Anil's Rubbish tag:www.anilarora.com,2008-10-04://10 2010-01-27T22:54:15Z Movable Type Pro 4.21-en Saturday Run - Jan 16, 2010 tag:www.anilarora.com,2010://10.422 2010-01-16T22:43:51Z 2010-01-27T22:54:15Z Today, we took advantage of what Colorado has to offer and did a trail run on the Mesa Trail at Chautauqua Park in Boulder. I had never done a trail run before and this was pretty hard and a very... Anil http://www.anilarora.com
Overall, I actually had fun, even when we got a little lost and ended up doing more on the trail than expected.  I know I'll be sore for a while.  I am looking forward to the next trail run and now I know what to expect.

]]> Saturday Run - Jan 9, 2010 tag:www.anilarora.com,2010://10.421 2010-01-10T02:22:14Z 2010-01-27T22:41:55Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
The trail that we run is a single long trail, so you have to go out and then come back. So, I kept pushing myself until I hit that one hour mark. Then there was no way to go but back. And it seemed so much faster to finish it up.  By the time I was done, I was a little sore, but I felt great.  

I'm definitely ready to do a half marathon, but I have that full marathon in my sights now.  It's a long ways away...I'll get there.

See how I did on my run.
]]> Saturday Run - Jan 2, 2010 tag:www.anilarora.com,2010://10.420 2010-01-02T16:24:03Z 2010-01-02T21:17:09Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
I guess that's fine for today, but it reminds me that I need to make sure I'm doing the right things to get to my end goal.  

]]> Running to Save Lives tag:www.anilarora.com,2010://10.419 2010-01-01T18:13:01Z 2010-01-01T21:36:27Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
I've always felt that I was pretty damn lucky.  My cancer experience was a blip in my life. With catching it early and having positive people in my life supporting me, it was an episode that only lasted five months. Hodgkins Lymphoma is a well research cancer, so the treatment protocols are well known, and there's a high success rate.  But there are many other types of cancers out there that still have no cure.

So, in November, I decided to commit myself to running with Team in Training, which trains me to run a marathon, while raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. While LLS is dedicated to blood cancer research, I do this in dedication to my friends and family members affected by cancer, as I believe that any cancer research can cross any boundaries.  I keep the following people in my heart during my training...

  • Michele Arora
  • Reshma Arora
  • Venkat Meka
  • Lakhpat Pujara

I am also doing this for myself. Noone knows what could have caused my cancer. So, my goal is to live a much healthier, more natural lifestyle. Running will help me achieve that goal. I hope to be a lot more fit at the end of this, lose about 10-20 pounds from my midsection, and do something that I can sustain afterwards.

Marathon training at this time of year in Colorado is quite different than when I trained in 2006 in the Bay Area.  Not only do I have to contend with the altitude, weather can be an issue.  The first long run I did was on the Highline Canal Trail on an early Saturday morning in December.  It also happened to have been during a cold spell.  It was in the single digits and it was snowy.  Someone posted a video of the team in action that day. Since then, I've also been running in the evening when it was dark and just as cold and snowy.  

Yes, I'm crazy. I definitely feel like a true Coloradan now.

I've committed to raising $3800 by April 24th. It seems like it's a lot, especially with this economy. I don't like asking people for money, as they may also donate to other worthy causes, including some of the fundraisers that I've already done prior to this.  But, in all, $3800 is a drop in the bucket to what is needed to help those affected by cancer.  So, I'm hoping that people will be as supportive as they've been in the past.  

For those who want to donate, you can go to my team in training page. I'll be writing about my experiences here on this blog during this time so you can make sure that I'm doing what I said I was doing.  

Thanks to everyone for their support!
]]> Goodbye, 2009...Hello, 2010 tag:www.anilarora.com,2010://10.417 2010-01-01T07:05:00Z 2010-01-01T07:51:53Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
Health-wise, life is good. Still in remission. I think a lot of that has to do with how I deal with what I do with myself. While I do eat out, I tend to also try to be careful about what kinds of foods I put in my body. I'm more of a believer in organics and natural foods.  I haven't lost the weight that I hoped to, but I think I'm in better shape.  My cousin commented to me that I'm probably a lot more fit than I think. I was able to do a 14'er without really training specifically for it. I can still keep up while playing kickball or football. I am ending the year training for another marathon. That's helping me keep active during the cold winter months. And that's also helping me with my weight loss goals. Definitely have a way to go, but feel good about it.

I started volunteering more. I work at the Children's Hospital in the cardiac and pulmonary floor. It hasn't turned out the way I was hoping.  I was hoping for more interaction with people, and it tends to end up being just myself and watching parents with their kids. In the new year, I'll probably be tweaking this and trying to find a more rewarding position, perhaps on the oncology floor. I also began spending more time with charities like LLS. I raised money for the Light the Night walk in October. The marathon training I'm doing is with Team in Training for LLS.  I will be continuing this in the new year.

Work wasn't especially challenging this year. That was good because it allowed me to be really flexible with my time. In the new year, I'm a bit more focused on my career. I'm moving into a new position that should allow me to learn some new skills. My goal is to be more visible up the chain and to deal with more customers so that I feel better about the kind of work I do.  And this new project should be able to use the skills that I've learned the last couple of years as well.

Even though I don't like being single, I'm much happier now. Dating has been interesting. I am active online as I don't meet as many people in the real world as I would like. Of course, as I'm still single, nothing serious has come out of that...yet.  Sorry, no specifics really to share. I'm still chugging away, and I'm not frustrated...yet. While I would like to meet someone for a more serious relationship, I enjoy meeting some cool people.  

I don't think I have any specific for my resolutions this year.  I've been saying that 2010 will be the year of my upgrade.  While I've pretty much started already, but I'm pretty much going to be focused on myself.  Out with the old stuff, as I still have stuff from my marriage like dishes that I want to get rid off.  Stuff like that.

That's pretty much it.  Let's make this year a good one.  Happy New Year, everyone!!

]]> Resolution 5k 2009 tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.418 2010-01-01T02:00:00Z 2010-01-01T17:33:35Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com Every year, we make resolutions to do something regarding our health.  Instead of talking about it, my neighbor and I ran the Resolution 5k in Washington Park.  It was a good way to end 2009.  I didn't do as well as I hoped because I ran a little too fast at the beginning and the asthma kicked in a little bit.  Because of that, I needed a few more rests during the last one and a half miles.  I did finish and my time according to my watch was 36:41.  Unfortunately, I wasn't one of the first 100 people to cross the finish line.  There are a lot of really fast people.

See my performance here.

]]> Another Year tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.416 2009-10-29T06:42:29Z 2009-10-29T06:40:56Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
Here are some of the highlights:

  1. I saw my baby sister become a mom.  I am so proud to be a mama to Deven.  I guess my uncle/cousin Neeraj was right when he said that that relationship is pretty special.  I just need to figure out how to make it Chicago more often to see him...and my sister and brother-in-law, of course (they aren't that important :-)
  2. I adopted a dog from the Denver Dumb Friends League.  Kai has been a wonderful addition to my life, even when I get annoyed at him for tracking mud in the house or chewing one of my shoes.  It's just crazy how attached I've become to him and how I miss him when he's not around. 
  3. I spent countless hours toiling away outside of house working on the landscaping.  It's one of the reasons I wanted to be a homeowner.  I actually enjoy that kind of thing, even if it has taken me many months to get things done.  It would have taken longer if I didn't have help from my parents when they came and visited.  I'm not 100% there yet, but it's definitely in a shape that I will be able to enjoy for many years to come.  I'm pretty proud of the work that I've put into it.
  4. I started putting a lot more effort into volunteering and other charitable causes.  In the past, I would talk about it, but this time, I actually am now a volunteer at the Children's Hospital and have done stuff for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  That has made me feel like a better person that I'm helping others.
It was a really positive year I think overall.  Maybe closer to the end than at the beginning, I feel like there's a lot more momentum.  

Socially: I'm definitely more active that I have been. I've met some really good people that are fun to hang out with, like the Michigan Alumni group, Red Wings Meetup group, Euchre meetup group, the Ski and Snowboard meetup group, the indian meetup and mixer groups, my kickball team.  While I can't say that I've made the closest of friends yet, it's getting there.  

Dating: My ex definitely set the bar pretty damn low, so there's no where to go but up.  I'm definitely meeting so many better people now.  I decided to open myself up to meeting anyone, not just Indians.  Nothing has stuck so far.  I'm pretty patient, and I'm not going to rush into a relationship just because...otherwise I end up with someone like my ex.  I know that things will happen.  In the meantime, I'll have fun.

Work: I'll admit that in the last year, I've been in cruise-control.  Definitely coasting.  On one hand, it was good because I was able to do a lot of things that I wouldn't have been able to do.  On the other hand, there's some momentum to get back to the same level of productivity that has been my reputation.  Nothing yet set in stone.  It is Oracle and I have to deal with the slowness here.  But, the desire to advance is there once again.

Health: I don't know what to say here.  I really feel like things are a little mixed.  While working outside, I think I burned a lot of calories.  But I made that up by not cooking and eating more crap from outside.  For the upcoming year, I will be joining Team-in-Training (injury permitting), which will help me get in shape again (and of course, helping me raising money for LLS).  I always feel like there's a struggle here, and I just need to keep figuring out how to get that push so I'm not slacking off.

I guess I don't feel like I have too much insightful stuff to talk about.  I definitely feel old and there's alot of pressure that comes with age, but I'll deal with it.  I've dealt with worse.  Most people try to come up with goals.  I've tried that it with mixed results so I won't bother trying to set goals this time.  I think that I just want to keep the momentum going and finish up the calendar year with a bang.  

]]> Erasing History tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.409 2009-09-02T07:46:03Z 2009-09-02T07:59:53Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
I dragged the wedding, engagement photos into the trash can.

I watched as the progress bar ticked forward, telling me how many pictures were left to delete.

Poof!  Done.  Those pictures are now permanently gone.  I have no easy way of getting them back. 

It wasn't easy to do that.  My heart was actually pounding when I did. It still is pounding a little bit.  It wasn't pounding because of an emotional connection to the picture or the person in the picture.  I don't have that connection.  It had to do with the fact that I was deleting a piece of my history.  I don't really like the idea of deleting something permanently, even if it's something I need to move on from. 

But who would I need to pass my history down to?  There is noone.

I also sifted through the rest of the pics to delete her from the albums that I did want to keep.  And now, those pics are permanently gone. 

Off goes the band-aid.  It's done.
]]> I just want my ring back tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.289 2009-07-07T04:00:57Z 2009-07-07T05:41:12Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
Of course, it's not hard to be reminded of things again.  But hear me out...it's not that bad...more annoying, really. 

So, I've been asked by a couple of people if I'm still bitter.  My response is that I'm still bitter towards the ex and not to women or marriage in general.  And, really, I just want my damn ring back.  If you think about it, the ring to me was something that I worked really hard to purchase and it meant a lot for me to buy it for her, even if she ended up complaining about it.  And you know the rest of that story.  So, dammit, I want that ring back.  But, because of the law, I wasn't able to even ask for that back.  So I never did.  This was the same with the mangal sutra which is the Indian equivalent of the wedding ring. 

When I tell this to people, they pretty much mention to me that she should have given those things back.  But, I doubt that will happen because that's the kind of person I married.

So, there's not much I can really do about that.  I'll still have a little bit of that bitterness left and that will be carried for a long time. 

However, mentally, I'm almost there.  It's funny how even those trips that I took with her are now referred with an "I" instead of a "we".  "I wanted to leave the Bay Area and move to Denver."  "I went to Hawaii."  Etc.  I do plan on finally deleting all of the old photos that I have on a hard drive in the bank.  Of course, not everything can be erased.  And everything that I've learned will be a part of me forever.  But I can still treat everything as if the marriage didn't even exist in the first place.  Which is close to how I think mentally anyways. 

In the end, the next person I marry will be treated as the princess that way she does deserve to be treated.  She will get the ring that she deserves.  She'll even get the wedding that she wants, even if it's the same Indian ceremony.  That's just going to be the way it is.  And I know I'll be ok with that.
]]> Missing the Pain tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.288 2009-06-10T04:12:53Z 2009-06-10T05:26:28Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
I was talking to my therapist about this.  I'm really no longer at that point where I need to reflect on things.  I'm past that and am at the point where I am more about being active.  That's why I don't really write very much any more.  Don't need that release.  Even this entry is not about a release, but a just because  (And, one thing I should point out, is that whenever I did write an entry, I only wrote it because I was feeling something at that particular point in time, but I wasn't feeling that all of the time.)

I was watching Swingers again for the umpteenth time, since it's my absolute favorite flick.  And there's that point in the movie where Rob was talking to Mike about how eventually get over it and you kinda miss the pain itself.  I guess that's true.  In a way, I miss the pain, now.   Don't get me wrong.  It does hurt sometimes, but very rarely.  I still don't care for my ex-wife and what she did.  She is not a part of my future and I'm pretty much erasing her from my past.  Again, with the Swingers reference, that point where Mike hangs up on his ex when the other girl calls.

So, now what?  Life goes on.  I have been spending a lot of time out.  I met a good group of people to watch the Red Wings games with.  I've been active with kickball again.  I spend a lot of time with the dog.  I've been traveling to Costa Rica for vacation and to Chicago to visit my new nephew.  I'm off to Detroit tomorrow for a cousin's wedding in Toronto and in a few weeks a cousin's wedding in Cleveland.  At home, I've been working on the landscaping of my house, which has been a lot of fun (much easier than the inside of the house).  I've also tried to be active in the dating scene (nothing interesting to report right now).  Just feeling normal again.  It's pretty cool. 

]]> Costa Rica - Day 7: Tamarindo tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.414 2009-05-05T21:07:15Z 2009-10-11T21:34:23Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
---

We made it back to San Jose...safely.  I think that Kapil pee'd his pants because of some of the close calls that Sahil had when driving back.  Yeah...not so great.  The weather changed to rainy so, that didn't help.  And to top that we stopped at a Burger King for a chicken sandwich that hit the spot.  Once back in San Jose, we needed to figure out what to do because all of our flights are early in the next morning.  Originally, we planned to just stay up all night.  But we ended up getting a hotel so we can put our luggage somewhere.  We had returned the car as well.

Of course, I cannot sleep if there's a casino near by.  So, while Kapil decided to wuss out and sleep, Sahil and I hit the casino.  Of course, we didn't do too well, but that's alright.  We just hung out for a while and had more drinks.  

After we killed enough time, we went back to the hotel.  I got ready because I was the first to leave.  

And that's it...trip over.  Not too exciting of an end.  But it was a fun and relatively inexpensive trip.  Gotta love the fact that Costa Rica is only a five hour flight from Denver.  
]]> Costa Rica - Day 6: Tamarindo tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.415 2009-05-04T21:12:43Z 2009-10-11T21:19:57Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
In the evening we just hung out at the bar and went to a local place for a pizza.  Not that exciting.
]]> Costa Rica - Day 5: Tamarindo tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.413 2009-05-03T19:50:30Z 2009-10-11T21:12:20Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
Unfortunately, being at the beach for a couple of days isn't very appealing, especially when it's not the spring break like atmosphere.  I don't really enjoy the beach as a type of place to "find" myself.  I do much better when I'm active.  This place is full of couples and families.  So, it is a different dynamic here.  The night we got here, there was a wedding.  Nice wedding, but didn't really need to see it. 

This place is reminding me a little bit of my honeymoon, which was the last time I had really spent on the beach.  Yeah, there was Cancun, but it wasn't the same (and I don't know why).  It's funny how it reminds me of the good memories, even though there were some tense moments on those trips too.  I guess I would definitely enjoy this place a little bit more if I were here with someone I was in a relationship.   

It's good to be relaxing.  I'm not really thinking about work and stuff like that.  But my mind is constantly running and thinking about relationships and my situation.  I do miss the interaction with someone.  Don't worry, I don't think about her, because we already know that there are plenty of reasons why that wasn't that good.  It's just tough because I miss the fun and exciting stuff.  

On odd thing is hat I don't feel much different here.  I think it's because I was in a different state of mind before leaving for the trip.  I was already relaxed and work was a little slow.  I was a little bit unfocused before and now I feel the same.

I'm actually looking forward to being home.  Well, I'm definitely anxious to see my nephew.  I cannot believe that my baby sister is a mom.  So, I'm looking forward to seeing him on Saturday after I get back. 

It's a little funny traveling with these guys.  On one hand, you dealing with kid in a candy store who finds everything so amazing.  On the other hand you have someone who is more like the person out of college, who's just out to have fun.  I'm definitely in the middle.  I want to have fun and meet a lot of people, but I do want to get back into a meaningful relationship.  Not just any relationship.

Back to Tamarindo.  It hasn't been eventful.  The first day, we just hung out and drank at the bar.  We then ended up a local club across the street called Aqua.  We met two women who didn't speak a word of English, but convinced them to teach us how to dance.  We were definitely drunk because they did look better that night than they did during the day, when we ran into them on the street.  Anyways, it was a fun night, but surprisingly, I wasn't as hungover like the rest of the guys.  Maybe I just have a higher tolerance now.  And I usually stick with beer which slows down my drinking.

The next day, it was pretty rainy so we didn't do anything really.  That was good because we had been up all night the night before.  Eventually, we drove out to Conchal, which is a pretty nice beach near by.  The skies has cleared up enough to see the sunset.  Again, it was fun, but not anything special.  

We got back to the hotel where we ended up at the bar again.  We met someone who happened to be eating by herself and invited her to play euchre.  I had to teach everyone how to play, and it didn't help that Kapil was my partner.  He was still drunk from the night before.

Afterwards, we had dinner at a local place on the beach.  Our waitress was definitely high.  At least the food was much better.

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was late and even the bar had closed.  
]]> Costa Rica - Day 3: Arenal tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.412 2009-05-01T19:28:52Z 2009-10-11T19:48:23Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
Our goal was to do the zip line, and pretty much the primary goal of the trip for me.  It was a blast.  Seven stages, some about 200 meters high over the forest, some traveling up to 45 mph.  That was awesome.  Each stage began with the heart pounding, but each stage had breathtaking views.  I didn't close my eyes and enjoyed the ride.  This definitely made the trip for me.  

]]> Costa Rica - Day 2: Arenal tag:www.anilarora.com,2009://10.411 2009-04-30T18:45:17Z 2009-10-11T19:45:56Z Anil http://www.anilarora.com
After breakfast, Kapil, Sahil, and I went down to La Fortuna for an ATV tour.  It was a lot of fun, although it wasn't very muddy, which would have made it worth it.  At one point, we stopped at a local swimming hole where a lot of locals hang out and jump into the water using swing rope.  Of course, we did the same.  That was fun.  We proceeded to an overlook of the water fall, which was pretty nice.  The tour ended with a lunch at a local place.  Nothing fancy...and not that great of food.  Every thing I've read about this place has said Costa Rica wasn't really a place for foodies.

After ATV'ing, we we to the Tobacon to hang out in the hot springs  The water was great, and we had plenty of drinks.  But at this point, I'm starting to realize that this trip would have been better if there were women in the group.  This is not the type of place for a group of guys, especially since there aren't too many people here.  It's definitely not like spring break here, which is almost the atmosphere I would like at this point...to have some more fun.

We pretty much spent the rest of the day at the Tobacon, drinking, and finishing off by having dinner there.  It wasn't impressive, since it was Middle Eastern night.  Where is the native food?


]]>