23 Things I achieved in 2023
Everything we do after 2020 is an achievement
I quit a job. Ask your kids to watch and learn.
Turned 40 with limbs intact so far. Given how forgetful I was when young and lost in my thoughts, this has been quite an achievement.
Ko Phangan, Jan 2023 I have taken 6000+ photos this year - a lot of it dumb. I have looked back at maybe 450 of those photos. The remaining will remain in my Google Cloud until robots take over and analyze my life enough to put me in a pleasant matrix while harvesting my brain.
I drove a scooter in two new SE Asian countries - Siem Reap and Bali. Driving in Siem Reap was like floating in a pleasant dream. Driving in Bali was like running away from a monster in a nightmare. Both were fun in their way.
Neighborhood Frenemies, Feb 2023 I have written 34 posts in Could Be Worse this year. 35 including this. 36 if I post one more before the end of the year. Like the new-age startups let’s proactively count those and say I averaged 3 posts per month this year, the highest in the history of Could Be Worse. Could be better? Sure. But it could have been way worse.
I went to a dentist for the first time in Thailand to complete a job started by a dentist in India. This tag teaming showed me the stark differences in bedside manner.
H Visits Thailand, March 2023 I watched a Vijay movie (Leo) in theatres after more than a decade. Would probably skip another decade.
Saw two movies in theatres with Appa and Amma which is two more than in the last three years or so.
Jakarta visiting V&K, April 2023 I learned enough Thai over 30 hours to order coffee at Starbucks but insufficient to converse with an irate bus conductor.
I lost 1 kg. Now, this may not seem like a huge deal. And it isn’t. However, I would like to present the fact that I have lost 1 kg every year since 2020. At this rate, I intend to hit my BMI ratio by the turn of this decade in time to watch the first city disappear under rising sea levels.
NY, May 2023 I lifted 100 kg for the first time. I have only lifted them about 20 times in all and it’s a fairly recent inclusion so remains to be seen how this translates into something tangible. Still, lifting about two Ns worth is something.
I visited Annapoorna 40+ times. Given I do not live in Coimbatore, this is a pretty big deal. I Ate Ghee Roast at least 25 of those times, and sambar vada 38 of those times. Those remaining two times, I was not thinking clearly.
Monsoon train journeys in India, June 2023 I visited the registrar's office twice this year which is a new personal record - one that I do not wish to ever repeat. Sold a house. Bought a house. Net administrative pain in my life remains the same.
I visited New York after 13 years. N and I took the same photo with Lady Liberty in the background 13 years apart, none the wiser and with way less hair. Who knows if the United States will remain a going concern for another 13 years?
Injera, Shiro Wot and More, July 2023 Saw a Broadway show for the first time while in NY. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child pleasantly surprised me with how good it was despite whatever my feelings for JK Rowling are.
I didn’t kill a plant. Over the last several years, N and I have consistently killed at least one plant every year. This year, thanks to only two remaining plants that have essentially survived in near-mad max conditions, we stopped being murderers.
Secret for happiness: A plastic table, quiet beach, Thai food and beer, August 2023 Ran at least 100 days. Can one outrun their midlife crisis?
Wore a Thailand beach shirt to a South Indian wedding. This made me consider a new career as a fashion trendsetter.
Dark and rainy BKK, September 2023 Met cousins I hadn’t met in several years at the aforementioned wedding. Had a great time playing silly games and catching up. Made me rethink the time and effort I am spending on social aspects of my life going forward. Less time in my head and more in others’ heads.
Woke up at 2 am and climbed Mt. Batur in Bali and watched the sunrise. The only mountain I’ve climbed this year. This is also the highest I’ve been this year (5600 ft) - I mean literally and not the times I’ve ingested edibles.
Sunrise at 5000 ft, October 2023 Had ethiopian food for the first time in NY. And then, had it for the second time back in BKK. The need to visit Africa is growing day by day.
Read 20 books, which is lower than the number of books I read every year in the past several years. Still, 20 is a lot considering a few hundred years back people hardly read any books. I am going to ignore N’s reading run rate of 6 books a month for the year.
The strange fever dream that is Nong Nooch Garden in Pattaya, November 2023 I became a little bit more kinder. And a little more forgiving. More ways to go here.
Amazing Tyag 👌
Loved reading your 30+ Could be Worse prose! I was hoping to see item no 24 as ‘completed writing my first book’. Keep writing….