ABC Challenge #3 :C for Contest

'13 things I plan to avoid in 2013'

# 1.To stop laughing, all the time.

Please don’t come to the conclusion that I’m mentally unstable, it’s just that my laughing threshold is very low. Some might laugh if they hear something funny. Some might laugh if they see something funny. But I laugh even when I hear/see someone else laughing. It’s sort of contagious for me. I don’t need any reason to laugh, I see someone laughing and I start laughing.  Another thing is, I relive the situation that made me laugh and end up laughing when I’m alone, like when I’m travelling in the bus(silent bus) and suddenly  start laughing or when I’m working in my cubicle(silent atmosphere) and suddenly start laughing. I hope you get the drift :-D

#2. To stop depending on Mom to wake up

They say if you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit. I beg to disagree.

Mom used to wake me up at 6.30 or 7 when I was in school. For the last 5 years  at school I had to get up at 5.30.For my 4 years in college I had to get up at 6. These days mom starts waking me up from 6.30 and would go on till I woke up with that just-received-an-electric-shock-expression on looking at the time.  I’ve overcome so many difficulties  in all these years, but getting up in the morning is always a daunting task for me. Except on holidays or days when I’ve to get up early to catch a flight I’ve never woken up on my own. When mom was away for a while, I had to make sure I kept 3 alarms and that too beyond my reach. That is something I hope to change ;-D

#3. To avoid eating out every week.

I’m a foodie. A great foodie. To the extent that I don’t mind having second helping of desserts when I’m out for dinner. Thanks to Dad and Mom who enjoy eating out,(lunches, dinners, Ice Creams, KFC, Chick King) I’ve been to most of the Chinese and Indian restaurants in the city.(Once at this place called Pic’N’Mix in Cochin, I single-handedly finished 5 scoops of Ice Cream in Half an hour). When I set out to eat, I forget everything else in the world and take in every mouthful giving it all my attention. I relish each and every meal like I’ve never tasted them. This is why I’m familiar with people who own a Catering group and with Chefs from the various restaurants(That includes some complimentary desserts too..Bulls Eye!). Every now and then walking, jogging, cycling and swimming  help me balance it all, still I sometimes feel guilty about it. So I decided I would reduce all this Food excursions!

#4. To avoid using Windows Notepad for everything

Recently I came across a book where I assumed a lot of kids had scribbled their names and phone numbers. Only later I realized that it was the register at the Library at work. These days  there is hardly anything that I get to do with pens apart from scribbling my name when I swipe my card or when signing these registers. Thanks to our smart phones and Laptops/Tabs.earlier my handwriting used to be normal. Not bad. Not too good. But these days even If I hold the pen for 5 minutes and write something continuously my hand starts aching. So I ‘m going to try and write as much as I can. I’m going to make use of a real Notepad. Not just Window’s Notepad.

#5. To avoid talking, all the time.

I don’t know if it’s because I talk so much or if it’s because my sister doesn’t talk that much(at least when compared to me), of late I realized that sometimes I talk more that what is necessary. Thankfully I don’t keep talking non sense(that is what my friends told me), but just that If I was asked a 2 mark question, I would answering for it like a 16 mark question. I can never stop talking drastically, will try and make efforts to keep it in moderation.

#6. To avoid embarrassing others

This is with reference to the situation mentioned in #1. The problem is once I start laughing, within the next 3.4 seconds tears would start pouring from my eyes. Once a friend was seated with me at the cafeteria, someone started laughing and I followed suit. Tears poured from my eyes. A well wisher came up and asked my friend as to why I was crying and looked at him as if he was the one who made me cry. You know what I did, I started laughing even more ;-)

#7. To avoid talking when I’m asleep.

Well honestly I don’t even know that I have this habit till mom and dad told me about this. And this is not something that I would have control of. When mom once asked me “You keep talking all the time, you talk even when you’re asleep”, I replied saying “May be, I have so much to talk and I end up talking less. So those thoughts my mind feels, has to be spoken/conveyed, comes out when I’m asleep”. Imagine how shocked Mom was :-P

#8. To avoid stop using Facebook when I’m trying to work on something.

Facebook is the biggest boon and bane. Boon, because I am in touch with people I know and bane, because it eats up so much of my so little time. So, I am going to try and stop doing that.

#9. To avoid staying up till the wee hours of the night.

Yes, By God’s grace I have a job. Also, I have a blog. So I have to read and write. I spend time in Facebook. I spend time with twitter. I spend time reading those numerous books that I receive as a part of Book reviews and I spend time reading books that I like. I never miss listening to music on my swing. So if I have to essentially find time for all of this, every single day, I’m left to keep my eyes open for a long time. So I’m going to try and balance that and ensure that I get the required amount of sleep.

#10. To stop tricking others.

I’m neither a Tracy Whitney nor a Jeff Stevens. But I have this talent I’m incredibly proud of. As much as I love to laugh, I can maintain this serious expression in my face and can easily make people believe what I say. I tell it with so much accuracy that for a minute people think it’s true. So much so that, one of my Uncle, having been at the receiving end of my tricks says that, If Ash is saying something seriously , then it would definitely not be the truth.

#11.To avoid using elevators

I don’t to why. I don’t know how. I don’t know when. But I have this habit of avoiding lifts and escalators as much as possible. I’ve been following this and I intend to do so in the next year.

#12. To avoid answering in Single words when I’m angry.

Yes.

#13. To avoid writing lengthy posts.

You all know that I started writing mainly because I had so much to talk(Refer point #5) and I did not have many people with patience to listen to everything that I had to say. So the same reflects in my writing as well. I start writing a 100 word post and end up writing a 600 to 700 worded post. So I’m going to try and reduce the word count.(See I’m already trying :-D)

P.S. This post is for a contest that is happening in the ChennaiBloggers Club, a group of bloggers from Chennai who have got together to make a difference and to give back something to the city they love!

This contest is sponsored by Cuponation, India’s largest coupon portal, and in their words “specifically designed to meet the needs of all online shoppers”, that offers Free Discount coupons and deals.

If you are a blogger, from Chennai, who is interested to participate,connect with us through our Facebook page and you can participate too :-) Good Luck!

To read other posts in this ABC Challenge, click here.