London Chronicles - The last blog of 2013

The title needs to be rewritten… it is not a London chronicle.. it is a life chronicle – an account of one of the most happening years of my life. There have been multiple mile stones in my life – hard not to have them when you are on the slow path from early thirties to mid thirties. I remember a few big ones – they are all the good ones; the bad ones, I learn from, change direction or self and move on. 2002 when I cleared CA, 2004 when I got my first corporate job and made a couple of friends for life, 2006 when I made my first trip outside India and made a few more friends for life, 2007 when I got married, 2011 when Nandu came along and now 2013 which has drawn to a close.

This year has been a mixed bag of life events – have had a lot of good moments, have had a few not too great ones. When I decided to catalogue the year gone by, I decided to give into temptation and did what consultants now a days do out of sheer habit (I am not talking about checking FB updates); I opened an excel sheet. Agreed that an excel sheet is not the most apt form for literary expression, but old habits die hard. Then I started filling out the excel sheet and found that it truly is an accountants tool – only facts no feelings. So the next best thing – a power point presentation. I could jazz it up a bit with colours, smart art etc to make it funky and put loads of feelings and expressions into it. But then how effective would it be on my blog? Not very, I realized. So I defaulted back to the standard writers tool – word. So here goes – Renu’s life in 2013.

The first day of the 2013 will always be memorable for me. Woke up in a colleague’s friend’s apartment in Sydney. First person I saw was my colleague with whom I had shared the bed – my husband knows about this, so please readers (all four of you) don’t turn this into page 3 material.  The view outside was Sydney harbor and it was surreal.  A half an hour walk through Sydney centre on  the first day of the year – watching strangers walk back from parties, the deserted streets, thinking of my family back home. Then I geared up and jumped off a plane at 14000 feet. Awesome adventure and I was alone, no one to share it with in person, no one to hold my hand, no one to hi-five after I landed. Alone. I did a whole light and dance show the next day in office and I published it all over facebook…. At least many “friends” knew.

I was back home by the end of Jan.

February we were a family again… work load was light, I was patient and life, for a moment looked good. I started writing articles for a regulatory magazine. Enjoyed the creative freedom, but it was restrictive. There is only so much passion that one can bring to the exciting world of compliance and corporate governance

March was training month – I attended a couple of leadership trainings at close intervals. They were good, thought provoking and ones which inspired introspection.

April had Vishu – Nandu in a salwar suit looking adorable. April was also Nandu’s and Mom’s birthday. We hosted our first party as a family. Not too shabby – could have gotten a professional photographer, but we didn’t. So no pics of the function, except for some that I took.

May was when my Nano came home. It was also my birthday, but was one of my most neglected birthdays in recent times. May was also when I attended a face to face job interview for the first time in over 5 years. The interview taught me three things – one, I was still employable; two, I was happy with my current job and three, I needed to get my priorities sorted out.  It was also the time when I started considering something radical – I wanted a big change and I was going to make it happen. I wanted to move countries - continents if possible.

June was when I got official confirmation of my move abroad – all I knew was it was either London or somewhere in US – most probably London, but could be US. The suspense was a bit too much for home life – my poor hubby needed to know where I was uprooting the family to. Then finally word came in – it was London. June was also hubby dearest’s birthday and my very first attempt at cake making. Not sure if I would want to try that again – for sure hubby doesn’t want me to try that again. I also became a regular driver in June i.e. I started driving to office everyday.

July was spent in house hunting and information gathering for my relocation. July might also have been when I started taking on more work, calls which started showing at home. Short fuse, no family time et al.

August, we jumped through hoops to get our first instalment of home loan towards our new home paid. Everything about the process was painful and made us reconsider our decision a hundred times. But finally it was through. August was also when we took Nandu to Mookambika for her Vidyarambham. It was a good trip. My first trip with my family ever. Enjoyed most of it. She enjoyed it too, I think. Things at home were not so hunky dory, lack of communication was hurting badly. I desperately wanted to get out of the country and to be alone.

September was Onam – my parents were with me. It was a special time. Nandu was decked up in new clothes everyday. Formal approval for my move came through. I was going to London for three years. The visa process could start.

October was busy and tense. There was a lot going on with my parents – their life in Mumbai was ending and a new one in Kerala was starting. There was a lot of packing up and unpacking to do. 35 years of life is not easy to lift & shift. There was no one at home to take care of Nandu. I didn’t want to sit at home, nor did my husband think he could make that choice. What great parents were we, right? Anyway, my parents had to struggle with two establishments and the journey that they ought to have undertaken together – from Mumbai to Trissur – they did it separately, with a lot of mental and physical stress. Something they could have done without and could even have been avoided if the rest of the family chipped in, but obviously you need to care about someone other than yourself to do that. It is not a quality easily found in people. So anyway, things happened as they were bound to and life moved on.

November 5^th, I said my good byes and left Bangalore. I was happy and sad at the same time. Happy that I was getting out of the depressing environment that my home was becoming. Sad that I had saddled a whole lot of responsibility on my aging parents. They didn’t deserve it. I started chronicling my life in London, so not rehashing it.

A couple of business trips to Europe, some starting trouble at office, house setting and DIY adventures, a heart warming Christmas in Amsterdam, a case of a lost and found laptop bag with my passport and truly rotten British weather on the last day of the year and here we are – 2 hours from year end watching Law & Order SVU alone…

With all the excitement and events, don’t know whether the year should be described as good or bad. I chose to be thankful. Thankful for being alive, healthy, having a loving family wherever they are, having friends who respond with warmth irrespective of whether the gap in communication is 6 months or 6 years, having a decent job, having some sense of safety and security and having enough hope in my heart to ring the new year in with enthusiasm.

So happy new year to me…..