Hiking takes a hike

The last two years were great for hiking. Was almost at 10k steps a day. This year has been a disaster. The weather outside was gloomy, cold, rainy and windy for most of January. San was also in India for the first half of Jan and that meant less time for walking. Our hiking group leader tore both her ACL's and had surgery on one leg and has just started to walk without crutches! All of these things pretty much made hiking or walking difficult. Some days the iphone registered not even 500 steps! 

To break the jinx we made an attempt to hike Windy hill with a few friends from the other side of the bay. It was a warm 45 degrees.. by the new California standards for 2023 and we made it to the summit and back in good time. Fast forward just a few days and we have snow on the local mountains and people rushing to get a look. 

Went up to Hunter's point but there was no snow there.. but we got a great view of the hills on Fremont and San Jose side and the entire bay area. 

Then we hiked to PG&E trail towards black mountain. We did not make it as it got too "slushy" on the trail and our hiking shoes got all clogged with mud to the point where there was no grip. We played it safe and turned back.

The weather change is definitely challenging the house and I have to get some work done. Kept trying to postpone it but if we keep getting hit with rains this frequently, might have to just go for some major repair work! We have lived here almost 17 years and this is the first time we see snow on the local hills. 

Bracing for more rains that are coming this week..

A few photos from the last few hikes (including one of a salamander ? that we saw both in Mid peninsula and south bay trails within a week.. we normally don't see this.. only lizzards!)

Snow is fun. A very contrasting experience to Alaska where there was just snow everywhere and bitter cold. Looks like we brought a bit of Alaska back with us to the bay area!

My yoga T-shirt was wet from that hike! Given the 60 day challenge is still on, my pores just pour sweat! 

The creeks are all flowing and the same places that looked dry are now brimming with life!

Within 5 days the scene has changed.. stopped the car on side of our road to get this shot of the rainbow and the snow in the local hills facing our street. Had to go to office that morning, so missed the chance to just walk up and see it up close.

By the time I got back, most of this had melted.

We did see this view from our side..

and over the weekend.. we did get to have fun.. 

Our regular hiking gang is slowly starting to venture out again. Maybe this is a good sign. For the first time this year my step count crossed 10k steps for the weekly average instead of being below 5k steps. Let's hope this keeps going. 

My knee still swells and reduces every day. Trying to do my best to keep it under control at least for a few more days before doing some drastic medical intervention.

I feel this might not be a one off event and we might get this type of weather every alternate year or so going forward.. Seattle never used to get snow. Five or six years ago they got snow and the city came to a standstill as they were not prepared for it. Remember my BIL telling me about it. Now every alternate year they see snow in their backyard. Bay area might end up like that! 

My body was not built for snow.. it was built for Marina beach, but has done a decent job of adapting to colder climates. Trying to spend as much time in the hot room as possible to compensate for this weather!

There is a first time for everything! Didn't expect to see snow in Cupertino, but we did! 

A special 60 day yoga challenge

Folks who read this blog and know me or even randomly see me on the street (pretty much all of Cupertino) know:

- There is a Bikram Yoga San Jose

- There is something called a 60 day challenge at BYSJ

- and "I did it!"

They might also have concluded that I have only one shirt in my entire wardrobe and wear it all the time, possibly due to some psychological disorder where I have to wear the same shirt.

A more astute observer might have noticed that the blue T-shirt has different levels of fading due to repeated washing over years and therefore, cannot be the same shirt.

This fact has been reinforced over last year, now that there are two additional colors added to the collection. 

Why do I keep wearing this shirt? 

1. It was a T-shirt not bought, but hard earned by doing 60 hot yoga classes in 60 days (miss one and you do two on another day to compensate). A 90 minute yoga class is just that, no matter how many times you have done it before (2390 to date for me, given I have a tracker) and every class is different. You go in with a different levels of physical and emotional baggage and you hopefully come out without it after the class, if you give it your all.

2. It is a really nice shirt. Great fabric. Absorbs sweat after yoga class so the car seat doesn't get the sweat and it fits me nicely. 

3. Navy blue is my favorite color. Most of my clothes are blue!

Over the years, have done 10 of these 60 day challenges. The first few years, BYSJ used to give out little Oscar like trophies. So as of now, have 4 tropies and 6 T-shirts. Have requested the Yoga studio for an exchange program so we can turn in the old trophies for T-shirts, given it is practically the only thing I wear all the time and it is good publicity for the studio and Yoga!

This was my 11th Challenge and it was very very special. My wife signed up for it!!! Why? She was trying to heal her ankle injury and was trying all kinds of things. So I told her to try to do yoga with me as it is a definitely good thing. She came for a few days, saw an improvement and decided to sign up for the 60 day challenge. She was okay with me signing up as well. We were going through a lot of stuff at home and doing any activity with my wife on a regular basis usually ends up being challenging. So I was hesitant at first.

Then I got used to doing Yoga with my wife. Initially I would always try to look back at her in the second row to see if she is overdoing some poses or she is messing up Vajrasana which is great for ankles but only if done right. Then my teachers would all go help her do it right in the first 10 days. We would also plan and try to schedule classes together and it ended up being fun.

We both finished the challenge on the same day and put stickers up. Given my OCD, my teachers saved me a stash of purple stickers in the last week, so I could have the joy of putting up stickers. My teachers and the Karma Yoga helpers at BYSJ keep laughing at me for my sticker anxiety. I had 6 stickers left to place and they were running out of purple stickers. So I went and told them, "this is like doing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle to find out that you are missing the last piece".  They understood. Next year I have been asked to change colors for stickers every 5 classes or so, try to be in different spots in the yoga room, etc.. in other words, break the routine. That might be the real challenge. As you can clearly tell, wife seems to have no such issues. Puts whatever color is available. We are very different creatures.

It has been 3 1/2 years since I stopped drinking water during class. So the 60 days of doing yoga, in studio with the heat and humidity, without water and with a mask on was interesting, but totally doable. So if any of you reading this are thinking about trying to get back into the hot room, you can do it with the mask. No problem. You will get used to it in two days.(you are allowed to drink water.. I just do this as an additional challenge and it helps me suck in my stomach more during poses)

San and me did yoga together on most days. Sometimes we had to juggle doctor appointments for the kid and would go at different times. Once San's ankle started healing and she started on baby hikes again, we still did yoga after the hikes.

There is something to be said about sweating it out and breathing with single minded focus. My job has not been a cake walk for the last three months. It is more me than the job. Going from being in startups for 15 years to a big company takes some adjusting to. Things that take hours takes weeks, things that take weeks take quarters. All that fire and drive from startup life, hits a concrete wall of layered bureaucracy and quicksand like interactions. It takes some time to recalibrate oneself to the new normal, but I have learned to take enough deep breaths and have fun in the new enviorns. The 60 day challenge definitely helped in this process.

This was taken after finishing 60. Really happy for San as she finished this! For once she gets to talk about the challenge at the 60 day challenge party while I get to cheer her!

My teachers are amazing! They push me, correct me, know exactly when I am about to give up and give me that look that says "how dare you?" at just the right time to keep me going. Forever grateful to them for making me a better person on a daily basis. 

My MIL has wanted to do this challenge with me for 10 years, but never found the time on her travel schedule. Very happy that my wife did yoga with me for a couple of months and thrilled to see her do a 60 day challenge. Hopefully she starts doing Yoga more regularly and comes with me at least a few times a week. It is also my hope that my MIL will also get to finish this challenge in the coming years. 

A very happy Teachers day to all my yoga teachers and all my teachers!! 

BYSJ is a very very special place. It is truly a home away from home. It is a place where you can go in with a lot of issues and come out feeling a lot better than you went in. No other place of exercise, no hospital or temple has beat that for me yet! Watching my wife or kids smile is a close second. A long trip or hike in nature or watching the sunset over the pacifica, is a distant third!

Looking forward to getting a new T-shirt to add to the collection. Now I have one for every day of the week!

A 2020 birthday

This year's birthday celebrations across the board have been muted. Given all four of us are November born, November is a very very special month for the family.. every weekend is a birthday. 

The little one had a cupcake candle blowing with just the three of us and her sister joining by Facetime from college.

Jr. was alone in her dorm room the entire day on her birthday and we called her and wished her on video. We will make up for it with a celebration along with her mom's birthday.

My birthday today was a bit more active. Originally I had signed up for a 8AM yoga class in the hot room 9 days in advance.. but last Monday we got news that all indoor classes are cancelled. There was a parking lot yoga class this morning at 10 AM that was taught by Michelle.. she was so inspiring that the 10 of us who did yoga in 50F weather outside gave it all we had. we were sweating.. the jackets came off! They did sing happy birthday to me in class which made my day! 

Came home to wear a new T-shirt (courtesy of mom from last Decembers India trip) and had lunch with my two walking buddies. They made it special today. We got some to go food and ate in our backyard. The family also joined in from inside the house. The Bhavikas trip has to wait... 

Jr. is back from college this weekend and is in self quarantine. The very fact that she is back under the same roof makes me so happy! 

They asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said "a family portrait". It was promised to me but the little one backed out last minute as she is busy with homework. So we do it next weekend on San's birthday!

We also walked 5 miles in the evening to round up the days activities.. I have been walking 8-12 miles a day this month to get some regular exercise. My walking buddies have made it fun. 

There is an african proverb "if you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together!".  Even though I walk during the day sometimes while on phone meetings, the same box around the block feels a long longer when walking alone. 

One more trip around the sun. I am still in decent shape, thanks to Yoga! The last 10 years of my life have been what they have thanks to a regular yoga practice. Even the walking everyday, the discipline is thanks to yoga. 

50F ouside, my mind is telling me to just pull that comforter up a little more and I know deep down that the right thing to do, is to go do the yoga.. and at that split second I make the right call. That is what the yoga has helped me with. When push comes to shove, when there is an internal fight in the head between taking the easy way out vs. rolling up your sleeves and getting things done.. making the right call... that is precious!

I did spend an hour in the afternoon reading Obamas latest book but dozed off. The lunch was too good! 

San and kids got me a cake and a candle to celebrate just between the four of us.. Trader Joe's cake is pretty good! 

Now, it is time to pull up that comforter and cozy up and read books or get back to work.. because tomorrow is back to work day!

Next weekend we celebrate Sans birthday, my star (Tamil) birthday, my moms birthday (thanks to time difference) and Karthigai deepam.. it is good that we have a long weekend coming to do all that celebrating.. even if it is going to be on zoom! 

Hope next year same time, we can go out and meet people and get hugs instead of elbow bumps!

A big thanks to all of you who called or wished me on social media and a heartfelt gratitude to my yoga family! 

Trying to get the focus right

One of the biggest challenges I had trying to get photos of the comet was to try and focus on the stars. It is tricky business when you are fumbling in the dark trying to see how infinity is infinity focus..when the lens ring just keeps spinning. 

when you are taking shots with 10 second to 30 second exposures, it is all the more painful.. you don't know how it will turn out after what seems to be an eternal wait time. Then you have to zoom into the pic on the display to see if the stars looks like sharp points or blurred bokeh's.

It took me 70 tries to get the hang of it.. to the point where we were at Skyline ridge for 20 minutes and I got zero shots.. then we go to a friends backyard and got better shots.. 

even had a few airplanes fly by to give the comet some context. 

I should practice more.. start clicking pictures in dark conditions from my own backyard and then try it on things like comets.. 

The practice has begun.. somewhere in this cosmic mess, Neowise is there as seen from our backyard..

or maybe it is just blocked by that tree..one more day to practice "finding the comet" today. Apparently it stops being visible starting tomorrow night. 

This thing was fun. Got pictures of it on three different nights. 

The best part ?

For a guy who gets lost in his own house or work or local roads, the abilty to use the big dipper and precisely point to the comet even though it is not visible to the naked eye...

that was something! Family was impressed. now they might expect me to "not get lost" when we start driving again.. that is a tough ask. 

The Turkish desi..

San was recommended a Turkish watch by one of her friends and she started watching it.  She had just started and I walked past the family room and said "are you watching something in Turkish?" .. she was surprised that I could recognize it was Turkish by just walking past to the kitchen..

It was a cute chick flick called "Her Yerde Sen". After spending 2 hours watching it, I thought it would come to a happy ending and it kind of went to titles abruptly..

Then she sheepishly tells me it is a "serial" and that was the first episode.. There are 22 such episodes 2 hours long. I get migraines if I watch TV for more than 3-4 hours in a row but this was cute and we hardly watch anything together.. 

So I beg her to watch one episode with me every night.. we were okay for two days.. then the long weekend hit and she just went to episode 18 in two days while I was still at 4! She binge watched the damn thing by fast forwarding 2 hour episodes to under an hour. . . she insisted I do the same.. and I gave her a long lecture on why fast forwarding rom coms to a kiss is as bad as fast forwarding Jackie Chan as he makes all the prep moves before he strikes.. you know the action is going to be amazing, but watching him setup the strike is as important as the 15 seconds of action itself.. the whole buildup of the drama is lost if you fast forward.. 

I am going to watch 1 hour a day and maybe finish this in another 16 days without fast forwarding.. so yes, I am spending the long weekend watching a Turkish serial! 

Then came the part where I surprised my wife with some Turkish vocab.. even the kids were surprised.. everytime I show any proficiency in a language the folks at home automatically assume it has to do with a girl.. 

So here is the back story.. One of my close grad school friends Sedat was from Turkey and we used to live in different floors of the same Apartment complex. It was me, a Bengali guy and my Turkish friend taking turns making Tea (Tea bag tea, Turkish tea, Varanasi Chai) in someones apartment every day and we would watch Star Trek and Simpsons back to back for an hour on week days. A lot of great memories.. 

we would also teach each other phrases on what things were called in Tamil, Bengali and Turkish. Sedat thought it would be a good idea to teach me enough Turkish to pass me off as Turkish in one of his get togethers in his apartment. It was an experiement or prank of sorts. He used to give me cheat sheets to practice and I found some of them to show my wife and kids! (in the process I also found a lot of old photos etc. which was a trip down memory lane). 

there were many such sheets..can't find the rest of them. He taught me conversational Turkish and all I had to do was pronounce every word correctly.. think I did him proud by passing off as a Turkish dude.. He always thought I was a good student. Had no idea of the detailed words but could repeat entire sentences from memory.. 

The good thing is that I can always come up with intersting stories that surprise my kids.. 

Yeah kids.. your dad was cool once!