Another week of good progress. And by the end of 3 weeks I lost one inch on the waist. But now is the holiday season and tonight I am going to Coimbatore. Lots of sweets and food. With no exercise, I am sure I will gain that quickly. If I get 5 weeks of continuous exercise, then I can be slim and trim again. Hopefully by end of Feb, I will be so.

Going through Sophie’s blogroll, I landed on this post. Very expressive about love. I can very well relate to this. I have been there and know what it is. Again for the purpose of preservation here it is:

Love happens, one can’t consciously fall in love..love is unreasonable..love is loving what your lover loves..love is something which doesn’t change at any cost..love is honoring, respecting..love teaches you forgiving..love is when you don’t look what wrong the person did..love is which grows more, the more you get to know the person..one who is hurt in love, will know the value of love..love is when you don’t have to compromise…love is where there are no questions asked and no answers unsaid..love is understanding..loving someone is giving them the power to hurt you and trusting them not..you can’t be lovers if you are not friends first..love is when the entire world seems to be that person..love is not about losing or winning..love is when that hug brings the unthought warmth..love is madness..love is when you can’t hide blushing on remembering the person..love is not loving for the sake of love..in love you become most vulnerable..that love is not a love if its not forever..love is when brain stops working..love is when everything around looks new and fresh..love is not lust..love is when you eagerly look forward for every day..love is sacrifice..love is not deceiving..love is when all your senses will be yearning for that person..love is accepting the person the way they are..in love, you feel sex without love is an empty experience..love is not judging or evaluating..love is when you don’t need a reason to kiss..love is where you don’t have to say sorry or thank you..love is not dominating..love is giving irrespective of you receive it or not..love is when your heart takes over your brain..love is surrendering completely..love is when silence speaks more than words..love is when you feel very special..love is when you can close your eyes and rest on the person’s shoulder not fearing anything..love is food for soul..love is when you feel like two rivers rushing to merge into ocean..what is done out of love takes over good or evil..love is not being cautious..love is when the poet inside you wakes up..love is one medicine for all pain..

I always liked Sophia‘s poems. She pens well. After a long time, she posts something which makes me wonder if she somehow read my mind. For the sake of preservation, I am re-producing her poem here:

what is that pain?
or is it just my heart that screams?
tears mask my vision
I feel strangely dead

I am a puppet
no strings!!
laying there in a coma
nothing to keep me alive

I feel like walking away,
away from this world
it should be easier
but so much of me wants to stay

for love is an elixir,
you’ve given me a sip
then you suddenly one day
vanish from my folk tale

leaving me alone in a closet
waking up from my coma
I feel such pain
a long road of recovery

I still stay

You know that I’m always interested in knowing more about my personality. And am surprised when they match what I know. Another one here : Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for programmers:
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/articles/mb/default.asp.
I’m an INFJ (Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging). Here are some (and amazingly matching with mine) characteristics:

• value personal integrity and "being true to yourself"
• are on a lifelong search for a unique identity and meaning; spirituality is important to us
• can be hard to get to know, depending on the other person (reciprocity)
• are sometimes seen by others as cold and hard on the outside
• may find it easier to express their deepest feelings and sentiments non-verbally or in writing
• enjoy thoughtful discussion but dislike arguing for argument’s sake, as this often degenerates into ugly conflict
• are bookworms, love bookstores and libraries
• rarely get into conflict, but when it erupts, can be very bitter
• love personality tests and other self-improvement tools
• are interested in ESP, paranormal, "new age," or psychic experiences
• "Mute withdrawal is a major INFJ defense."
• often have "oceanic" memories where details are recalled through intuitive leaps and thought association

Towards the self:

INFJs value their integrity a great deal. They are generally "doers" as well as great dreamers. They have high expectations of themselves and need to live their lives in accordance with what they feel is right. They do this through total trust of their intuition. They believe in constant growth and don’t often take time to revel in their accomplishments. INFJs are proud of their authenticity, respectful of their benevolence, confident of their empathy. They also are constantly in a state of self-renewal.

Towards the world:

Towards the future: credulous, the past: mystical. INFJs prefer the future and the pathway along which they aspire for profundity. They’ve even been known to have visions/premonitions/auditory and visual images of things to come. They are often said to possess supernormal intuitive ability in both its forms: projection and introjection. They search for their unique identity and place in the world, constantly defining this better. They are activists there for the cause, not for the power, fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless, and put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done.

Relationships:

An INFJ is often hard to get to know. They are selective about their friends, but such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words… They hunger for deep and meaningful relationships, provide spiritual intimacy for their mates, and can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." In such relationships, they strive for mutuality, don’t believe in compromising their ideals, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

Towards others:
It can be difficult for an INFJ to articulate their deepest and most convoluted feelings to others. They tend to be secretive by holding back and protecting part of themselves, thus creating hidden sides to their personality. They are choosy of what and when to share things and tend to only truly do so with those they trust. When they reveal things, it is often through speaking interpretively and metaphorically of the abstract world of their imagination. However, they can work quite intensely with those close to them, being cooperative in implementing goals – even though their own trusted intuition can sometimes make them stubborn. They can become aware of another’s emotions/intentions before that person is conscious of them. This leads to strong empathic abilities, an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others while pointing out human potentials, and uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance. They are often leaders who go unnoticed, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes. When working with others, they are very sensitive to conflict and cannot tolerate it very well. They will prevent/avoid it at all costs.

I am happy that I was able to keep the exercise time to more than 40 min (required to burn fat) for most of the week. I was very weak (because of Wheezing) on Friday and couldn

I should blame LA for my addiction to astrology. She spoiled me with emailing monthly predictions. I found out that I am a typical Taurus person. Now I find myself attracted to such readings quite a lot. I got a below forward from a colleague. Somewhere towards the end it says that I will concentrate on being healthy and in good shape. It is already true! As you know, I bought a treadmill and exercising everyday. Will other predictions will be true as well? According to this mail, next year is going to be better than just being good (contrary to my feelings). Hope this is true:

OVERVIEW: Optimism will help you break out of any routines that you want to be free of this year. Focusing on your idealistic approach to life will afford you exciting new opportunities in education and travel. You love exploring the philosophical side of things. Making your home and family environment comfortable is a high priority. Your nurturing desires will return many rewarding opportunities as you build harmonious relationships in your family. Besides needing to work hard to form strategic alliances, you will find groups of people to support you in your business and financial concerns.

Your down-to-earth communication skills will benefit you greatly in your social life, and you will attract many new opportunities with your friends. Your visionary and original ideas create insight for others to follow and find their own true path in life. Directing your energy in new ways will bring you lots of good insight into your own needs. People view you as an authority in your career; you bring positive and idealistic changes to the workplace and you act in a responsible way. The risks you take are intellectually evaluated first before you put them into action.

You’re able to handle the social demands put upon you this year and work things out in a constructive way. You will gain tremendous financial benefits from all your hard work. Business will be very profitable and you really learn how to integrate your gains into your daily life. You definitely will leave a legacy behind you for all your good work. You have an intense focus on personal transformation and feel deeply connected to others. Your big heart will bring you love and harmony in all your personal relationships. You’ll feel very fulfilled and loving this year. Enjoy!

CAREER: This is an ideal year for you to excel in a service occupation, most likely healthcare. You may experience some changes in your goals and group affiliation. The challenge is to make yourself available to others through collective action and your progressive ideals for social reform. Being serious-minded and an excellent worker gives a clear sense of what is important to you.

In early spring, you may feel a need to keep things to yourself so as not to upset the apple cart. When you make up your mind to do something, you are quite determined and stay focused. You have an innate sense of who you are and where you want to be, and that’s where you’ll be found: being ambitious, vigorous, careful and always able to reach your goals. You don’t speak without a purpose. You love variety in your life, and your great versatility will make this a year to remember.

You constantly perceive the world around you and notice every last detail. Figuring things out on a intellectual level is thrilling to you. Your assimilation of ideas is excellent and you enjoy having conversations with almost anybody, and are sure to have many-an-interesting chat in 2007. Work will be as important to you as maintaining relationships with people around you. You’ll receive a lot of recognition in helping others because of your compassion. You make a significant contribution toward creating a more loving world, based on humanitarian ideals. You may also do well in music this year because of your appreciation of its theoretical platform. Your work must be spiritually satisfying to be interesting and motivating, and this is a promising time to make that a daily reality.

LOVE: In 2007, physical comfort will be a high priority for you. You’ll find great pleasure spending time at fitness clubs and enjoying the luxury of massage and bodywork. It’s important for you to stay in good shape and feel strong and healthy. Your strong desire for partnership is clearly emanating from your energy field. You are pleasant, attractive and have a happy-go-lucky nature, which will attract people to you like bees to honey. You’ll feel comfortable and secure as you get a positive response from just about everyone you encounter.

You work hard on being generous and take pride in having people like you. Your sexual needs will be fulfilled, and security will come to you when your values and emotions are clearly defined. You prefer an idealistic and philosophical partner with strong values like your own. At the beginning of the year, that special someone might just be the one as love waltzes into your life when you least expect it. You need someone who loves sensual comforts as much as you do.

By the end of the year, your passion makes you truly believe you have found your right life partner and you may start thinking about settling down, or just becoming more relaxed in your relationship. You’ll enjoy getting to know each other and developing a sustained quality in your passion. You realize how important feeling holistically connected is to developing a lasting relationship. You need to break through old limitations and boundaries. Your affection can change drastically in the way you express yourself, so let this be the year you learn to share your heart with clarity. Enthusiastically giving yourself to another is the idealistic part of you who likes to share love. You and your lover are sure to feel like you’re in heaven in ’07!

I recently read an article on ‘What happiness is?’. The author discusses about job, personal life and so on and how to keep a balance etc. But for me, happiness is ‘being-in-love’. When I say that, I am not limiting to being in a relation. Not just that. Being in love with whatever one is doing. If I love to photograph, then that brings happiness. If I love to being alone and listen to music or read books, then that is happiness. Or I love to cook Croissaints with someone I am comfortable with, then that gets me high and happy. So it doesn’t matter what one does; what matters is, if they do it with passion and pleasure. Happiness is never the goal; it is a by-product of doing something with love. I’ve been in love and been happy.

And there are times it happens that one has to do things because it is expected. No passion, no pleasure, no love…just have to do it because of expectation and responsibility. It kills all the enthu and drains the energy. But…this too shall pass. That is the mantra by which I have lived and live.

Live with love and be happy. If not possible, hang-on; this too shall pass.

I’ve been going on getting tummy, though maintaining my weight. I thought I should do something about it. So went and bought a treadmill. With wheezing, I am not able to excercise as much as I want. Yet, I am satisfied so far.
My immediate wish is to cross 60 min/500 cal burn out. Let me see how I progress.