witsandnuts

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  • Category: Life

    • 2017 Reflections and being back to basics in 2018

      Posted at 2:20 pm by witsandnuts, on January 1, 2018

      Back to basic in 2018

      2017 Reflection
      For the past four years, I intentionally did not have any grand New Year’s resolution. I wanted to keep it as simple as “to be a better person” and “to implement/execute things better each day”. I like to think that the simplistic approach worked well. Through the years, I have discerned that these two may be complementary, however, not all the time. Knowing when they are supposed to support each other is subjective. The bottom line is, I did not and do not always have to outdo myself in execution in order to be a better person. Sometimes, by not changing anything and/or being myself (not trying too hard) is already the best approach.

      Being a lacto ovo vegetarian and newbie minimalist
      The year 2017 had been very challenging for me, in many ways, but ended favorably. I also introduced key changes in my life, like becoming a lacto ovo vegetarian a day after my birthday for health-related reasons. I will not lie though that I have been inconsistent in being a vegetarian. Knowingly, I scheduled the cooling off on (few) days that there were celebrations with family and friends and forcibly last December when my stamina became sub-standard that I easily caught the illness of ‘seems to be not feeling well’. Apparently, I need to find the right mix of my food consumption. I intend to be fully back on track from day 1 of 2018. The other key change that I have embraced (in last quarter of 2017) is minimalism. I am still far from being a  real minimalist, although I do not see myself being a purist in the short term because of my lifestyle and demands of my work environment. However, I am amazed and cannot be thankful enough for being able to let go of several stuff because I am a pack rat and have started to be genuinely more supportive of sustainability. As a side note, I learned to sell stuff online as I try to dispose some of my stuff and began to see the beautiful (one of which is having additional passive income, if you get to dance to the tunes quite well) and ugly sides of it.

      Back to basics (rather, some of the things that I used to love)
      In line with being in first chapter of minimalism, while sorting stuff, it felt like I had a time machine ride. I instantly wanted to go back to doing some of the things which used to make me so happy. Doing them seemed like ‘as easy as breathing’ that I did not imagine myself not doing them even for a single week or else I would have felt incomplete. Then, they were just out of my routine, not exactly out of my system. I might have had extreme priorities, that is why I cannot say that I am looking back with much regrets for abandoning some of my interests because I was indeed buying much time the past years. Until now. However, I feel more at peace now and confident of reuniting with these because I have a clear direction on how I will re-integrate them in my life.
      1. Photography – Do not ask me how many cameras I have. I used to be with them every single week. The past years though, 95% of my photos were captured through my camera phone and 5% with a GoPro in some of my travels.
      2. Reading– I read several things every single day. Work and non-work-related, particularly when I have mental cravings. However, I did not read much non-work related books. Then, the seemingly irrational part often happens. Even if I know that I must not buy any new books (there is something indescribable about holding and smelling real books), I still do it as it is one of the few things I get as a memento when I travel overseas. I want to be realistic, hence, I hope to read at least four (4) non-work/non-profession-related books this year. I would need to be more patronizing of e-books, however, in line with minimalism and sustainability.
      3. Writing – If you are one of my longtime blog friends (the glorious days of Multiply, free Blogger, free WordPress and so), you probably might remember how prolific I were then as a blogger, given that I have mountains of commitments, too. I will be frank in admitting today that it was not that I lost interest in it. I even remember telling myself that I do not foresee myself not blogging anymore. It was actually the nature of my profession and work environment that indirectly influenced me to have less visibility in this medium. It was a clever decision though, with sacrifices, so to speak. Nevertheless, I cannot just abandon it because I would always love babbling. Saying this made me feel good. On the other hand, I am glad I am still able to live within it via Instagram.

      What I plan to achieve this year is to blog more frequently than I did in 2017 (that must be achievable, the last post I had was in June 2017. What a shame and I am frowning about the lost opportunities to have had shared valuable and probably timely information). On the other hand, I am planning to venture into writing a little — with my professional community as an audience. Lastly and equally important, I aim to fully utilize some of the personal journals I received as Christmas presents – one is a bullet journal  (I like its non-conformity approach) and a Paulo Coelho one, which I plan to keep as a gratitude journal.

      My 2018 started so well. I hope it is the same with all of you. In case, it did not — what matters most is the entire journey and how we all intend and will actually play it. Cheers and more blessings!

      Posted in Life | 3 Comments | Tagged Photography, Reading, Writing
    • Things I never thought I’d ever try/ learn

      Posted at 4:55 pm by witsandnuts, on March 11, 2013

      Formula Rossa, Ferrari World
      The first two months of 2013 unfolded like a roller coaster ride.

      I am just too pleased that I ventured/ re-engaged with some activities wherein I am time and courage-incapacitated. Who knew I would ever do the following in this lifetime:

      Formula Rossa in Ferrari World. I finally tried the fastest roller coaster ride in the world. It was a heart and mind twisting event and fat-shaking moment hahaha. I still remember how just the thought of queueing for it in 2011 made me want to collapse.

      Learning Arabic. I re-joined my Arabic class (held thrice a week at early morning) and although I need to improve a lot I am happy that I can now read, write and speak decently to a certain extent. I also appreciate that my classmates-officemates are humbly competitive that whenever we cross paths outside the ‘classroom’ we try to chat with each other in Arabic with our funny accents/ pronounciation.

      This is where I swim thrice a week
      Here is where I swim twice a week; attending the ladies session in one of the sports club in Abu Dhabi.

      Yasbah! (That’s an Arabic word for ‘swimming’). It has been a long overdue plan to learn to swim properly. I am one of those who prefer a coach-based approach when it comes to swimming. In my over 30 years of existence I have been bravely doing the banana boat ride, snorkeling and other aqua activities although what I only know is to float when my head’s down the water. My goal is to learn the proper breast and dolphin strokes by end of March. Goal this weekend is to do the 50-metre backstroke non-stop. I am also pleased how my twice a week of swimming lesson/ practice has improved my health.

      And more.

      Some people (and even myself) at times asked where I find the time and drive to try new things. I think that there should not be a justification for everything. But nothing is impossible and never too late if you really want it… and of course, there is the ‘out of nothing’ moment that happens in between.
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      Posted in Life, UAE | 0 Comments | Tagged Ferrari World, Formula Rossa, Learning Arabic, swimming
    • The red box and my 2013

      Posted at 1:07 pm by witsandnuts, on January 1, 2013

      The red box and my 2013 :)

      Few weeks ago I read about “starting 2013 off with an empty jar and filling it with notes about good things that happen”. But I thought of making use of the gift box I received (let us support re-using and re-cycling whenever we can!) instead of a jar.  I know that random note-jotting is not a breaking concept, it is the thought of another medium of counting my blessings, focusing on good things, re-kindling the old school/re-claiming a nice handwriting (ehem) through scribbling on post-its, tissue paper or any paper and dropping it in the box that excites me.

      And the quote further says that ” On new year’s eve, empty the jar box and see what awesome stuff happened that year”.

      Starting 2013 with an empty box to fill it in with notes  about good things that happen.

      It looks like that I am not the only one who is excited about this idea and/ or the use of red box.

      Happy 2013 everyone!

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      Posted in Life | 0 Comments | Tagged New Year
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    • About witsandnuts

      Snapchat-5703935704258315256 Marhaba! That's "hello" in Arabic. I am an expatriate based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). I started writing about my adventures and misadventures few months before arriving here at winter of 2008. I have 2 cats and a dog who live harmoniously together. I am also surrounded by kindhearted, crazy, funny and indescribable humans! I was a dormant blogger for almost 3 years because of countless reasonable justifications like watching football, postgraduate studies, sleeping, traveling, caring for the world, and more! :) I am just so happy that I am back! It is never too late to catch up with the people and things we really care about. Feel free to look around.
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    • Recent Posts

      • 2017 Reflections and being back to basics in 2018
      • Obtaining a license for your dog in the UAE
      • 2017 Spring break in the US
      • Citywalk, Dubai
      • Not in This Lifetime Tour: Guns N’ Roses in Dubai
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    • 2017 Reflections and being back to basics in 2018
    • Obtaining a license for your dog in the UAE
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