Three weeks is two weeks too many to skip these weekly notes. So here goes a mix of what’s been up lately.
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING
1.
Amber and I got some routine medical tests done last month, and followed that up with doctor visits, and tweaking our diet and exercise regimen. We’ve started going for walks at night before we turn in, and I am still adjusting to this change in routine. Anticipating the deterioration in AQI in the coming months, we also tried the local gym one night, and assuming it is not too crowded during our regular hours, the treadmill should be a reasonable, if less fun, alternative.
2.
It was my Mom’s birthday in late September. She was excited to try Korean buns, and so that’s what we ate for breakfast that day by way of a small celebration. My parents also celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary a few days later.
While not for either occasions, Amber and I cooked an impromptu dinner with my parents one weekend. It had been a long time since we did anything like it, and it was quite fun.
3.
My iMac is still busted, and I switched work spaces with Amber for a few days to use his external monitor. That made kerning much easier than doing it on my laptop.
3.
Amber had a day and a half of travel before we both made our way to Bangalore for a jam-packed week. I facilitated a type walk and gave a lightning talk at DesignUp. Even though it was a small group of walkers, we spent a lovely morning looking at signs around M.G. Road. I was debuting a new talk at the conference so I was thrilled to get a lot of positive feedback, especially since I showed a tonne of my own work. The talk was to a group of close to 900 folks and from the biggest stage I have ever spoken from. All-in-all, quite exciting!
As always, Bangalore meant a lot of socialising. I grabbed lunch with Pranav one afternoon, and afterwards, Amber and I crashed his writing club meeting to say hello to Ankur, with whom we ended up having dinner. On the day of my talk, I went to my cousin Aditi’s for dinner, which was lovely. The next day, we slept well into the afternoon, and visited Amber’s college friends and their new baby in the evening. On our last full day in Bangalore, we pulled out all the stops — briefly attended a meet-up with Gurman, went to Champaca, ate lunch with Garima and Rasagy, and then coffee and dinner with Rahul and Radhika. Before heading back to Delhi on Sunday, we met Saumyaa and Mahesh, who we had missed spending time with all of this year. Phew!
I also got some bad news while in Bangalore that I am still trying to cope with.
4.
I have a few public speaking engagements lined up for the next month, hopefully the last of the year.
5.
It has been all guns blazing on the work front. I delivered on a milestone for a typeface commission, tried hard to meet some deadlines at TypeTogether, and have been consistently working on wrapping up a project that started at the beginning of 2024. In the coming week, I also need to follow up on some enquiries.
6.
Prateek and I managed to have our accountability call early this time, because of all the travel he and I are doing. I am very happy that we’ve found a rhythm with them. Not only is it nice to share what I am upto with him and get his honest comments on my work load, it is a nice excuse to have a long chat every month, whether or not we’ve been able to make time to chat otherwise.