2021 Week 30 Update

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Today marks month number eight, August and 2021 is running so fast, before we know it, we’ll be in 2022.

Today’s quote has been said by many and the one I have is attributed to Robin Sharma and it says that impossible is just an opinion and one should not buy into that opinion. In this world filled with billions, it’s very easy to believe that one individual cannot make a dent in it. It’s just easier to say something is impossible, difficult or unlikely rather than do something that will remain in perpetuity. But everyone can make a difference, even if it is a tiny one and every single individual who has achieved something has done that because they have this belief that they can make a difference. This is why impossible is just the opinion of some and one need not ascribe to that notion. Ultimately, the individual has to decide what’s impossible, and if nothing is, then everything is possible!

When 2021 started, I decided to have a goal of walking from my home in Singapore to my home in Mumbai, a distance of about 6750 km. I knew immediately that I will not be able to finish this in one year, because to do that, I would need to walk more than 20 km each day. So I thought I should do this over two years and then this week I realised that given how much I am walking daily may not even let me achieve it by December 2022. So, I have to walk more daily, which is what I have been doing for the past few days.  As of yesterday, I have walked all across Malaysia and in Thailand, I have walked across the provinces of Songkhla, Phattalung, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Chumpon, Prachuap Khiri Khan and am in the northern part of the province of Phetchaburi, slightly short of the province of Ratchaburi and the borders of Myanmar are less than 400 km. I am also 350 km less of achieving my 2021 goal of walking 2021 km.

I am also reading, though not as much as I would like to, Netflix taking up much of my time. I am really enjoying some of the documentaries there, but that’s a story for another day. I’ve read about 75% of my reading goal for the year. I also realised that when a book grabs my attention, I am reading all the time, but the converse is also true that when I am not enthralled by a book, it takes me ages to finish it. So my goal for the rest of the year is to read maybe ten percent of a book and if it does not grab my attention, then I will give it up and start a new book. Maybe this will work in getting my reading up to speed.

BB & GG are busy with school and their third semester exam schedule has been posted. Both are now studying hard, hopefully and I pray they do well in school. GG has also signed up for some accountancy bootcamp and exam and will become busy with it.

In Singapore, 76% of the population received at least 1 dose with 57% of the population has completed both doses. Worldwide about 15% of the population has had at least one dose of the vaccine with Mainland China at 16%, India at 7.5% and the US at 50%. With highly transmissible variants floating around, it’s better to be safe, even if you are vaccinated.

Please be safe and wear masks even if you are vaccinated as you never know when you could be infected. That’s all from me this week, see you next week.

In My Hands Today…

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Second Wind: One Woman’s Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents – Cami Ostman

Second Wind is the story of an unlikely athlete and an unlikely heroine: Cami Ostman, a woman edging toward midlife who decides to take on a challenge that stretches her way outside of her comfort zone. That challenge presents itself when an old friend suggests she go for a run to distract her from the grief of her recent divorce.

Excited by the clarity of mind and breathing space running offers her, she keeps it up — albeit slowly — and she decides to run seven marathons on seven continents; this becomes Ostman’s vision quest, the thing she turns to during the ups and downs of a new romance and during the hard months and years of redefining herself in the aftermath of the very restrictive, religious-based marriage and life she led up until her divorce.

Insightful and uplifting, Second Wind carries the reader along for the ride as Ostman runs her way out of compliance with the patriarchal rules about “being a woman” that long held her captive and into authenticity and self-love. Her adventures — and the personal revelations that accompany them — inspire readers to take chances, find truth in their lives, and learn to listen to the voice inside them that’s been there all along.

Instagram Interludes

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The oher day, I was checking old photos on Facebook and saw some which made me want to travel. So here are some random travel photos which, though we can’t travel, has satiated some of the travellust in me.

Siam Reap, Cambodia (2014)
Chiang Mai, Thailand (2015)
Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2016)
Melaka, Malaysia (2018)
Mumbai, India (2019)

In My Hands Today…

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Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road – Kate Harris

“Every day on a bike trip is like the one before–but it is also completely different, or perhaps you are different, woken up in new ways by the mile.”

As a teenager, Kate Harris realized that the career she most craved–that of a generalist explorer, equal parts swashbuckler and philosopher–had gone extinct. From her small-town home in Ontario, it seemed as if Marco Polo, Magellan and their like had long ago mapped the whole earth. So she vowed to become a scientist and go to Mars.

To pass the time before she could launch into outer space, Kate set off by bicycle down a short section of the fabled Silk Road with her childhood friend Mel Yule, then settled down to study at Oxford and MIT. Eventually the truth dawned on her: an explorer, in any day and age, is by definition the kind of person who refuses to live between the lines.

And Harris had soared most fully out of bounds right here on Earth, travelling a bygone trading route on her bicycle. So she quit the laboratory and hit the Silk Road again with Mel, this time determined to bike it from the beginning to end.

Recipes: Mixed Vegetable Stew/Curry

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Most weekends, we don’t want to eat rice or chapati which is our staple diet, so I am always on the lookout for new dishes to make which can be eaten without rice or rotis. One of my recent experiments was this dish which is inspired by dishes originating from the western part of India, my home state of Maharashtra and our neighbouring state of Goa. We ate it as a stew with a crusty French loaf, but S also mentioned that it would be lovely to eat with rice or even rotis.

Mixed Vegetable Stew or Curry

Ingredients:

  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 1 medium sized cauliflower, chopped into small florets
  • 2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 2 medium sized onions, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 1 green capsicum, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • ½ cup mixed dals (I used moong dal and toovar dal)
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ cup grated coconut
  • 1 lime sized piece of tamarind
  • 5-6 fresh red chillies
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp peppercorns
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp oil
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Blend together the coconut, tamarind, red chillies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns and fennel seeds to a smooth paste and keep aside.
  • Soak the dal in hot water for about 20 minutes and then cook it till it becomes a smooth paste. You can cook the dals in a pressure cooker and then whisk it with a beater or even in a blender when it is cool. Keep aside.
  • Heat the oil in a large pan and when the oil warms up, put in the onions and let the onions cook and become translucent.
  • Add the other chopped vegetables, the turmeric powder, salt and cook covered till the vegetables are about 80% cooked.
  • When the vegetables are almost done, pour in the blended coconut paste and the whisked dal and stir well. At this point, add water to thin the stew or curry to the level you want. Remember, the dal and coconut will thicken the stew, so add a bit more than you think you need.
  • Let it all come to a nice rolling boil and then cook on a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes.
  • Check for seasoning and add what you feel is missing, switch off the gas and enjoy it with some crusty bread, rice or flatbread.

Notes:

  • If you don’t have access to fresh red chillies, you can also use dried red chillies, and depending on the spice intensity, reduce or increase the number of chillies
  • When blending the tamarind, make sure you remove any seeds in it as well as any extra fibers. You can also use about one to two tsps of tamarind paste or pulp.
  • The dal should be very smooth so that when you add it in the stew, it will disappear. So make you cook it completely and then whisk or blend it.