11 Things to do in 2011

With the beginning of 2011, I started wondering, what is it that I haven't done before and would like to start this year. And here I am, writing my first blog post.

11 things to do in 2011:

1. Work hard - Party harder: Yes, this is what I believe in. No matter how tense you are, how busy you are, you should always party as much as you can. It’s like taking care of your rights and duties. After accomplishing your duty to work for your company and family, you should realize your right to party so that you have all the fun and you don't regret it.
2. Travel and Photography: I will save enough money so that I can pick a DSLR of my choice and visit lots and lots of places where I can be closer to nature and capture it. I have always been a lover of photography but never got lucky to travel to a place exclusively for shooting. I look forward to my small weekend trips to at least nearby places in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal.
3. Fly International: During the third semester of IIT, we started working towards a plan to get an international internship and spend the two months of summer 2008 in a country other than India. But most of us were bored of the monotonous process (searching for Profs and e-mailing them), some got frustrated, some were just unlucky and others were impatient and opted for alternatives which forced them to stay here only. Now that I earn and can afford an international trip (at least to south-east Asia), this year I hope to go international.
4. Visit a friend far-far away: After coming to Chandigarh, whenever a friend spared a visit, the day was a special day for me. After being all lonely in my office and home, I felt so special when a friend from college time visited and we went out for food or drinks. This year I would like to experience the other side of the whole situation. So I will travel and pay a visit to one of my college friends in 2011.
5. Pilgrimage with Parents: We visited Shri Hemkunt Sahib when I was in 3rd standard. It was all religious, exotic and exciting at the same time. I never had such an experience again with my family. So in 2011, I will plan a trip to some religious place which also has some awesome scenery so that I can have some quality fun time with my family and give them a break from their normal routine life of handling their jobs and our home in Ganganagar.
6. Gift my parents a Car: Although this is a part of an early plan but let’s include it in this list so that it’s executed this year. Looking at all that have been done by my folks for me, I can never return the favor but can at least do something to show my appreciation. 
7. Buy myself some cool gadgets: Although I’ll not be qualified as a gadget freak but I have always been a gadget lover and dreamt about all those cool gadgets getting featured all over the news all the time. Beginning from the DSLR I mentioned above, I'll try to enhance the audio rig and the overall collection.
8. Paint: Whenever I have been alone or without anything to involve my day in, the artist within me has woken up and motivated me to start sketching or painting again. I have always been fascinated by the oil paintings and have always admired them. The internal artist will be blessed with a chance to paint with the oil colors which he has always wished to do.
9. Body Building: It all started as a method to kill time but after a couple of months of regular workout, I really enjoyed the whole thing and continued it until the end of December 2010 when I hurt my back due to some wrong form I took in the gym while lifting weight. I have almost recovered and now waiting for the weather to be normal again (I mean at least the fog is lifted) so that I can start working out again and get back to the perfect routine.
10. Read: I have always felt the need to get a continuous intellectual feed from wherever I have been. While in IIT we used to have so many long discussions (most of the night-outs were devoted to this) and arguments that I never felt the void which may compel me to search for a source to fulfill my intellectual needs. Now that I am all alone (I miss those discussions the most) I have shifted to reading once again and offered myself to the wisdom of books. Just finished reading “Into The Wild” last night and will continue to read some more this year.
11. Write: I have never ever tried to write anything before and this is my first blog entry. I hope to continue writing this year and will try my level best to express my feelings and thoughts in a better way.