Annual report - 2009

It's time to look back at the year that has (almost) gone by and reflect.

2009 was the year when...

...Viv and I took a weekend vacation to Bintan, where we realised why I should never drive be allowed to drive any vehicle, and why life-jackets are truly life jackets.

...I retired from the birthday-surprise business. I have been here done this for years now. Quoting from Rocket Singh, "Maine is business ko ghol kar pee rakha hai." and it was a good time to retire. We had a good year, starting with Pizzadude's F.R.I.E.N.D.S. themed surprise party, followed by a surprise rendition of a medley of songs (including Dard-e-disco!) which the gang had been rehearsing for my birthday, then a surprise go-karting session for Sumanth's (I still remember his dance of glee on the roads), followed by us breaking into Shub's house and cooking her a fancy lunch (and dancing to 'You're my chicken fry'), and concluded in style by kidnapping Viv and taking him to Malaysia for some go-karting on an F1 circuit. Call it old age or what you will, but I actually feel a sense of relief after making the decision to retire. The only problem is that no one seems to believe it. :(

...Viv revived the artist in me by getting me an easel to serve as a constant reminder that I should start sketching again.

...two close friends I met on the blog got married, resulting in a very memorable India trip for the rest of us.

...we did the last of the airport surprises. Hopefully.

...Viv ran his first full marathon.

...Dad retired and moved to his own place to finally settle down after a career spanning 36 years and many many cities and towns, some big and some small, that hold tales of my childhood.

...baby Aish started talking. As in really talking talking. And singing. And talking. And talking. And talking. And talking. And talking. And she continues.

...Singapore made it to Division 5 in the World Cup league.

...I finally managed to get Viv hooked on the Harry Potter books. I got him the full collection as a birthday gift in September. It's December now. He's on book 1. :/

...I went on a sudden work trip to the US. Incidentally my office was an hour away from where my sister lived. The sister I hadn't seen in almost 3 years. The sister I casually ran into on the streets making her go, "OH MY GOD. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE????"

...Viv and I made another sudden trip. To India this time. It was the first time Dad had his whole family at his own place. A memorable family gathering and lots of insanity.

...Shub and Sumanth ran their first full marathon. Viv ran his second. Pizzadude and I erm, cheered. (Hey, that's important, okay?)

...I got insanely obsessed with Javed Ali songs. I actually charged my ipod for 5 minutes this morning before rushing off to work, because there was zero charge and I just needed enough charge for one song. These days, if I don't listen to 'Tu hi haqueeqat' on the way to work and 'Aaj jao meri tamanna' once I get to work, I can't function normally. (I am not kidding.)

...I liked almost all Hindi movies I watched in the theatre. Just got back from 3 Idiots and loved it as well. Too bad my favourite reviewer Raja Sen gave it only two stars. I guess he went with very high expectations and I read his review and hence went with very low expectations.

Goodbye, 2009. There may have been some downtime here and there, but overall? Aaaall waazz well! :)