This has been my first participation in the event and it was an awesome experience While you can read all about the marathon at a variety of places. Here you will read my story.

Directi was signing up its employees for the various marathon races and I promptly put my name down for the half marathon mentally making up my mind to practice hard.

Well all my “practice sessions” didn’t happen but my love for a good long walk propelled me to the finish line clocking 2:45:00.  Not bad I think for someone who had no practice at all!

So what did  my numbers look like?

Number of kilometers ran/brisk walked: 21.097 officially plus the walk to my means of transport home

Number of bottles of water consumed: 10 minis

Amount of food in my system: 2 bananas, a glass of milk and a sweet

Number of camera crew who stopped me along the way ( u know to ask how I’m enjoying myself and if this was my first race) : 2

Number of people who paced with me: 1 (all the way from Worli Seaface to the finish line)

Number of bones in my body that hurt: At least 20!!!

Number of people who met me at the finish line: 1

Number of SMSes sent to mark each 5 km achievement:  28

Number of hugs I got after the race: 10

While I had no NGOs or causes that I ran for printed on my Tshirt. These are the special people in my life I ran for -

Your the bestest sister in the whole wide world no matter what – I ran for you

You work so hard so that we can have a better life -I ran for you

You always encourage me to try new things,  willingly support me to  those ends and never laugh at my dreams. You were the only one who said “I’m proud of you” after I completed the race - I ran for you

You continue your relentless battle against cancer – I ran for you

You quit smoking 10 years ago and have never smoked again – I ran for you

You won your battle with cancer – I ran for you

You always tell me to do my best and don’t worry about the results – I ran for you

You brought me up when my parents were away – I ran for you

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We packed our bags and headed to Nandurbar on the Sharpline bus after picking up a whole lot of goodies. Nandurbar is about a 10 hour run by road from Mumbai and we arrived at our destination at 8:45 in the morning. Fr. Godfrey who is  incharge there came chuggin’ along in an autorickshaw to pick us up and escort us to  Jana Seva Mandal.

One of the initial things that you notice about  town is that it is a typical Indian town, with a lot of shops and various establishments and  does not look like a cut-off tribal area. However this is not the catchment area of the Jana Seva Mandal – who target the Adivasis who live about 40 to 60 kms in the interiors of the Taloda and Shahada districts.

After a good breakfast of eggs, bread and chai, Godfrey took us on a ‘grand tour’ of the place.  Apart from the main administrative building and the boarding for about 70 boys, the campus now boasts of  halls and restrooms that cater to large groups of individuals. We sat and chatted with him about the work he is doing and the plans he has for Jana Seva.  KJD  and I went for a botanical walk of sorts around the campus and had a poke around at the various plants and trees.

Lunch and a much needed rest followed. I spent some time by myself in the evening. The rest of the gang joined us in the evening and we headed to town for a while.  Had a hilarious dinner  and hit the sack – or tried too

Sunday morning saw us walking the kilometer to the house of one of the parishoners where morning mass was going to be celebrated.  It was the couple’s 21st wedding anniversary that day. It was really nice to see the community come together to celebrate the Eucharist. After mass in Marathi,  KJD  and Kenneth being ‘ordained’ and a lovely home made breakfast we walked down to the sister’s place. Sr. Lillian chatted with us about the work she is involved in and the herbal dispensary and course that they run.  We spent the morning setting up some computers and wi -fi connection.

We were due to leave in the night and then realised that the bus back to Mumbai left earlier in the evening! I spent the afternoon in a long heart to heart conversation – just the type I love We packed up and took the same rick back to the bus station.

I must say that the journey back was a lot more comfy We got in at around 5.30 in the morning. KJD, the gentleman as always,  dropped me home and I managed to get some sleep before I headed to work.

I had a lovely time on the trip (Thank You KJD) and am so looking forward to the next one

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The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz , the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip. You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you’ll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world .

2. Name the last five Wimbledon trophy winners .

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss India Contest .

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize .

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last 3 Cricket World Cup winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. They are not second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?
I love this!

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are NOT the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care.

Go tell that someone today how much he/she means to you

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To begin with I was looking forward to the long Diwali break. When you work 6 days a week, a 5 day break seems like a vacation!

Left early from work on Saturday and headed to Bandra where I had a spot of shopping to do and had to meet Ajay and Ruth for a dinner date.

We dropped in at Crossword and picked up the first 3 books in the Lemony Snicket’s “Series of Unfortunate Events”

Next we decided to 5Spice for drinks and dinner. Must say that the prices have hit the roof! I still remember how we used to head to the 5Spice outlet in town for any college celebration and it never burned a hole in our meagre pockets! I guess the pricing caters to the area and was justified for ‘upmarket’ Bandra! We ate and drank a good deal. The drinks and dessert was up to scratch but the food left a lot to be desired

Spent a lazy Sunday at Ajay’s place and went for a wedding reception in the evening.

Tuesday was lunch at my place and as always I make an attempt to try something new.  This time, lunch was Mushroom Wraps in white sauce, Ceasar’s Salad, Chicken sauted in tomato and garlic sauce and Pulao. Managed to get through most of the cooking and then headed to Brandra and picked Ajay up and then went to meet Priyanka and Ryan to have a look at the paper for the liturgy booklets.

After lunch we headed to Big Bazaar to redeem some vouchers. I rarely go to this place because of constant disapointment and this time proved to be no exception. The place was teeming with Diwali shoppers and sales but as far as quality and choice goes it was a big let down. We spent some time at Barista and then headed to Mahalaxmi station on my way to my next engagement

Reached Sacred Heart Church just in time for mass (which proved to be entertaining ) and then piled into Sean’s car and headed to his place. We had a nice family evening and yummy dinner.

Spent Wedneday with Ajay. Cooked lunch and caught up with some movies and TV serials.

Thursday, the last day of my mini vacation was spent catching up with some reading at home and studying.

Well its back to the grind today

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To begin, my parents went on a trip to the Holy Land mid September. They covered Egypt, Jordon and Israel and had a ball of a time. They took plenty of snapshots which I uploaded on Flickr so you can take a virtual tour of the Holy Land. What did I get from the trip – yummy fresh dates (straight off the date palms), laban and a beautiful necklace

Joel’s mother and Virgil managed to confuse (I don’t think con would have been appropriate) Fr. Tony V (the novice master) enough to make him agree to let me visit Joel at Sadnalaya for his birthday   It started with a loooooooong list from Joel to his Mum and Virgil on what he wanted for his birthday. Sorpotel (cut into specific sized pieces), pickle (tonnes of it – it seems the novices are so deprived of anything spicy that they have begun to crave pickle. and here i though that only pregnant women had cravings!) Anyway, we hired a car and with EXTREMELY vague directions from Joel and enough of food to feed an army, we started out. We reached Nashik peacefully and even got to Gangarpur road and that is where we got into trouble. We drove up and down the road to as far as the Don Bosco institute twice! and finally decided to eat humble pie and ask for directions there. The priest I think took great satisfaction in the fact that we were lost and gave us directions like he was talking to a bunch of 5 year olds!

Well we  reached just in time for mass. I think Joel and Nirmal got greater shocks seeing me there than poor Father Tony.  Mass was lovely, followed by a wide spread of lunch. Spent some time walking the grounds and admiring the paintings I must say the novitiate looks like a semi palace compared to the old place. We came back home along the bumpy path (the roads are really bad going to Nashik because they are constructing the express way). Reached home really exhausted.

I finally managed to catch the much raved about “Rock On”. It has been ages since I’ve watched a Hindi movie in the theatre and I trudged all the way to Kharghar to watch the movie. Don’t ask me why! I did enjoy myself though so all the trouble was worth it

Went to TISS to submit my application form. No hassles on that front. However the SNAP registration was painful. SNAP has moved its office to the new SIBM campus at Lavale which is apparently really far from the city. This basically means that very few courier guys are willing to go that distance. I sent the application with Blue Dart because they came recommended and I have not had any hassle with them the last time I used their services. After accepting the application and sending it to Pune, when I called to check about the status of the shipment I was informed that the envelope was lying at their Kotrud office as they did not cover the area and the pincode was wrong! After a lot of heated conversations with the Blur Dart center (they actually had the gall to tell me that the postal service gave me a wrong pincode to the address when I checked with them!) they finally agreed to make a ’special trip’ and deliver the package (more likely that the manager would have got screwed of they had to make a refund of the processing due to incompetence)

The wedding is drawing closer and all the related activities have reached a crescendo. I had no idea there was so much to do! We finally managed to get together for choir practice. I had a lovely time practicing the wedding pieces as well as singing some old songs with Virgil entertaining us to the hilt The first banns were read on the 12th and was a cause for celebration. We caught breakfast after mass and went to Priyanka’s new place. I fell in love with the tastefully done up house. Kudos to her dad for all the ideas.

I had a lot of birthdays  – Michelle, Mum, Chetna and Priyanka. Happy Birthday again you guys

Semester 2 at SCDL is on and the first set of exams were good. Have 2 more to go and sem 2 will be over and done with.

The handicrafts exhibitions have begun at Bandra Reclamation and this year I’ve decided to go for some of them at least. Managed to take in the first one and go to Desiree too to have a look at the cake. Unfortunately she was not there and the cakes I had a look at were not one bit impressive. I think we will have to meet the lady to discuss what kind of base and flowers she can put together for the desired effect. Picked up some cream ceramic pieces from the exhibition for the house.

I finally managed to get my mum to come with me to Crawford to pick up the material for the dress. We picked up some very pretty stuff. I’ll keep the dress a secret for now and will blog about it when the time comes

Spent last evening at aunt Jessy’s house as it was her birthday and her’s is one is I dare not forget Met up with the family and had a yummy dinner. Uncle Peter outdid himself this time round.

Well that’s all the gup for now. Looking forward to the Diwali break and more importantly Ajay who will be down for a few days I’m a happy girl.

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Chetna, Ravi, Anuradha & myself went to see the baby and were floored – the baby is adorable. Ravi is still singing the baby’s praises! The poor man got over his fright of new born babies to go ga ga over the little one.

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Priyanka lost her bet to get us to Kurla station in 18 minutes, but we managed to reach the place where she dropped us off in one piece, relatively good time and get another rick to take us to the station. Took a train and got home by 11:00. 

Thanx Chetna for the lovely evening.

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And something I haven’t got ever -  a bouquet of red carnations with white daisies

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