My body type is...HAPPY :)

Yellow sunshine! I know I have been MIA but I have a good explanation. I now have a job and I am working again. Yaay and I do love my job.

Well anyway so the other day, I was just going through my tickets, tours, hotel bookings (for the 20th time) for my up-coming vacay to Koh Samui in August (15th-20th to be exact) and I did the most scariest thing, try my swim suit. And OMG! Where are my gym shoes??? haha I kid. I always believed in cooking and eating your heart out, because you live once right.

So, I'm 15 days away from my vacay and there's a lot of activities I plan to do like deep sea diving (High five Mujeer!), Some treks, elephant rides and of course a lot of eating, drinking and dancing (those are activities too). And honestly I did freak out a lil. I mean come on, when you go on vacation and you go to a beach or you go to all these fun treks and you rarely find any unhealthy person. And when I say unhealthy I mean unfit to walk/run/climb/ for at least an hour. I find it hard to play with my dog for 15 minutes without panting!

Which brings me to the point, I am unfit and I need to build my stamina (and maybe work on my bootay as well haha). I would be lying to you if I said I didn't care about how I looked in a swim-suit. I am a little terrified but it's not that big of a deal. I still will be strutting my stuff in all the pictures even if I look like a lil blob of jell-o. After all I am going there to have a good time and not for a bikini shoot.

So NO, I am not going to stop eating but YES I do plan to do a little exercise for the next few days because I do not want to be a party pooper and say 'Oh my god I'm too tired to do that'. And there's a lot that we're doing in 5 days trust me.

So if your wondering, my routine is done at home, I run for a bit, play with my dog, do some yoga stretches, and some stomach and legs/butt exercise which includes squats, crunches and a whole lotta more squats. All in 45 minutes only. Am I expecting to see any changes in 15 days..not really! But at least that should build my stamina and make me look a little nicer in my swimsuit :)

(One of the islands at Koh Samui...can't wait!)

Last weekend I went for this lovely workshop for ladies hosted by Bombay Times called 'Born Glamorous' where Sameera Reddy spoke about women and their body type problems. Everyone complained that they were too thin or too fat or too tall or too short. Honestly at one point of time it got a little annoying to hear so many complains! But Sameera said something really beautiful to all of us. She mentioned that whatever your body type is learn to love it and work on it. So if your fat, work out a little more and maintain it; if your thin no matter how much you eat, that's just the way your body works, so try dressing accordingly like avoid skinny jeans; if your tall, walk with your shoulders pushed back and if your short walk with your head up like you own the world. Everyone's going to judge you no matter how good you look. Everyone has a right to having their opinions and we all do it (I do too).

At the end of the day people prefer to be around you not because your slim and hot and all that, but it's your personality that draws attention to you. Oh and she also mentioned, which I was totally intrigued about, is that there is this sub-conscious energy that revolves around us. I plan to read about it more, so once I am convinced I will blog about it.

So till then, stay beautiful...it's your personality that counts! So if anybody says your too fat or thin..show them the fin....ok you could probably do that in your head, but don't let it get to you. Key is to stay healthy.

-Dedicated to my first blog follower Satwik Shastri. Who lived everyday like it was his last. R.I.P

A gift called Gratitude.

GRATITUDE

This is a slightly different blog however it is something I truly & deeply believe in.

It’s all about giving thanks and being grateful every single day of your life for the opportunity to live another day, for waking up with shelter, food, a family/loved one to come home to, for money to travel to work/school, money to travel the world, for hanging out with friends, for learning to do something new and exciting, to be able to hear the beautiful sounds of music or people talk and laugh, to be able to see. I know I’m starting to sound a little cocky however once you believe in it too, I PROMISE you, your days and nights will be much happier.

I am a BIG believer in Karma. I believe whatever you do (good or bad) comes back...eventually. And I can say that through examples; it has happened to me in a materialistic and non-materialistic way.

I try real hard every single day to make the most of it, staying at home for a couple of days now I have come to realize the “behind the scenes” of what really happens at home when all of us are at work.

My Mom is the greatest person in the whole wide world. She is my super-woman. Who knew that the cleaning, cooking, chores, grocery shopping (and it’s not fancy doing that in this city!) paying bills, watching the dog, walking the dog, dinner, cleaning up after dinner etc. was all done without me even noticing. And I had imagined it to happen just like that....boy was I wrong! And the energy at night after a whole day of physical & mental work is unbelievable...like she spent all day at the spa getting a Swedish massage! Kudos to all the mommies out there. I don’t know how you do it.

If we’re happy & grateful about the little things around us, we learn to appreciate the good and the bad and it eventually makes us better human beings.

I have had so many arguments and fights and I have kept grudges. I have also had major stress issues and sleepless nights. Funny how both of them relate to each other.  I promised myself that I will make a conscious effort to not keep any grudges as I’ve lost too many people and cannot afford to lose anymore. I always believe that if it was my last day, the last thing I would want is to have a grudge with a loved one or a friend and leave without making things right. I’ve even told people close to me about this...when shit goes down during an argument...sometimes they believe it’s best to “not talk”.

A famous author once mentioned, “the things that take the longest to build are often the easiest to be destroyed.” This quote cannot be any more straight forward and I’m sure everyone of us can relate to it in some way.

Well here’s the BEST part of all of this, if your aura is good there’s rarely going to be any bad that will follow you, just because you won’t let it. Like I said do good and good will come back to you...eventually. That’s when the circle is complete. :)

I’m no perfect person, I have my so called “gossip-girl” moments with all the drama and bitching, but I am learning and I have come a long way. Remember....Baby-steps. :)

When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself. - Tecumseh

Let’s do this old school!

Ok time to share a little secret. I am only sharing this because I believe it works, otherwise I wouldn’t bother blogging about it.

So at the beginning of the year, somewhere towards mid January I was reading one of my inspirational books. One of the chapters mentioned that I had to write down everything I want to achieve or receive in my career, health, wealth, love, other wishes that you may have. The author did mention to set a timeline and write down figures like how much of it or where in specific do you want to be in your career path, or what do you want to do to enhance your relationship, or any material things that you may want like a car or an expensive get-away etc.

So I picked an old yellow notebook (I.S.M written on it yaay ISMITES!) and started writing and writing my 3 year plan, and I went a little overboard but that’s ok, I believe that nothing is impossible. :)

Reality check, with work being so hectic I barely got to go back to the book and read through everything I penned down. I did go back to the book 2 months later and smiled at myself for how cheesy I was with the wishes and wants; then stored the book back in my secret place just because I was a little embarrassed and did not want anyone to see it.

Anyway, this weekend when I was making space for my new make-up brushes (YAAY more to come on that in my next blog), I found the book and read through what I had written and this time I decided to strike off what has already been achieved and believe it or not, I got 3 out of 10! BIG YAAY YUHH!! And I didn’t even realize it!! I could also see myself getting closer to the other things on the list and unconsciously working towards them. And trust me when I say that I am a little girl with BIG wishes and BIGGER dreams. I was super kicked and now I am hoping to strike some more off. Whatever happened, I do not know. But it is true when they say ‘write your dreams down’.

All you need is to have a book & pen, and mark a heading for each page like, CAREER, HEALTH, WEALTH, LOVE/REALATIONSHIP, FAMILY PLANS, TRAVEL & MATERIALISTIC NEEDS. Then you write down a year/2 or 5 plan about what you want to achieve, where do you want to be, how much money you want to earn, what car/bike you want to buy, all the countries or places you want to visit, what do you want to do for the betterment of your health etc. And unlike me, keep reading it every chance you get as it will remind you of your plans & goals and how far or how I would like to think of it; how close you are to it. 

And we’re only human to have more needs, so keep updating it as you go.

Give it a shot (only if you want to). It could take time, heck a planner that I am; I have even drawn a retirement plan in my book of dreams :)

When you really want something to happen, the whole world conspires to help you achieve it. - Paulo Coelho

Esho Funi

I believe there is so much talent around us if we only took the time to admire it.
 Esho Funi, created by my high school seniors in Muscat, the incredibly talented Zohran Miranda and Aparna Dauria.

Talking to Zohran after years, I asked him what and why Esho Funi?
Esho Funi is a Japanese word that means 'oneness of self and environment'. It means you are a direct and equal reflection of your environment and if you give love to it, love is what you will receive. And they believe this to be the roots of creating their music; self and environment, the most simple fundamental of life.

The style of music is 'Organica' which is a mix of organic and electronic elements. It's undeniably one of a kind as I've never heard of anything like it before.

My personal opinion, I was FLOORED after I heard Esho Funi - Dragon Gate. It is my favourite and currently on repeat. The music is so soothing and no matter how bad your day goes, I promise you it will leave you feeling blissful. I'd wake up to this track everyday if I could :)

You have to listen to them to love them, so here's the link to Esho Funi http://soundcloud.com/eshofuniofficial

Good luck Zohran & Aparna! I look forward to you guys bringing more of your wonderful talent out for us to love!

-it is a pity that the only contribution I have to music is appreciation. 

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Today, I have exactly 1009 Facebook friends from all over the world; most I've gathered through my university and overseas internship days.

Ironically enough today, I always complain about not having enough friends around me. My best friend is over-worked running around in Dubai; my other best friend is going to be a mother of 2 very soon out in Minnesota; another best friend is hibernating in some cold land so far away and my other best friend in this city; we’re probably not in talking terms for our own reasons; but time should/would heal everything. Most of the people I’m ridiculously close too are not in this country and sometimes “even a plane ride away” can seem tough.

Anyway, lately I’ve been the main argument in conversations about no friends, not enough friends, hardly any time for friends etc. And I was happy (in a selfish way; Bad girl Jolene) to see that I am not the only one complaining.

So I found a solution for myself that will probably shut me up when I am on the verge of throwing a fit. I have a handful of people I can count on AT ANY TIME! If I am sick, they’ll accompany me to the doctor (a lot of that has been happening lately), if I am in the mood for a coffee/cupcake they’ll make time to grab one at a coffee shop, if I am in the mood for some gossip they’ll make time to call; and if I am pmsing they make sure to keep far-far away from me J

And so what if they’re only a handful, they’re super special and super supportive and at the end of the day that’s what matters. I’d rather be surrounded by 6 people who love me than 20 people who have mixed feelings, talk and take me for granted. Throw the drama out of the window! We have more important things to worry about...like global warming...haha

And if that’s not enough, thank your stars you’re born in the year where technology is at its prime. Three people I talk to ALL THE TIME over Skype/whatsapp/BBM are right there every-time I need them that sometimes I don’t feel they’re so far away at all. I still wish you guys were here though L

But with that said, I am so blessed to have people who love me for who I am and in some way I hope I have a special place in your heart too. I can be tough, but give me some-time; I am only human.

-i get by with a little help from my friends..