First run of 2019

2018 was my best running year. I participated in a lot of races - both road and trail, and also ran a half marathon with the husband (his 1st).

But more than any race, I thoroughly enjoyed my weekly long runs. I get to be outdoors (my favorite place to be); I get to breath lungs full of fresh air; I get to observe subtle changes in seasons all year long; I get "ME" time to think deeply about things bringing stress and find a way to let go; I get to become fitter and faster over time; Every mile is worth my while; Every run adds life to my days!!!

I used to run with a local non-profit group on and off from January 2014. But last year, I realized that each of their events centered around alcohol. Any event to raise money involved beer. Most of their runs started and ended at a brewery. Their potlucks and dinner invites never had any vegan options for me to eat. Although I'm still contributing towards their cause, I no longer run with them.

I found a new running group last fall that felt like home. The people, their running pace, their willingness to be flexible in terms of timing, location and distance of our runs, the camaraderie during races - it fit my needs from the Day 1.

I have a routine now for my weekly long runs. And a great group to run with. I look forward to my Saturday AM runs all week long. Being in Folsom, we are blessed with miles of trails - road as well as dirt, and spectacular running weather all year around.

For my first run of 2019, I ran on a route that I've never run before. We started at our usual starting point - Old Town Folsom. There is a covered parking garage with a bathroom here that works well for us. Instead of running along the American River Parkway towards Nimbus Fish Hatchery, we ran east towards Folsom Lake Beals Point. We were treated to a spectacular sunrise here, and we took a short break to soak it all in. It was uphill all the way, and with a 2 week break from running, I was feeling it in my legs and lungs. The way back was downhill and a ton of fun. I was happy we could run 8+  miles, given that I had tight constraints around my return time. Daughter had a basketball game at 9am, and I didn't want to miss a minute of it.

Here are some pictures from Saturday.....

#19 in 2019

I can't believe I'm writing this -

I begin my 19th year at Intel today.

I never thought I'll be working for the same company all these years when I started interning with the company on 1-8-2001.

And what a long but fulfilling journey it has been!

I started out as a test engineer working on ATE's (automated test equipment) - writing test programs for network devices.

My next job was developing a small tester with a 3rd party to test a new memory technology that Intel was developing at that time. Intel sold the 1st generation and then canned the product.

From there, I moved on to a role as a DFX (design for test/manufacturing/etc) engineer, working on RTL code for a memory technology that was a joint venture as well. This project got cancelled early on, and it was the year I got married. Within months of our wedding, I had no project to work on. 70-80% of my team was laid off. I survived.

After a few weeks of ambiguity, we formed a small memory path finding team, and picked up an FPGA project to work on. And soon after, we started working on another big project, which was in path finding for several years. It is now a product, which Intel will be shipping this year. A key milestone for my career!

I wish I could publicly talk about my work, but due to IP issues, I can't.

I don't see myself as a VP, GM or CEO of a company, ever. I've managed projects but never people.

I am happiest working on technical aspects, defining architecture or root causing silicon/platform level issues, or enabling customers with new features. And I love mentoring new hires or junior engineers on our team, whether its issues with their job function or team, or whether its coaching them to push for a well deserved promotion. I currently have 6 mentees - 4 females and 2 males - and my conversations with them about work, work-life balance, and life in general - are so enriching and fulfilling.

I hate politics at work, and dread going to senior level meetings where I have to watch what I say, and things are interpreted in several different ways. Lately, a lot of back stabbing has been going on with our project, and I cringe when I'm involved and have to defend myself. I'm hoping this aspect of my work improves this year, as soon as possible.

Let's begin Intel Inside #19!!!!

Snow Day

After loaning out our snow gear to several families in December, we were finally able to enjoy a Snow Day for our family.

We wanted to snow board and get the kids an instructor, but due to peak holiday season, the resort had no openings all week.

So we did what we've been doing last few years - snow tubing and sledding down the hill. We picked a resort vs parking on the side of the road and going at it ourselves....and it worked out perfect!!

The weather makes a huge difference when it comes to enjoying snow and cold weather - we managed to pick a sunny warm day, just before the storm on weekend which closed down all major highways through the Sierras. And we are lucky that we live 90 mins from the mountains, so our Snow Day plans are always last minute, after checking the weather and road conditions!

The pretty drive through the Sierras on the way to South Lake Tahoe....

The resort area had a picnic area with benches, which really helped my friend and her mom who are not very mobile at this point due to health issues. We had packed a picnic lunch of sandwiches and snacks, and a gingerbread chocolate bar which my kids were very excited to try (they loved it).

We started out with snow tubing, and I couldn't get any pictures or videos as the kids were going very fast.

The daughter took a break and built these 4 small snow men near our picnic benches.

After tubing, we switched to sledding...and all of us took turns sledding down the hill. Its my favorite part of snow days, the thrill and adrenaline rush is amazing.

We ended our day with the kids and their daddy in a snowball fight.....thank goodness for puffy ski pants and jackets which provided much needed protection :)

And finally a family picture to end the day!!

Hope to make it back on the slopes for snow boarding later this year....the kids were very excited to try it out!

Have you been to the snow lately?

Choices

Choice #1: No Bollywood Movies for kids

A friend pinged us with a movie invite for "Simmba" today. I rarely watch Bollywood movies in theatre, and our kids have never watched any yet. The only Bollywood movie RnR watched at home over summer was Dangal - we took 3 days to finish it but it was related to boxing and girls, so it was inspiring in some ways.

I politely declined the invite. The friend kept pressing why - she wanted company for her kiddo it seems. I stuck to my ground but was left feeling the odd one out. She remarked that everyone takes their kids to Hindi movies. I simply said enjoy and moved on.

Choice #2: Stand up against people who bitch about you behind your back

I distanced myself from a so-called good friend when I found out from several sources over the course of 6 months that she had nothing but negative things to say, not just about me but also about my daughter (why??). I feel so dumb that I thought she is a well wisher - I went out of my way to keep our friendship, invited her family over many times, and also let her take advantage of me when it came to babysitting and play dates.

The issue is that our kids study together, take classes together, and we work together, in the same building/same floor. There is no choice but to bump into each other on many occasions, and I simply cannot fake my emotions all the time. At some point, it will show and I am worried how others will perceive it.

Choice #3: Avoid parties where alcohol is consumed

I have talked about this before. Hubby and I are teetotalers and we avoid parties where alcohol is consumed. If its a work thing, we go ourselves but when it's a family thing, we don't like to expose our children to that environment. It seems we are the odd ones out there too.

Choice #4: Disneyland

We've only taken our daughter to Disney once, when she turned 3. She hardly remembers her trip, but after that, none of our children have been Disney fans so they have never asked to visit. Californians, especially my American moms group, spend a ton of yearly Disney trips and passes. I don't know what the obsession is, and how you could go again and again to the same place? I found the rides boring, and everything very fake out there. I want to take both kids once, as a bucket list item of their childhood, but don't see ourselves being frequent visitors at all. Again, odd ones out around where we live.

I'm just in a pensive mood today, about the choices we make and how it affects us, shapes us. There is always this concern that your choices as a parent shouldn't impact your kids negatively, and I truly hope I can live up to that responsibility!!

Happy 2019!!

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy 2019 - may your days be filled with joy, adventures and love!

I feel very selfish as I write this post - I came to my blog today as I was feeling slightly depressed. And that too for a trivial reason.

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home - Hubby and I worked out at the gym from 5-6pm, while the kids watched and rated our performance. They consulted the trainer as well on their ratings :). Then we made a pizza loaded with vegetables for dinner (the kids enjoyed spreading the sauce and loading their favorite toppings), played a few card games and watched the NY Times Square ball drop on TV at 9pm PST, and called it a night.

I had made packets for them to work on their favorite memories from 2018, as well as resolutions and goals for 2019, so we brain stormed some ideas, but they didn't pen down anything on 31st.

I went to bed grateful for a TERRIFIC year for our family!

BUT - these last 2 days, all I see on my FB feed is pictures from parties, and it seems we are the only ones that chose to have quiet evening at home. FOMO - fear of missing out - came to me big time. And the only thing that I thought would help me is either writing a blog post or reading my favorite blogs!

And it did not disappoint - I read Preeti's blog on how she always welcomes the new year and instantly, I zapped out of my funk and felt better. I just needed to connect with like minded people, and filter out the noise around me. I also made a resolution to spend less time on Facebook and more time on writing this year.

So tell me, how was 2018 for you? and how did you spend your New Year's Eve?

Here's how 2018 went for us - I have SO much to share, I better make time to pen things down!!