house, took a good vacation ( A perfect trip to Thailand) and ended up experiencing a lot of new things. 

Most important of all, I published my first short story book. In the process, I did realize a few things which lead me to my goals for 2019. I also indulged quite a bit by eating out a lot exploring different cuisines, shopping for good organic skincare/makeup and clothes and books. However, with all the expenses, I realized the value of budgeting and planning. I also decided it was high time I got fit, joined a gym and also stumbled on a group on Facebook which mentally supported me to realize the importance of fitness. A special mention of thanks to Janaki & Rubina. 

Blogging wise, it has been a stellar year. I set up my own domain, customized mail ID and managed to blog pretty regularly. I also worked on supporting the blog-sphere by commenting on most of the blogs I read. Thanks to Blogchatter's My Friend Alexa campaign, I discovered pretty interesting blogs and my Alexa ranking hit the roof. 

Reading wise, it has been a mixed bag. I didn't really read the books I wanted to, with Shashi Tharoor being an exception. Missed out on reading works of Perumal Murugan, Jeet Thayil & Manu Joseph. I began actively participating in the Bookstagram community, but then again, some harsh lessons there. I attended a book club meet this year finally! Met a lot of interesting people and of course, I met my book-reviewing-idol - Vishy. Been following his book reviews for a long time now. He is so humble and simple for a man who has read so much. 

The highlight of the year however was one goal that I set for myself and accomplished it perfectly - cutting off toxic people from my life. I shut out all of them. Aishwarya, my friend from school, helped me mentally to do that. Thank you Aish :) 

Some goals for 2019. 

1. Plan, plan, plan & execute - I discovered that once I have a plan in place, my mind refuses to stray and sticks to it. I intend to efficiently bring about a routine to incorporate my personal goals. Time to explore bullet journal may be?

2. Explore DIY - I'm not much of an arts and crafts person. This year, I intend to dabble with something that would help me focus on the beauty of little things of life. 

3. Improve my writing - The ever helpful Bragadeesh, writer & fellow blogger, helped me chart out a structure for the novel I had started to write. However, I realized my writing was weak. I need practice. This is the year for it. Detailed post later. 

4. Forget Bookstagram - Detailed post about this later. 

Wish you all a peaceful year ahead. I wanted to take some time to gather my thoughts before I penned this post down, hence the delay of 7 days!