020521 – Meditations

Inane updates from an ordinary life. Skip if you wish to.

4:27. Woke up 5 mins ago. I know this is freakishly early for most people but I have wanted to be up at this hour all my life. In fact, I want to be up at 4. The time when they asked us to wake up when I went for Vipassana. It’s rare that I am up at this hour, to be honest. Most days it’s between 6 and 7.

I am not sure what to write. I have been in and out of sleep last night. I was in the bed by 9:30 but I think I slept at 10ish and that too, was interrupted. I kept checking the phone and in sleep, tried to play chess. Oh, wait. Lemme delete it. I spend more than an h our on it everyday. Not worth it. Done.

So, today I am up because I have a podcast recording at 7:30. I actually made the mistake of accepting it. I sort of took it as a challenge in upmanship and agreed. Next time on, I will say no unless it’s one of those heroes. Nothing can, nothing must interrupt my morning. #note2self. I thus just have an hour or so before I need to go and do prep (research, etc). Here we go.

Have to log in that today’s MG’s birthday. She’s one of those rare ones that I care for. May she lives long and prospers. I will not be able to meet her, thanks to the lockdown but my wishes remain.

Next, over the last two days, I ate to my heart’s content. Way too much ice cream (Apsara’s > NIC > Naturals if you ask me). Parathas, Rice, Maggi, Upma, and all that. I was craving some great dosa. Had an ok one. A dosa can’t be had at home. You have to have it at a restaurant when it’s hot and cooling down fast. And you are trying to eat it faster to catch the crispies before they get soggy. But in the times we are in, that’s the best I could do. So that.

Today on, I am attempting a 72-hour fast. Before getting back on a low-carb diet. Not that I lost weight while I was on it over the last 15-20 days but at least in my head, I felt great that I was doing something about eating better. That’s all there is to life. Feeling great in the head! Let’s see how many hours do I do this time around. I typically tend to give up at around the 50-hour mark.

In other news, I am still tripping onto music from Murshidabadi Project. Specifically this one.

Oh, yesterday was yet another day when I did not shower till about 12. Thing is, I start with morning pages, and then I slowly start with work, and before I know it, it’s 10. And then someone or the other wants my attention and next time I see the clock, it’s 1. The day just goes by. So, today on, I will ensure that I shit-yoga-shower-powder-meditate before starting any work. I may not be able to do so today (you know, the recording at 730) but I will try for a shower for sure. Let’s see.

Next up, youtube played Chaap Tilak by Ustad Farid Ayaz and Ustad Abu Muhammad Qawwals. This. Loved the mehfil and their group. I never knew I would become such a fan of Hindustani music. But, I am. Also, this track is 47 minutes. The time that I have to write this piece. I in fact these longish tracks as my Pomodoro. There is this 24-minute track by Ustaad Shujaat Khan. I play that when I need to focus for 30 minutes or so. So that.

Ok, time for some serious things. While this is not a review or goalsheet per se, I have to move the needle. So in the month of May I have HAVE to ship one of my projects. I have to do 10K steps even with the pandemic raging. I have to get one more client for my work. I have to put in place building blocks for a startup for sure. Enough of this service business. Need things to be scalable and independent of me.

That’s about it. Need to rush. Here’s the streaks…

  • Morning Pages / Meditations – 140
  • #aPicADay – 0
  • 10K steps a day – 0
  • OMAD – 0
  • #noCoffee – 53 (will start on this next week)
  • #noCoke – 53
  • 10 mins of meditation – 0
  • #book2 – 0
  • Killer Boogie – 0
  • Original Work (limited time only) – 0
  • Surya Namaskar – 0

Slacking on most things, except this morning note. Need to pull my socks pants.