Weeknotes - 2025-W32
āEffortā
The picture above is 4 weeks of work at the gym. I take it with me whenever I go and write down the effort, the reps, the weight, everything on it. It has taken some beating and isnāt exactly a shining trophy. This week as I was looking at this, I suddenly realized that it really was a trophy but not a shining one - a one that concretized the āeffortā that Iāve put in over the past 4 weeks.
When I look at it now, I donāt notice any of the numbers on it. I notice that it is filled up - a sign that I showed up, and put in the work.
When I started training with Muthu, I remember him asking if I wanted to track the workouts in my phone or on paper. On a whim, I told him that Iād like to do it on paper and now, looking back, Iām so glad that I made that choice because seeing it in my handwriting, makes all the difference, I think. This paper is a testament to what I can achieve, if I just show up and put in the work.
I know where I was when this paper was empty, and I know where I am, when this paper is full now. I donāt need to prove that to anyone, but being able to see hard things become easy is reward enough for me. I started a new sheet last week, and in 4 weeks, it will be filled up again. And I canāt wait.
This weekās badminton was fun! Lots of high skill plays and the rallies are getting longer and more technical (insert consistency speech here too). M Square is quickly becoming a favourite destination.
Played pickleball too over the weekend and I think there is a marked intensity difference between the 2 sports. I think my mind treats pickleball as a āsocializing opportunityā rather than a sport now. I donāt know if thatās a good thing or a bad thing though.
I was honoured to be asked to be on the talk mentorship team for an upcoming prestigious conference. And we had the first round of rehearsals this week. I have been giving talks at meetups and conferences since the last year of my college (2010) and didnāt think that I had much to teach in this but I was clearly mistaken. I was able to give a lot of constructive criticism to the speaker and he appreciated my inputs too. Felt really nice to get that validation.
I look forward to the upcoming speaker sessions š
Spent a lot of time with my parents this week and it felt really nice. Went to their place for a festival and spent the night there. We 3 watched Anweshippin Kandethum and really enjoyed it. Father and I spent some time on his telescope trying to look at the beautiful full moon and take pictures (albeit shaky ones). Had some great food and banter courtesy my mother and got some work done with father too.
After FILās passing, Iāve become hyper aware of mortality in general and I donāt know how much time I have left with them. The only thing I can try is to make more memories in the time that is available.
Watched the F1 movie on IMAX this weekend and was totally blown away. What a well made movie! And watching it on IMAX made so much of a difference. The last 10 minutes of the movie were absolutely gripping and it felt like I was in the car myself. Its been such a long time since a movie gripped me this much.
The upcoming week is going to be a challenging one, with FILs 1Y ceremony coming up, and his birthday too. On such āmilestoneā days, I still find it hard to believe that weāre having to do all this for him.
Oh well, time waits for no one. Till next time šš¾