January 2025, Week 1
The year started off quietly—no major shakeups, no dramatic changes. Honestly, I don’t get the hype around New Year’s anymore. It’s just another date, and life pretty much stays the same.
We kicked off the year with a delicious plate of Prawn Biryani, courtesy of Mum. The day before, I baked a blueberry cake—figured it’d be nice to start the year on a sweet note.
On January 1st, I rolled up my sleeves and tackled our shoe shelves, throwing out decade-old pairs that had turned into mold farms. Over the next few days, I moved on to other neglected corners of our apartment.
At home, we’ve been on a cleaning spree. Every time my family tosses out old, dusty boxes filled with junk from years ago, I feel this deep sense of satisfaction. I can’t stand clutter, but I also don’t have the time or energy to convince everyone to let go of things we don’t need.
Work resumed as usual, back to my contractual project. It’s basically the same thing I was doing a month ago. I was hoping this project would give me some hands-on experience with the latest tech, but that’s looking pretty unlikely right now.
On top of that, a pile of content landed on my desk for review. It’s funny how work always finds a way to show up all at once. If I had received this just a week earlier, I could have tackled it with a bit more ease.
Classes started too. We’re still finalizing courses for the semester, but the first two weeks are usually spent sitting in on intro classes, gathering resources, and deciding what to take. I skipped the weekday sessions—work commitments wouldn’t allow me to attend them regularly anyway.
I even spent a whole day cleaning up my old blogs. It’s wild to think I’ve been blogging for about a decade now. But lately, the motivation to keep going has been slowly chipping away…
January 2025, Week 2
Started going to the office this week. Thankfully, carpooling made the commute a little easier.
I also got my new furniture delivered! It took days to sort everything out—organizing my clothes in the new wardrobes, moving my other stuff around, deep cleaning, fixing the lighting, and setting up my workstation again. I’d been working from my parents’ bedroom for the past few weeks, and I was so ready to have my own little corner back.
Work took priority this week, though the pile of missed classes and unfinished tasks kept me feeling a little anxious. My weekend classes started too, adding even more to my plate. With everything going on, I was struggling to take care of my physical and mental well-being—skipping my evening strolls and missing out on those soul-soothing spiritual podcasts. Instead, I wasted way too much time on YouTube and daydreaming.
Some other highlights from the week:
- Mum made an amazing gajar ka halwa—I swear, I could eat this every single day!
- She also made mutton biryani for the first time in years. What blows my mind is that she’s never even tasted biryani in her life, yet somehow, it turned out perfect.
- My sister’s student brought us a vanilla cake for her birthday. It was light, fluffy, and mildly sweet—exactly how I like it.
- Lately, I’ve been looking for ways to help job seekers land suitable roles. One small thing I’ve been doing is offering free resume reviews whenever juniors reach out to me for vacancies. It’s been rewarding to help in whatever little way I can.
January 2025, Week 3
In the third week of January, I was determined to go to the office every day and knock out some of the easy tasks on my to-do list.
But when it came to studying? I was still struggling. My mind felt scattered, restless—no matter what I did, I just couldn’t seem to focus.
Then, something unexpected happened. On our way to work, my colleague’s car broke down. I’d never been in a situation like this before, and honestly, I had no idea what to do. Should I hop out and grab a cab to the office? Or should I just take a bus home instead (which, let’s be real, would have been way easier to find)?
In the end, I just sat there, waiting. After a lot of effort, my colleague somehow managed to get the car moving again, but just two kilometers from our home, it gave up completely.
And there I was—fully dressed for work, backpack on one shoulder, heavy lunch bag in hand—walking back home instead of heading to the office. My colleague eventually called for help and made it back too.
After that incident, we decided to work remotely for the rest of the week.
On the bright side, the final piece of furniture for my room arrived! It didn’t exactly match the rest of the room’s aesthetic, but it promised a solid ergonomic workstation setup, so I was happy with it.
The weekend was uneventful. I stayed home, secretly hoping for something—anything—to lift my spirits. Maybe a message from an old friend? A little miracle? But the truth is, no one comes to save you. You just have to keep picking up the pieces each night and hope that by morning, you’ll feel a little more whole.
By the end of the week, I got another chance to help someone in job hunting. I’ve been wanting to support more job seekers, to help people build meaningful careers—but the reality is, very few actually have the hunger to seek help and make the most of an opportunity.
I’m always willing to help, but I’ve learned that if I have to take the first step, it often ends up being a wasted effort. That’s why I prefer offering advice and guidance only to those who genuinely seek it.
January 2025, Week 4
Do I want to go abroad, or do I want to stay in India?
This question pops up every year when I think about my career. And over time, I’ve noticed how my perspective has shifted—especially when I compare my pre-COVID mindset to now. I’ve realized that I don’t want to make a life-altering decision just to fit someone else’s definition of success.
While I kept debating what’s right and what’s wrong, people around me continued to impose their own opinions. But the truth is, most of them have no idea about my dreams or my purpose. I don’t mind the free advice—I actually appreciate hearing different perspectives—but I do wish advice-givers would lower their expectations to avoid feeling disappointed when I don’t act on their suggestions.
January wrapped up with me juggling quite a few important things. Academically, I was falling behind—mainly because I struggled to stay focused and consistent.
Work-wise, there was some movement, but nothing extraordinary. On the personal front, a few additional commitments kept me occupied.
More Highlights from the Week:
- Attended a wedding with my family. The surprising part? The groom is actually our neighbor—and I highly doubt I’ve ever seen him before!
- Made my first attempt at baking a cheesecake—and it was a success! I didn’t follow any specific recipe, just took inspiration from the viral trend.
Whenever I try fancy desserts, my main goal is to make them with easily available, affordable ingredients while keeping them edible. My parents had never tasted cheesecake before, and they actually liked it! My sister, who’s been my cheesecake buddy since 2016, praised it too—not that she’s ever been critical of my baking anyway.
If I had to rate my own creation, I’d give it a 7/10 compared to an authentic cheesecake made with eggs and cream cheese. Since we currently prefer vegetarian recipes, I adapted the ingredients to match our diet. But considering the cost-effectiveness and ease of preparation, I’d call it a win!
God was definitely kind with this one—cheesecake had been on my to-do list for ages. They’re expensive to buy, and in my hometown, there’s only one place that sells them. And trust me, they’ve mastered the art of slicing cheesecake as thinly as possible—just enough to leave you craving more.
At least now I know that with some fresh yogurt, heavy cream, and condensed milk, I can whip up a baked or no-bake cheesecake whenever I want!
Here are some snaps to perfectly summarize my January 2025:
1) The blueberry vanilla cake that I whipped up with some whole wheat flour (atta) and frozen blueberries
2) The delicious baked Bhetki fish: mum made the marinade and I did the baking!
3) My first baked cheesecake, added strawberry compote on top it later
4) My parents made chitoi and bhapa pithe on Poush Sankranti/Makae Sankranti: keeping year-old traditions alive.
5) Green Goddess Pasta made by mum, recipe suggested by me
6) A lovely rose from my dad’s garden…
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