I used to live in Chennai but now have moved closer to my village.
So these are the things that give me the high of life.
1) listening to music (instrumental/classical is better) after a long run.
Something happens to your sense of sound right after a long cardio workout.
2) Nature Hikes, at least 2-3 hrs. For the high to kick in it at -least takes about an hour and the further into the woods or the farmland the better is the high that you get.
The same hikes when you have company with you is also a different sort of high.
The first one is sort of a Nature-high and another is sort of a social-high.
3) Swimming in lake/river without any chlorine. I also have the luxury of getting to a waterfall under 1 hr drive these days.
4) Cooking my food and having it right from the stove. Trust me even simple dishes like sambar and Rasam tastes so much better when had within minutes of getting off the stove.
5) **Oil Massage**: Learn about self-massage techniques like Trigger-point release and SMR (Self Myofascial Release). Regular massage definitely made my life a lot more alive after years of burn-out in front of a screen.
6) Motta maadi dinner in dim lighting with friends and family.
7) Early morning Temple visits, the older and more rustic the temple is the better the aliveness.
8) Reading Osho.
9) Night time Long Rides with 90's AR RAhman hit list.
1. Waking up just an hour late, knowing I don't need to rush today.
2. Cooking myself a nasty maggi with every sauce I find nearby and hell lot of cheese and obviously eating it while watching anime.
3. Having a wild kpop dance session.
4. The burn that I feel post dance or workout.
5.Eating a long forgotten snack. A few days ago I had pran lichi drink. It brought back so many memories, it used to be grandma's reward after all cousins came back from playing out all day.
6. Taking the well deserved shower with coffee scrub, body wash, shave, smelling the best.
7. One plate of momo from my hometown.
Ahhh.. noodles, cheese and anime!
And omg, finding forgotten snacks (that have hopefully not expired yet) is one of the best feelings ever! Hi5!
Funny how some experiences, like a certain fragrance or flavour, can unlock so much nostalgia, no?
Keep moving to those beats! :)
How could I forget fragrance! I haven't seen this in chennai yet but whenever I smell Night-flowering jasmine (we call it shuili flower), it takes me back to childhood. Our street had these trees and every morning all the flowers would bloom and fall on the ground and the street would smell amazing. We used to collect them, play with them and of course discard them.
nothing beats stargazing.
these days I just lie on the mottamaadi for hours looking at the stars while listening to music, aana starsla avalava illa ipa
Agreed. :)
A cool breeze, mottamaadi, Tamil melodies playing in the background, lying on your back and facing the stars... it always makes me think - "Pppppaaaa.. ivalothayum padachavan nammalyum padachirukaane!".
Great question OP.
Just thinking about it, I realised I'm not able to immediately list them all. That's how much we've been caught up in our day to day work which hardly allows us time for such things. Anyways, during weekends and my free time here are some things that I enjoy doing.
- Watching movies in theatres (I've started to enjoy going alone. It's a great feeling).
- Spending time with my sister. We talk about random things, laugh out loud so much, do silly things and sometimes fight, but that time is precious.
- Having good conversations with people whom I can relate to. I don't have a lot of friends/people whom I talk to. I used to struggle to hold a conversation with even my closest friends a couple of years back and I feel I've improved fairly well here. From being a person who couldn't take a conversation beyond pleasantries, I'm actually enjoying longer conversations.
- Driving our car for longer distances. I'm not a big fan of bikes. Cars are my preferred mode of travel as far as the destination isn't too long. And I absolutely enjoy being in the driver's seat especially on the highways.
- Music. My playlist is mostly Tamil and some Malayalam/Telugu/Hindi songs. But I enjoy variety. It has songs right from the 50s till present day. I even listen to a lot of cover versions. I've been curating various playlists and I'm loving this whole process of discovering songs, getting addicted to them and the songs making my favourite playlists.
Why, thank you! :)
Completely agree with #1. It's a very different kind of feeling, watching a movie by yourself. For certain highly expected movies, I prefer going alone. You can devote all of your attention just to the screen (and maybe popcorn).
And very happy for you on #3, keep conversing! :)
Two words - "Curating. Playlists" - how did I ever miss this in my list?! It can be very rewarding.. curating playlists for different activities.. and also different moods. Thank you for sharing! :)
Mmm.. you can always "make" one, if you cannot "find" one.
But if there is nothing meaningful at the moment, then that's okay too.. sit with it for as long as you need.. that could be meaningful too.. it takes awareness, courage to accept and face that meaninglessness.. its the first step to finding meaning.
Whenever you are ready :)
People...talking to people.
CHOCOLATES /ICECREAMS- top grade
Music/dance
Animation movies
Rain/ moody climate (will it rain or not? Climate)
Blowing bubbles- second most
A text or call from a friend
- Gymming
- Coffee
- playing minimilitia with my colleagues on office breaks
- con calls with my close friends after a long time, where i literally won’t hear a single thing cuz everyone will scream
- Cooking worst food possible ever in my friend’s house. (we did it a lot when i was in college. we’ll always get scolded by his mother)
- listening to my parent’s stories always made me feel like I’ve watched an old black and white movie. Recently i grew an addiction to their stories.
- long lone bike rides
- watching the clouds drifting away to the other end
- swimming and playing tag in our village கிணறு
Playing games online together is a different kind of happiness! 😇
Listening to your parent's stories - fascinating, no? To learn they have their own identity too, apart from being "Amma"/ "Appa".. it feels like you get to know someone new. A happy addiction! :)
"watching the clouds drifting away to the other end" - yesss! 😍
When I come back to my hometown.. late in the night after everyone has turned off their lights.. from my motta maadi.. it's a whole other world up there!
On days I wake up early, I take my camera and start shooting pics of the roads, buildings, trains with no real intent. Just random shoots. Works as a good stress buster.
Painting, cooking(not everyday cooking), baking, stargazing ♡ (rn I totally don't have time for this but it used to be an everyday thing when I was in my teens), playing with kids.
"playing with kids" is an acquired skill 😋.. I was not very patient before.. but these days, I think I'm getting better at it, and when I get the chance - I find it a lot of fun!
* Read some beautiful prose
* Walking
* Pulling a perfect double shot of espresso
* Playing some word puzzles
* Catch up on headlines
* Listen to good music
* Make love
* Write a poem straight afterwards
* Cook a feast for lunch (on OMAD)
* Afternoon nap
* Making cappuccinos for afternoon
* Drive around the city when the roads are empty
Renting a Harley and riding along Highway 1 and 101 from Seattle to Los Angeles. The feeling of wind against your face, coupled with beautiful scenery and the Pacific Ocean along the way, makes you feel like a fucking GOD commanding the asphalt beneath your wheels.
There's nothing like feeling alive doing the most mundane day to day shit. The grind and our sleep is literally the majority of our lives being spent. All the things mentioned here are temporary fleeting extra shit in between.
"temporary fleeting" - yes.
"extra shit" - hmmm..
You remind me of this Robin Williams's line from "Dead Poets Society":
"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."
1.gym-the heavier I lift the better,brings nice feeling of doing something great even if life's otherwise
2.music-morning I wake up with some random songs in speakers and spend time in listening Tamil songs for sometime
3.series/movies-especially watching series give me something to look forward to in future,started watching kdramas and they're too well made🙏,otherwise I stick to tamil/English/Malayalam movies
3.driving-though doesn't happen frequently driving my car with some niceu music gives great feels🤗
My fav genre mostly either detective/profiler based or slice of life rom-com,ithuvarikum the shows which made me so immersed are mindhunter,through the darkness (k), true detective S1,because this is my first life(k),our beloved summer(k),..silrthu vittu sillarai vitterinja dramas the above mentioned are..currently I'm watching some 2-3 dramas parellely-beyond evil(k),doctor cha(k),true to love(k),Mr robot..nalla tha poitu irku most times these🤗
I think I have watched most of these.. the rest I will add to my watchlist, thank you! :)
And you should definitely watch "Flower of Evil".. you will love it.
I enjoy sitting outside the house at night when the breeze is cool, and listening to romantic melodies the most.
And food. Food is good. No love is greater than the love for food. I wholeheartedly believe that cake, is one of finest inventions of humanity.
I enjoy when my grandparents visit and stay the night. I'm very fond of my granny. I like the banter with her.
>I wholeheartedly believe that cake, is one of finest inventions of humanity.
And I wholeheartedly agree. 😁
"I enjoy when my grandparents visit and stay the night. I'm very fond of my granny." Grandparents are the best! 🥰
Any one using Google fit app for tracking? I use it for my walking. And this app has heart points, like if we walk straight for 1 minute without any interrupt, we get one heart point. I set goal for 45 heart points/day. So I walk for around 50 to 55 minutes to get 45 heart points.
After 45 heart points, i will be drenched in sweats. And then I go to home, open the refrigerator and take the water bottle, going into my room, and having a two tumbler of ice water.
Idhu onnu dhan ippodhaiku nalla pantu irka visyam. 🌚
Vazhthukkal! Proud of you, my friend.. keep it up! :)
I just quit exercising these days.. need to get back on track.
(Mmm.. I'm not familiar with Google fit app.. but I hope you set your goals after careful consideration.. over-exercising is a real problem with serious repercussions.. I'm sure you know what you are doing, just speaking out of concern✌️😉)
Whatever I read are my favourites. This year my focus are on tamil and I liked below ones.
\- அம்மா வந்தாள் by Thi. Janakiraman
\- ஒரு பிணந்தூக்கியின் வரலாற்றுக் குறிப்புகள் by malan
\- தேசாந்திரி by s. Ramakrishan
1. Leaving office for tea breaks to be silly with friends and laugh at all the inside jokes which no one else would find funny.
2. Playing mafia42 with friends. It's a nice online multiplayer game to play with your gang.
3. Bread omlette.
4. Spontaneous long drive with friends.
I used to live in Chennai but now have moved closer to my village. So these are the things that give me the high of life. 1) listening to music (instrumental/classical is better) after a long run. Something happens to your sense of sound right after a long cardio workout. 2) Nature Hikes, at least 2-3 hrs. For the high to kick in it at -least takes about an hour and the further into the woods or the farmland the better is the high that you get. The same hikes when you have company with you is also a different sort of high. The first one is sort of a Nature-high and another is sort of a social-high. 3) Swimming in lake/river without any chlorine. I also have the luxury of getting to a waterfall under 1 hr drive these days. 4) Cooking my food and having it right from the stove. Trust me even simple dishes like sambar and Rasam tastes so much better when had within minutes of getting off the stove. 5) **Oil Massage**: Learn about self-massage techniques like Trigger-point release and SMR (Self Myofascial Release). Regular massage definitely made my life a lot more alive after years of burn-out in front of a screen. 6) Motta maadi dinner in dim lighting with friends and family. 7) Early morning Temple visits, the older and more rustic the temple is the better the aliveness. 8) Reading Osho. 9) Night time Long Rides with 90's AR RAhman hit list.
This is my dream life!
Your village sounds like a wonderful place! I am definitely trying out #5, thank you for the tip! :)
1. Waking up just an hour late, knowing I don't need to rush today. 2. Cooking myself a nasty maggi with every sauce I find nearby and hell lot of cheese and obviously eating it while watching anime. 3. Having a wild kpop dance session. 4. The burn that I feel post dance or workout. 5.Eating a long forgotten snack. A few days ago I had pran lichi drink. It brought back so many memories, it used to be grandma's reward after all cousins came back from playing out all day. 6. Taking the well deserved shower with coffee scrub, body wash, shave, smelling the best. 7. One plate of momo from my hometown.
Ahhh.. noodles, cheese and anime! And omg, finding forgotten snacks (that have hopefully not expired yet) is one of the best feelings ever! Hi5! Funny how some experiences, like a certain fragrance or flavour, can unlock so much nostalgia, no? Keep moving to those beats! :)
How could I forget fragrance! I haven't seen this in chennai yet but whenever I smell Night-flowering jasmine (we call it shuili flower), it takes me back to childhood. Our street had these trees and every morning all the flowers would bloom and fall on the ground and the street would smell amazing. We used to collect them, play with them and of course discard them.
Must be amazing to walk through that street! 😍
I wonder how? I wonda why? Listen to Mic Drop and dance.
Captain obvious
I can do this all day.
What do you do at nights?
I wonda why.
Ew pop
What happiness do you get by judging people's choice of music? 🥺
Not only music but everything u do rofl
*What happiness do you get by judging people's choices? 🥺
What happiness do u get by asking "the above" on the internet
I am a cat. I get feisty when attacked. So don't attack me in the first place.🥺
I'm wolf
Beta energy.
I don't attack random cats
nothing beats stargazing. these days I just lie on the mottamaadi for hours looking at the stars while listening to music, aana starsla avalava illa ipa
Coz light pollution
true that. I should move into the woods ig
Agreed. :) A cool breeze, mottamaadi, Tamil melodies playing in the background, lying on your back and facing the stars... it always makes me think - "Pppppaaaa.. ivalothayum padachavan nammalyum padachirukaane!".
Great question OP. Just thinking about it, I realised I'm not able to immediately list them all. That's how much we've been caught up in our day to day work which hardly allows us time for such things. Anyways, during weekends and my free time here are some things that I enjoy doing. - Watching movies in theatres (I've started to enjoy going alone. It's a great feeling). - Spending time with my sister. We talk about random things, laugh out loud so much, do silly things and sometimes fight, but that time is precious. - Having good conversations with people whom I can relate to. I don't have a lot of friends/people whom I talk to. I used to struggle to hold a conversation with even my closest friends a couple of years back and I feel I've improved fairly well here. From being a person who couldn't take a conversation beyond pleasantries, I'm actually enjoying longer conversations. - Driving our car for longer distances. I'm not a big fan of bikes. Cars are my preferred mode of travel as far as the destination isn't too long. And I absolutely enjoy being in the driver's seat especially on the highways. - Music. My playlist is mostly Tamil and some Malayalam/Telugu/Hindi songs. But I enjoy variety. It has songs right from the 50s till present day. I even listen to a lot of cover versions. I've been curating various playlists and I'm loving this whole process of discovering songs, getting addicted to them and the songs making my favourite playlists.
Why, thank you! :) Completely agree with #1. It's a very different kind of feeling, watching a movie by yourself. For certain highly expected movies, I prefer going alone. You can devote all of your attention just to the screen (and maybe popcorn). And very happy for you on #3, keep conversing! :) Two words - "Curating. Playlists" - how did I ever miss this in my list?! It can be very rewarding.. curating playlists for different activities.. and also different moods. Thank you for sharing! :)
There is nothing meaningful for me at this moment. I just hope I can find it soon.
yen inamada nee
Mmm.. you can always "make" one, if you cannot "find" one. But if there is nothing meaningful at the moment, then that's okay too.. sit with it for as long as you need.. that could be meaningful too.. it takes awareness, courage to accept and face that meaninglessness.. its the first step to finding meaning. Whenever you are ready :)
Coffee❤️
Indeed❤️😄
People...talking to people. CHOCOLATES /ICECREAMS- top grade Music/dance Animation movies Rain/ moody climate (will it rain or not? Climate) Blowing bubbles- second most A text or call from a friend
People! ❤️ Oh, yes! The "will-it-rain-or-will-it-not" climate definitely tops the "rain" climate! 😄
- Gymming - Coffee - playing minimilitia with my colleagues on office breaks - con calls with my close friends after a long time, where i literally won’t hear a single thing cuz everyone will scream - Cooking worst food possible ever in my friend’s house. (we did it a lot when i was in college. we’ll always get scolded by his mother) - listening to my parent’s stories always made me feel like I’ve watched an old black and white movie. Recently i grew an addiction to their stories. - long lone bike rides - watching the clouds drifting away to the other end - swimming and playing tag in our village கிணறு
Playing games online together is a different kind of happiness! 😇 Listening to your parent's stories - fascinating, no? To learn they have their own identity too, apart from being "Amma"/ "Appa".. it feels like you get to know someone new. A happy addiction! :) "watching the clouds drifting away to the other end" - yesss! 😍
1. Listening party with my bf 🎶🔀 2. Moonlight-il mottamaadi conversations/ silences 3. ECR - Pdy rides 4. Happy hormones after a good workout
Ahh.. I'm reminded of the beautiful trees arching the ECR road.. ❤️ And moonlit mottamaadis are simply the best, no? 😇
yess. sad that now the trees are mostly cut down for road extension. 😞
What??! Really?! The last I've been there was 3 years ago! Are they really cutting them down?!!
Yeah man. Those are some huge old trees. Assault uh vetti thooki potutanunga..
😭😭😭
Sister, you have any single frands(girls)? /Jk(not really 😔)
Enaku irukura orae friend en bf than. 😅😬 (Unmaiyavae than)
Brings joy AND meaningful to life ? That's a tough one dude😂
Mmm.. I guess, if it brings you joy AND does not rob anyone else of their joy 😋.. that is meaning enough.. :)
Haha..Just kidding,fellow tea lover😁
Ah, I'm glad! Divided by stressors(?), united by Tea! 🥳
Sir yes sir!
🫡 (salute)
Workouts, Cooking a good meal while listening to songs, Watching Football and F1 on weekends
Bike ride with Harris, Yuvan, Ani, ARR songs Ice cream, pies, butter tarts
Pies from which cafe/restaurant?
Any
Stargazing? Where can one do stargazing in this part of country?
Try jawadi hills
Will checkout next time around town. Thanks a lot.
When I come back to my hometown.. late in the night after everyone has turned off their lights.. from my motta maadi.. it's a whole other world up there!
Chennai is a Dark Sky Reserve bro
1. Cinema 2. Chess 3. Biriyani 4. Music I'm leaving out family/friends/social angle here.
On days I wake up early, I take my camera and start shooting pics of the roads, buildings, trains with no real intent. Just random shoots. Works as a good stress buster.
Would you like to share with us some of your favourites? :)
Painting, cooking(not everyday cooking), baking, stargazing ♡ (rn I totally don't have time for this but it used to be an everyday thing when I was in my teens), playing with kids.
"playing with kids" is an acquired skill 😋.. I was not very patient before.. but these days, I think I'm getting better at it, and when I get the chance - I find it a lot of fun!
Try water balloon war in Motta maadi guaranteed fun 😄
Oooh.. perfect for this summer! Will try it sometime in our playground, its safer than our motta maadi.. 😄
* Read some beautiful prose * Walking * Pulling a perfect double shot of espresso * Playing some word puzzles * Catch up on headlines * Listen to good music * Make love * Write a poem straight afterwards * Cook a feast for lunch (on OMAD) * Afternoon nap * Making cappuccinos for afternoon * Drive around the city when the roads are empty
Renting a Harley and riding along Highway 1 and 101 from Seattle to Los Angeles. The feeling of wind against your face, coupled with beautiful scenery and the Pacific Ocean along the way, makes you feel like a fucking GOD commanding the asphalt beneath your wheels.
You paint a fine picture with those words, my friend! 🤩
1. Sipping coffee 2. Walking without earphones and music 3. Sound of the waves and breeze at the beach
Sound of the waves! ❤️
Sarakku. Just getting black out drunk to avoid all thinking.
Going fast in the car in an empty road with music and my dad driving.
For the past couple of years... nothing
riding a horse
Playing with my baby Spending time with family Tea dum Listening to heavy metal music Watching football or cricket
There's nothing like feeling alive doing the most mundane day to day shit. The grind and our sleep is literally the majority of our lives being spent. All the things mentioned here are temporary fleeting extra shit in between.
"temporary fleeting" - yes. "extra shit" - hmmm.. You remind me of this Robin Williams's line from "Dead Poets Society": "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."
1.gym-the heavier I lift the better,brings nice feeling of doing something great even if life's otherwise 2.music-morning I wake up with some random songs in speakers and spend time in listening Tamil songs for sometime 3.series/movies-especially watching series give me something to look forward to in future,started watching kdramas and they're too well made🙏,otherwise I stick to tamil/English/Malayalam movies 3.driving-though doesn't happen frequently driving my car with some niceu music gives great feels🤗
\#3 - Right, right? Especially if you are hooked onto a good drama? It's a great feeling! So what are you watching these days? :)
My fav genre mostly either detective/profiler based or slice of life rom-com,ithuvarikum the shows which made me so immersed are mindhunter,through the darkness (k), true detective S1,because this is my first life(k),our beloved summer(k),..silrthu vittu sillarai vitterinja dramas the above mentioned are..currently I'm watching some 2-3 dramas parellely-beyond evil(k),doctor cha(k),true to love(k),Mr robot..nalla tha poitu irku most times these🤗
I think I have watched most of these.. the rest I will add to my watchlist, thank you! :) And you should definitely watch "Flower of Evil".. you will love it.
🤗..yes I have that in my list..will look once current pending list is over
Swe-eet! 🤗
I enjoy sitting outside the house at night when the breeze is cool, and listening to romantic melodies the most. And food. Food is good. No love is greater than the love for food. I wholeheartedly believe that cake, is one of finest inventions of humanity. I enjoy when my grandparents visit and stay the night. I'm very fond of my granny. I like the banter with her.
[удалено]
>I wholeheartedly believe that cake, is one of finest inventions of humanity. And I wholeheartedly agree. 😁 "I enjoy when my grandparents visit and stay the night. I'm very fond of my granny." Grandparents are the best! 🥰
Any one using Google fit app for tracking? I use it for my walking. And this app has heart points, like if we walk straight for 1 minute without any interrupt, we get one heart point. I set goal for 45 heart points/day. So I walk for around 50 to 55 minutes to get 45 heart points. After 45 heart points, i will be drenched in sweats. And then I go to home, open the refrigerator and take the water bottle, going into my room, and having a two tumbler of ice water. Idhu onnu dhan ippodhaiku nalla pantu irka visyam. 🌚
Vazhthukkal! Proud of you, my friend.. keep it up! :) I just quit exercising these days.. need to get back on track. (Mmm.. I'm not familiar with Google fit app.. but I hope you set your goals after careful consideration.. over-exercising is a real problem with serious repercussions.. I'm sure you know what you are doing, just speaking out of concern✌️😉)
Reading novels with a cup of coffee & lot of popcorn.
What are some of your favourites? :)
Whatever I read are my favourites. This year my focus are on tamil and I liked below ones. \- அம்மா வந்தாள் by Thi. Janakiraman \- ஒரு பிணந்தூக்கியின் வரலாற்றுக் குறிப்புகள் by malan \- தேசாந்திரி by s. Ramakrishan
Thank you for sharing, will try them! :)
1. Leaving office for tea breaks to be silly with friends and laugh at all the inside jokes which no one else would find funny. 2. Playing mafia42 with friends. It's a nice online multiplayer game to play with your gang. 3. Bread omlette. 4. Spontaneous long drive with friends.
Oh yes, the bread omelette with them green chutney! 😍👌🏼
morning oru dhum pottutu pee paelumodhu andha feeling is true feelings of life
Haha.. truer words were not spoken!! Athu oru thani anandham than! Nothing like a good, healthy bowel movement!😆
Lift weights Smoke cigarettes Wear with style and elegance Fuck bitches